Honesty and Integrity: Art Johnson Appraisal Service

Appraising is typically a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.

We have a great deal of responsibilities as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. Typically, 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 require to review the appraisal document, you generally have to get it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, attaining and keeping a respectable level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Art Johnson Appraisal Service, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will regularly need to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five years - at Art Johnson Appraisal Service you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We demand the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the estimate of the home would up the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies 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," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Art Johnson Appraisal Service, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.