Honesty and Integrity: Trident Appraisal Services, LLC

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 definitely be called a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but first and foremost we answer to our clients. More often than not, for a standard residential appraisal, 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 require to review the appraisal document, you normally have to obtain it through your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, acquiring and maintaining an appropriate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics is standard operating procedure for us at Trident Appraisal Services, LLC.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are defined in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.

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 Trident Appraisal Services, LLC you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and mandates set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders 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. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the value of the home would increase the fee. We don't do that. Other improper practices may be established by state law or professional societies that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states unethical behavior as accepting 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 going above and beyond to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Trident Appraisal Services, LLC, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.