For honest and ethical appraisals, count on CTF AppraisalsAppraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be called a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations. We have quite a few obligations as appraisers but our main duty is to our clients. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, 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 to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you normally have to request it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, acquiring and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is just normal course of business for us at CTF Appraisals. CTF Appraisals has worked hard for its track record for completing competent and ethically superior appraisals. Contact us today to learn more. There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is only to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters 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 a minimum of five years - at CTF Appraisals you can rest assured that we stick to that rule. CTF Appraisals holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less 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. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers up the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations that the 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 assured we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value. When you order an appraisal from CTF 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. |