Honesty and Integrity: Villa Group Inc

We think of what we do as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can certainly be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

For an appraiser the primary obligation is to their client. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, 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 an appraisal report, you should get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the assignment, reaching and maintaining an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Villa Group Inc, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers will regularly be required to consider the interests of third parties, including homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties normally are spelled out in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the assignment.

There are also ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five years - something else Villa Group Inc takes very seriously.

When creating reports, we follow the highest ethical standards possible. Doing assignments on contingency fees is never an option. That is, we can't agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite appraisal fraud since raising the estimate of the home would raise the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. 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 states 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," in addition to other situations We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you order an appraisal from Villa Group Inc we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.