Honesty and Integrity: Tony G Weldon, R.E. Appraiser

By and large, appraising a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by an ethical code.

As appraisers our chief obligation is to his or her client. Typically, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you normally have to obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, acquiring and maintaining an adequate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Tony G Weldon, R.E. Appraiser, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may sometimes have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.

There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else Tony G Weldon, R.E. Appraiser takes very seriously.

When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we don'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 perhaps the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the estimate of the home would inflate the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines unethical behavior 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 objectively determine the home or property value.

With Tony G Weldon, R.E. Appraiser, you won't have any doubts that you're receiving 100 percent ethical, honest service.