To protect your financial well being and your investments, it is important that you engage a valuation professional. Whether its real estate, personal property or a business, consumers should engage a professional appraiser for an independent and impartial analysis of their property.
A qualified professional appraiser should adhere to the following:
- Education
- Over several decades the appraisal profession has developed generally recognized valuation methods and techniques, commonly known as body of knowledge. Conformance to these generally recognized methods and techniques promotes consistency in the work product of appraisers. A qualified appraiser will usually have training from any combination of the following sources: appraisal proprietary school, professional societies, and/or college or university courses.
- Experience
- A professional appraiser will have significant experience in applying the generally recognized valuations methods and techniques learned in the classroom to the marketplace.
- Examination
- A professional appraiser has been tested to ensure a thorough understanding of the subject matter and competency.
- Continuing Education
- A professional appraiser continues to take educational offerings on a periodic basis to ensure awareness of changes in valuation methods and techniques, technology and the marketplace.
- Adherence to a Written Set of Ethical and Performance Standards
- Following an established code of conduct focusing on conduct and ethics such as the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, is a cornerstone for a professional appraiser.
- Accountability for Conduct
- Either a government appraiser regulatory agency or a peer review panel of a professional appraisal society affords due process to the public regarding complaints about the conduct of appraisers.
Professional appraisers adhere to written set of performance standards, known as the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). The U.S. Congress has recognized USPAP as the generally accepted set of of standards for professional appraisal practice in the United States. USPAP contains standards for all types of appraisal services including real property, personal property, business valuation and mass appraisal. USPAP compliance is also required by professional appraisal associations, client groups and by dozens of federal, state and local agencies.
By following USPAP, a professional appraiser helps foster public trust in valuation through:
- Impartiality and Objectivity
- A professional appraiser must be independent, impartial, and objective. A professional appraiser’s opinion of value must bot be biased.
- Ethical Conduct
- A professional appraiser will adhere to a generally recognized code of ethical conduct, which is contained in USPAP. In addition, many professional appraisal societies have their own codes of conduct.
- Full Disclosure
- A professional appraiser will disclose all relevant information to ensure that the appraisal is understandable to the user, and not misleading.
- Confidentiality
- A professional appraiser will treat confidential information as such. When in doubt, the appraiser should always check with the client to determine what is or is not confidential information.
- Competency
- A professional appraiser should have knowledge and experience in performing similar assignments.
- Independence
- A professional appraiser cannot be compensated based upon the results of the appraisal.