For honest and ethical appraisals, count on American Home Appraisals LLC

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have a great deal of responsibilities as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Normally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment can only be discussed with an appraiser's client. As a a homeowner, if you would like a copy of the appraisal document, you should obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, attaining and keeping an adequate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at American Home Appraisals LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will sometimes need to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - something else American Home Appraisals LLC diligently adheres to.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to 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 biggest no-no, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would inflate the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical practices may be defined by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states unethical behavior 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 at ease knowing we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from American Home Appraisals LLC we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.