Honesty and Integrity: Erin Elkins Appraisals

We consider our our business a profession. Requirements to become 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 certainly be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

An appraiser's chief obligation is to his or her client. More often than not, for a typical 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 to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the parameters of the assignment, attaining and keeping a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Erin Elkins Appraisals, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers may frequently have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Erin Elkins Appraisals diligently adheres to.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We don't 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 don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers raise the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be defined 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," as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

With Erin Elkins Appraisals, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.