Hendrix/Baker Appraisal Svc upholds the highest professional ethics

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

An appraiser's primary responsibility is to his or her 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 want to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you normally have to obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, acquiring and maintaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Hendrix/Baker Appraisal Svc, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, both sellers and buyers, 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 written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - at Hendrix/Baker Appraisal Svc you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

Hendrix/Baker Appraisal Svc holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing assignments 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. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the value of the home would increase the fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional societies that the 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," in addition to 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.

With Hendrix/Baker Appraisal Svc, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.