Honesty and Integrity: Nicole Hammond Appraisal

We think of our business as a profession. The rigors of becoming 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 rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but our main duty is to our clients. Generally, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report, you should request it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, reaching and keeping an adequate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Nicole Hammond Appraisal, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers may also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited 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 backup their work files for at least five years - something else Nicole Hammond Appraisal makes a part of their standard routine.

Nicole Hammond Appraisal holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. We never 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 probably the appraisal professions biggest no-no, because it would tend to make appraisers up the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical practices may be defined 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," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Nicole Hammond Appraisal, you won't have any doubts that you're receiving 100 percent ethical, professional service.