For honest and ethical appraisals, trust John Burns Appraisal Services

Appraising 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 rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

The appraiser's chief responsibility is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, 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 would like to review an appraisal report, you generally have to request it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, acquiring and keeping an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at John Burns Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will frequently be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in scope of 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 written parameters of the job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else John Burns Appraisal Services takes very seriously.

We demand the highest ethical standards possible 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 get paid only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since increasing the estimate of the home would up the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other improper practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

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