Driver & Associates Appraisal Services provides honest and ethical appraisals for Denton County

Driver & Associates Appraisal Services maintains the highest professional ethics

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever before. That's why it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have quite a few responsibilities as appraisers, but above everything we answer to our clients. Typically, in residential practice, the lender (or an agent of the lender) places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. It's important to know that a lot of matters pertaining to an assignment are to be shared with the appraiser's client. So, as a homeowner, if you desire to review the appraisal document, you generally should request it from your lender instead of the appraiser.

Other obligations include numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, attaining and keeping an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Driver & Associates Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can frequently have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Typically the third parties are specifically 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 things in the framework of the job.


	Driver & Associates Appraisal Services has worked hard for its reputation for performing appraisals with the highest of ethics. To learn more, contact us.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for at least five years - something else Driver & Associates Appraisal Services diligently adheres to.

When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Accepting orders where our fee is dependent on our value conclusion is not something we can consider. That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. Anyone should be able to see that inflating a value to achieve essentially a bigger fee is unethical! We set ourselves to a higher standard.

Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice clearly states 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" as well as other situations. We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

When you engage Driver & Associates Appraisal Services, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the principles we're known for.