Cornerstone Property Appraisal Group, LLC maintains the highest professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be considered a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have many obligations as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. Generally, for a normal residential appraisal, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to request it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the nature of the report, acquiring and keeping a respectable level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Cornerstone Property Appraisal Group, LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will regularly be required to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - at Cornerstone Property Appraisal Group, LLC you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

We demand the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would inflate the their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical 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 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Cornerstone Property Appraisal Group, LLC, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.