Sound Appraisals upholds the utmost professional ethics

We consider our what we do a profession. The rigors of becoming 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 considered a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but our main duty is to our clients. Generally, for a normal residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, acquiring and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Sound Appraisals, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is only to those 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 backup their work files for a minimum of five years - at Sound Appraisals you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and guidelines set in place for ethics. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we are not able to 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 probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the estimate of the home would inflate the their paycheck. 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 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Sound Appraisals we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.