Honesty and Integrity: James K Greer & Associates, Inc.

Generally, appraising a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. Typically, 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 to review an appraisal report, you should obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to 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 James K Greer & Associates, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

In some cases appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is restricted to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

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 a minimum of five years - something else James K Greer & Associates, Inc. makes a part of their standard routine.

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 the fee only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers raise the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines 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 confident we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

With James K Greer & Associates, Inc., you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.