Martin Slee provides honest and ethical appraisals for Contra Costa County

For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Martin Slee

Typically, appraising is a long term career. Requirements to become a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can definitely be considered a profession as opposed to a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

An appraiser's main obligation is to their client. Generally, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal, and often the appraisal is ordered by a third party the lender has hired in order to maintain independence. Certain elements relating to an assignment are to be discussed with the appraiser's client. As a homeowner, if you desire to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you generally have to get it from your lender and not the appraiser.

Other obligations include accurate sums appropriate to the scope of the assignment, reaching and sustaining an adequate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Here at Martin Slee, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

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 defined in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser's fiduciary role is only to those parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.


	Martin Slee has worked hard for his reputation for completing appraisals with the highest of ethics. Contact me today to learn more.

There are also ethical duties that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must keep their work files for at least five years - something else Martin Slee takes very seriously.

We meet or exceed the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Working on orders where our fee is dependent on our value conclusion is never an option. In other words, 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 fabricating a property's value to achieve a bigger paycheck is unethical!

Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice clearly 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", or "the amount of a value opinion" as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be confident we are working hard to objectively determine the home or property value.

With Martin Slee, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, professional service.