Honesty and Integrity: Herrin Appraisal Company

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult 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 rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have many obligations as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the parameters of the assignment, reaching and keeping a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Herrin Appraisal Company, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will frequently need to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - at Herrin Appraisal Company you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't 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 perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be defined 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 going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you engage Herrin Appraisal Company we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.