 Honesty and Integrity: Alpha ValuationsWe think of our business as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.
We have quite a few responsibilities as appraisers, but above everything we answer to our clients.
More often than not, for a typical residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has contracted in order to maintain independence.
It's important to know that many details relating to an assignment are to be discussed with the appraiser's client. So, as
a homeowner, if you would like to review an appraisal report, you generally should obtain it through your lender.
Appraisers will sometimes need 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 responsibility is limited to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.
Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Alpha Valuations diligently adheres to. When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Working on assignments where our fee is dependent on our value conclusion is not something we can consider. That means we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. There's certainly a conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a greater value and then get paid more money! Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice explicitly describes 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" in addition to other situations We follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value. When you request an appraisal from Alpha Valuations, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the honesty and integrity we're known for. |
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