Ortiz Hawaii Real Estate Solutions, LLC upholds the highest professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

We have a great deal of obligations as appraisers but our main duty is to our clients. Normally, for a typical 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 would like to review the appraisal document, you should request it from your lender. Other obligations also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, acquiring and keeping a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Ortiz Hawaii Real Estate Solutions, LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can regularly have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is restricted to those third parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - something else Ortiz Hawaii Real Estate Solutions, LLC diligently adheres to.

We meet or beat the industry standards and rules set in place for ethics. We won't accept anything less from ourselves. We don't do assignments on contingency fees. That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the value of the home would up the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other improper 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 diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Ortiz Hawaii Real Estate Solutions, 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.