For honest and ethical appraisals, count on HTX Appraisal

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have quite a few responsibilities as appraisers but our primary duty is to our clients. More often than not, for a normal residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you require to review an appraisal report, you generally have to obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the nature of the report, acquiring and keeping an appropriate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at HTX Appraisal, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

In some cases appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted 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 standards outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at HTX Appraisal you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries biggest no-no, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the value of the home would increase the their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states unethical behavior 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage HTX Appraisal 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.