Honesty and Integrity: Barnes Appraisal Service

We think of our business as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be called a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.

We have a lot of responsibilities as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. More often than not, in residential practice, 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 require a copy of the appraisal document, you should obtain it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, attaining and sustaining an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Barnes Appraisal Service, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else Barnes Appraisal Service takes very seriously.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. Working on assignments that contingency fees is never an option. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers up the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional organizations 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 follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Barnes Appraisal Service, you won't have any doubts that you're getting 100 percent ethical, professional service.