Honesty and Integrity: 1 Valuations LLC

Appraising is typically a long term career. The rigors of becoming 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 definitely be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.

For an appraiser the primary obligation is to his or her client. 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 want to review an appraisal report, you normally have to request it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, reaching and maintaining an appropriate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at 1 Valuations LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may also have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - something else 1 Valuations LLC makes a part of their standard routine.

When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we can'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 probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would increase the fee. 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 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be confident we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With 1 Valuations LLC, you won't have any doubts that you're getting 100 percent ethical, professional service.