For honest and ethical appraisals, count on Trillium Appraisal

We consider our our business 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 certainly be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you should obtain it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate sums appropriate to the parameters of the assignment, acquiring and sustaining an adequate level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Maintaining high ethics is standard operating procedure for us at Trillium Appraisal.

Appraisers will often be obligated to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for a minimum of five years - at Trillium Appraisal you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. Doing assignments on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we don'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 biggest taboo, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the 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," as well as other situations. We diligently 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 Trillium Appraisal 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.