For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Abbot Appraisal Services

We think of what we do as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have a lot of responsibilities as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. Typically, for a normal residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment can only be discussed with an appraiser's client. As a a homeowner, if you want to review an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, attaining and maintaining an adequate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Abbot Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can sometimes have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the assignment.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - at Abbot Appraisal Services you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions biggest no-no, because it would invite appraisal fraud since increasing the estimate of the home would raise the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional societies that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics 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," "the amount of a value opinion," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be confident we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Abbot Appraisal Services 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.