Honesty and Integrity: Murray Appraisal Services, Inc.

Typically, appraising a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

The appraiser's primary responsibility is to his or her client. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, 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 want to review an appraisal report, you should request it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the nature of the report, acquiring and keeping an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Murray Appraisal Services, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five years - at Murray Appraisal Services, Inc. you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

When busy with an order, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Working on orders that contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the estimate of the home would inflate the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines unethical behavior as the acceptance 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 rest easy knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Murray Appraisal Services, Inc. we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.