Honesty and Integrity: DW Appraisals, LLC

We think of our business as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by an ethical code.

For an appraiser the primary obligation is to his or her client. Typically, for a normal residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information 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, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, acquiring and sustaining a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at DW Appraisals, LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. 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.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - something else DW Appraisals, LLC diligently adheres to.

DW Appraisals, LLC holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. Working on orders that contingency fees is never an option. 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 biggest taboo, because it would tend to make appraisers up the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. 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 defines unethical behavior 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," in addition to other situations We 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.

As soon as you engage DW Appraisals, LLC we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.