For honest and ethical appraisals, trust JK Appraisal

We think of our business as 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 unquestionably be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the main obligation is to his or her client. Normally, 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 obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to request it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, acquiring and keeping a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at JK Appraisal, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

In some cases appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is restricted 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 duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - at JK Appraisal you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

JK Appraisal holds itself to the industry standards and mandates set in place for ethics. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can'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 perhaps 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 defined by state law or professional organizations 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 follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

With JK Appraisal, you won't have any doubts that you're getting 100 percent ethical, professional service.