Appraiser Ethics

Appraisal is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. In our field as with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

An appraiser's primary responsibility is to his or her client. Normally, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal to decide whether to make the mortgage loan. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients (as a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender) obligations of numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, an obligation to attain and maintain a certain level of competency and education, and must generally conduct him or herself as a professional. At Park Place Appraisal we take these ethical responsibilities seriously.

Appraisers may also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. Appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five years. 

We maintain the highest ethical standards. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. This is considered highly unethical in the appraisal industry as it would encourage appraisers to inflate the value of homes or properties in order to increase their fee. 

Other unethical practices may be defined by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs. For example, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines as unethical the acceptance of an assignment that is contingent on:

These standards and others are instituted to protect all interested parties and to assure objectivity in the determination of the property value.

Rest assured of ethical and professional service from Park Place Appraisal.