![]() Mojgan Scheidler upholds the utmost professional ethicsWe consider our job as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.
An appraiser's main responsibility is to their client.
Generally, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has contracted in order to maintain independence.
Appraisers are privy to a lot of data, and like an attorney, can only discuss many of these matters with their client. As
a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you normally have to request it via your lender and not the appraiser.
Appraisers may also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.
There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Mojgan Scheidler makes a part of their standard routine. Mojgan Scheidler holds itself to the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. Working on assignments where our fee is dependent on our value conclusion is never an option. That means we don't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. There's a definite conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a larger value with the reward of getting paid more money! We set ourselves to a higher standard. Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply "USPAP") also describes 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are doing everything we can to get you an accurate home or property value. As soon as you order an appraisal from Mojgan Scheidler, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you deserve along with the honesty and integrity we're known for. |