Honesty and Integrity: Pete Peterson Appraisal Services

Generally, appraising a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by an ethical code.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but our primary duty is to our clients. Typically, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have rules and regulations they must follow, including confidentiality for their clients a homeowner, if you require a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, acquiring and keeping a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Pete Peterson Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - at Pete Peterson Appraisal Services you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We only perform to the highest ethical standards possible. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the estimate of the home would up the their paycheck. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be defined by state law or professional societies 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from Pete Peterson Appraisal Services we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.