AJR Appraisal Service upholds the utmost professional ethics

Generally, appraising a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age 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.

For an appraiser the primary obligation is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate sums appropriate to the nature of the assignment, acquiring and sustaining a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at AJR Appraisal Service, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is only to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else AJR Appraisal Service makes a part of their standard routine.

AJR Appraisal Service holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. 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 most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers increase 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 societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 confident we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage AJR Appraisal Service 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.