For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Alexandria Bedford

We think of our job as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. Generally, in residential practice, 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 review the appraisal document, you should obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, reaching and maintaining an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Alexandria Bedford, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll 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 job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Alexandria Bedford makes a part of their standard routine.

We meet or beat the industry standards and mandates set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to 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 professions most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers raise the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. 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 defines 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 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.

With Alexandria Bedford, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.