For honest and ethical appraisals, count on RWA Appraisals

We think of our job as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the main responsibility is to their client. More often than not, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, reaching and sustaining an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at RWA Appraisals, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else RWA Appraisals takes very seriously.

RWA Appraisals holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics 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 at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you order an appraisal from RWA Appraisals 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.