For honest and ethical appraisals, count on Cochise Appraisal Service

We think of our job as a profession. The rigors of becoming 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 rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have quite a few responsibilities as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have rules and regulations they must follow, including keeping many matters private for their clients a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, reaching and maintaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Cochise Appraisal Service, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may sometimes have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is limited to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework 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 - at Cochise Appraisal Service you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

We require the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. Working on orders that 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 don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would inflate the fee. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional societies that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines a violation in ethics 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," as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are doing everything we can to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from Cochise Appraisal Service 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.