Edwards Appraisal Group, LLC upholds the utmost professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

We have a lot of responsibilities as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, for a standard residential appraisal, 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 would like to review the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate sums appropriate to the parameters of the report, reaching and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is standard operating procedure for us at Edwards Appraisal Group, LLC.

Appraisers will regularly be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is only to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Edwards Appraisal Group, LLC makes a part of their standard routine.

When working on an appraisal, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments on contingency fees is not something we can consider 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 perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since increasing the estimate of the home would inflate the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations to which an 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 doing everything we can to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from Edwards Appraisal Group, LLC 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.