Kicklighter Realty Inc maintains the utmost professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession as opposed to a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

An appraiser's chief responsibility is to his or her client. More often than not, for a normal residential appraisal, 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 want to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, acquiring and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Kicklighter Realty Inc, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will frequently need to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Normally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - at Kicklighter Realty Inc you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

Kicklighter Realty Inc holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. We have a responsibility not to do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries biggest no-no, because it would tend to make appraisers up the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be defined by state law or professional organizations to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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 provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

As soon as you engage Kicklighter Realty Inc we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.