Honesty and Integrity: Barton M. Simpson Appraisals

We consider our what we do a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

As appraisers our primary responsibility is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. 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 want a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the parameters of the report, acquiring and maintaining a respectable 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 Barton M. Simpson Appraisals.

Appraisers can sometimes have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five years - at Barton M. Simpson Appraisals you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We refuse to accept anything less 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. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions most important rule, because it would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional 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 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 confident we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you order an appraisal from Barton M. Simpson Appraisals we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.