For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Mark A. Ballard & Associates

By and large, appraising a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

The appraiser's primary obligation is to his or her client. Normally, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment can only be discussed with an appraiser's client. As a a homeowner, if you require a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the scope of the report, acquiring and maintaining a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Mark A. Ballard & Associates, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will often be required to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Mark A. Ballard & Associates diligently adheres to.

We meet or beat the industry standards and mandates set in place for ethics. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions biggest no-no, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the value of the home would raise the fee. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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," as well as other situations. We diligently 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.

When you order an appraisal from Mark A. Ballard & Associates we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.