Honesty and Integrity: AMT Appraisals

Appraising is generally a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

An appraiser's primary obligation is to their client. Generally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have rules and regulations they must follow, including keeping many matters private for their clients a homeowner, if you require a copy of the appraisal document, you should obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the parameters of the assignment, acquiring and sustaining a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at AMT Appraisals, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will often be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else AMT Appraisals makes a part of their standard routine.

While busy with an order, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers increase the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states unethical behavior as accepting of an assignment that is contingent on "the reporting of a pre-determined result (e.g., opinion of value)," "a direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the client," "the amount of a value opinion," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With AMT Appraisals, you won't have any doubts that you're getting 100 percent ethical, professional service.