For honest and ethical appraisals, rely on Northwest Montana Appraisals, Inc.

We consider our our job a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever before. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can certainly be considered a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by an ethical code.

For an appraiser the primary responsibility is to their client. Normally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you require to obtain a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it through your lender. Other responsibilities also include, accurate calculations appropriate to the nature of the report, reaching and sustaining a particular level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Northwest Montana Appraisals, Inc., we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Appraisers can also 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 parties who the appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of clients and others. For example, appraisers must store their work files for a minimum of five years - at Northwest Montana Appraisals, Inc. you can rest assured that we abide by that rule.

Northwest Montana Appraisals, Inc. holds itself to the industry standards and mandates set in place for professional behavior. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and get paid only if the loan closes. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since raising the value of the home would up the fee. We don't do that. Other unethical practices may be established by state law or professional organizations that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also states a violation in ethics 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 confident we are doing everything we can to objectively determine the home or property value.

With Northwest Montana Appraisals, Inc., you won't have any doubts that you're receiving 100 percent ethical, honest service.