For honest and ethical appraisals, trust BARNARD APPRAISALS

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. 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 definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, for a normal residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment can only be discussed with an appraiser's client. As a a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to get it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the nature of the report, acquiring and keeping a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at BARNARD APPRAISALS, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will regularly be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else BARNARD APPRAISALS takes very seriously.

We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you engage BARNARD APPRAISALS 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.