For honest and ethical appraisals, count on Meeks Appraisals, LLC

We think of our job as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So 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 have a strict ethical code.

We have a lot of obligations as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. Normally, for a normal residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of privacy to their clients, and 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 scope of the assignment, acquiring and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Meeks Appraisals, LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is restricted to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Appraisers also have rules outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - at Meeks Appraisals, LLC you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

When working on an appraisal, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. 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 don't do that. Other unethical practices may be defined by state law or professional societies that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines a violation in ethics 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you engage Meeks Appraisals, LLC we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the ethical handling of appraisals that we're known for.