For honest and ethical appraisals, trust Cox Appraisal Services

Generally, appraising a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by an ethical code.

As appraisers our chief responsibility is to their client. Most of the time, for a typical 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 desire to review the appraisal document, you should request it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the parameters of the report, acquiring and maintaining a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Cox Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may often have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those third 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 keep their work files for a minimum of five years - at Cox Appraisal Services you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to 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 industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers increase the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from Cox Appraisal Services we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.