For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Anthony DePalma

We consider our our job a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.

The appraiser's primary responsibility is to their client. Most of the time, for a normal residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire a copy of the appraisal document, you should obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, attaining and keeping an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Maintaining high ethics is standard operating procedure for us at Anthony DePalma.

Appraisers may sometimes have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty 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 assignment.

Appraisers also have standards 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 Anthony DePalma diligently adheres to.

We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. We never 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 most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers raise the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 rest easy knowing we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you order an appraisal from Anthony DePalma we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.