Real Estate Marketing maintains the utmost professional ethics

Appraising is generally a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are privy to a lot of information, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you desire to review the appraisal document, you generally have to get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the parameters of the report, reaching and sustaining a respectable level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is standard operating procedure for us at Real Estate Marketing.

Appraisers will frequently be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the assignment.

There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - at Real Estate Marketing you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

Real Estate Marketing holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing assignments on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries biggest no-no, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics as the acceptance 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 follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from Real Estate Marketing we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.