For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on a la mode, inc.

We think of our business as a profession. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can certainly be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we must follow strict ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the main responsibility is to their client. Typically, in residential practice, 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 a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the assignment, acquiring and keeping a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at a la mode, inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers may sometimes have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Those third parties normally are listed in scope of the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - at a la mode, inc. you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

a la mode, inc. holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. We never do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to 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 increase the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states 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," in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you request an appraisal from a la mode, 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.