For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Great Plains Appraisal, Inc.

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

For an appraiser the primary responsibility is to his or her client. Generally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have rules and regulations they must follow, including keeping many matters private for their clients a homeowner, if you want to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, acquiring and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Great Plains Appraisal, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those third parties who the appraiser knows, 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 be able to produce their work files for at least five years - something else Great Plains Appraisal, Inc. diligently adheres to.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would increase the their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

With Great Plains Appraisal, Inc., you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.