Honesty and Integrity: William A. Cooke, LLC

We consider our our business 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 certainly be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we have a strict ethical code.

We have quite a few obligations as appraisers but our primary duty is to our clients. Normally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require to obtain a copy of an appraisal report, you should get it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate sums appropriate to the scope of the report, acquiring and maintaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at William A. Cooke, LLC, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers will often be required to consider the interests of third parties, such as homeowners, both sellers and buyers, or others. Typically the third parties are explicitly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is only to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Appraisers also have duties outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must backup their work files for a minimum of five years - something else William A. Cooke, LLC takes very seriously.

William A. Cooke, LLC holds itself to the industry standards and mandates set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. We never do assignments on contingency fees. 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 professions biggest no-no, because it would tend to make appraisers raise the value of homes or properties to increase their fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines unethical behavior as the acceptance 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 confident we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you engage William A. Cooke, 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.