As a seasoned real estate appraiser, it’s vital to remind you that appraisal is not merely a job – it’s a profession, and we, appraisers, are professionals. Bound by an ethical framework, our conduct within this field is held to the highest standards.

The cornerstone of an appraiser’s work is their responsibility to the client. In residential cases, our client is typically the lender who commissions the appraisal to make informed decisions regarding mortgage loans. We owe our clients duties of confidentiality, numerical accuracy, as well as maintaining a certain level of competency and education. As homeowners, to access an appraisal report, you generally need to request it via your lender. Here, we treat these ethical obligations with utmost seriousness.

Appraisers may also find themselves in fiduciary relationships with third parties, such as homeowners, buyers, sellers, and others. These relationships are explicitly detailed in the appraisal assignment. Our fiduciary responsibility is confined to those third parties explicitly identified in the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Beyond these relational ethics, there exist more universal ethical standards that appraisers must adhere to. For instance, keeping work files for a minimum of five years is a requirement, not an option.

Our commitment to ethics is uncompromising, and we adhere to the highest ethical standards possible.

• We do not undertake assignments on contingency fees, meaning we won’t agree to carry out an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan is approved.
• We steer clear from assignments on percentage fees, a frowned-upon practice within the appraisal profession as it incentivizes the inflation of home or property values for personal gain. We staunchly oppose such unethical behavior.
• We follow all laws defined by state law or professional societies that an appraiser belongs to, ensuring our practices are consistently ethical.

Furthermore, The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines as unethical 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, and other things. Therefore, you can trust that our work is carried out with the sole aim of objectively determining the home or property value.

With Granite Appraisal Group, you can rest assured you’re in the hands of an ethical and professional service provider.