Honesty and Integrity: Burke Valuations LLC

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have quite a few obligations as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you should get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the assignment, attaining and maintaining a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Burke Valuations LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will sometimes need to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility 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 duties that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for at least five years - at Burke Valuations LLC you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

Burke Valuations LLC holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the value of the home would raise the fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be defined by state law or professional societies that the 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 assured we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you engage Burke Valuations LLC we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.