Honesty and Integrity: Michael Fagan

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the chief responsibility is to his or her client. More often than not, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are privy to a lot of information, and like an attorney can only discuss many matters with their client. As a homeowner, if you require a copy of an appraisal report, you generally have to obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate sums appropriate to the scope of the report, attaining and maintaining an appropriate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Michael Fagan , we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will often be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else Michael Fagan diligently adheres to.

When busy with an order, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. 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 can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the value of the home would increase the their paycheck. 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 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," in addition to other situations We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you order an appraisal from Michael Fagan 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.