Kim Carr upholds the utmost professional ethics

We think of our job as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we must follow strict ethical considerations.

The appraiser's chief responsibility is to his or her client. Generally, in residential practice, 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 would like a copy of an appraisal report, you should get it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate sums appropriate to the parameters of the assignment, acquiring and keeping a respectable level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Kim Carr, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the job.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Kim Carr you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and rules set in place for professional behavior. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions biggest no-no, because it would invite appraisal fraud since increasing the estimate of the home would raise the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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 follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you engage Kim Carr we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.