Honesty and Integrity: Pahlen Realty, Inc.

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more 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 a great deal of responsibilities as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. Most of the time, for a typical residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, reaching and sustaining a respectable level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Pahlen Realty, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers may frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Pahlen Realty, Inc. you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

We demand the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Doing assignments on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we don'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 perhaps the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the estimate of the home would up the their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 be at ease knowing we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you request an appraisal from Pahlen Realty, Inc. 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.