Honesty and Integrity: JGI Valuations

We consider our our job a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have a great deal of responsibilities as appraisers but above everything we answer to our clients. More often than not, for a regular residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require a copy of the appraisal document, you normally have to get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, attaining and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is is what we do everyday at JGI Valuations.

In some cases 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 responsibility is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - at JGI Valuations you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

We demand the highest professional integrity possible from ourselves. Working on assignments that contingency fees is never an option. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. Another practice that's restricted is doing assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries biggest taboo, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the estimate of the home would inflate the fee. We don't do that. 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 defines 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," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

With JGI Valuations, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.