Honesty and Integrity: Pyramid Appraisals, Inc.

We consider our what we do a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. Typically, for a normal residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have rules and regulations they must follow, including keeping many matters private for their clients a homeowner, if you desire a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to request it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the scope of the assignment, reaching and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is is what we do everyday at Pyramid Appraisals, Inc..

Appraisers may frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. 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 job.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for at least five years - something else Pyramid Appraisals, Inc. makes a part of their standard routine.

When working on an assignment, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we don't 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 perhaps the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers increase the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. 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 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 working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you order an appraisal from Pyramid Appraisals, 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.