D. Robbins & Associates, Inc. upholds the utmost professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the chief obligation is to his or her client. More often than not, for a regular residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the scope of the assignment, acquiring and sustaining a respectable level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at D. Robbins & Associates, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can often have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, 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 things in the framework of the job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else D. Robbins & Associates, Inc. takes very seriously.

We demand the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Doing assignments on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the value of the home would up the fee. We don't do that. 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," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With D. Robbins & Associates, Inc., you won't have any doubts that you're getting 100 percent ethical, professional service.