"Appraiser Ethics"
Real estate appraisal reporting is a profession, and licensed real estate appraisers are professionals.  In our field as with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations as prescribed by State regulations.

A licensed appraiser's primary responsibility should be to his or her client.  Normally, in residential practice, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal assignment to decide whether to make the mortgage loan.  Licensed appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients-- as a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report, you normally have to request it through your lender-- obligations of numerical accuracy depending on the assignment parameters, an obligation to attain and maintain a certain level of competency and education, and must generally conduct him or herself as a professional.  Here, at Cheney Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously.

Licensed appraisers may also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others.  Normally, those third parties are spelt out in the appraisal assignment itself.  An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the licensed appraiser knows, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

There are ethical rules that have nothing to do with clients and others.  Licensed appraisers must keep their work files for a minimum of five (5) years. 

Albert Marshall Cheney, a "Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser," strives to perform at the highest ethical standards possible when completing assignments for clients.  We don't do assignments on contingency fees.  That is, we don't 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 profession’s biggest no-no, because it would tend to make licensed appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties to increase their paycheck.  Cheney Appraisal Services doesn't do that.  Other unethical practices may be defined by a State's law or professional societies, in which, a licensed appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines as unethical the acceptance of an assignment contingent upon "the reporting of a pre-determined result (e.g., opinion of value estimate)," "a direction in assignment with results which favors the client's cause," "the amount of a value opinion," and other things.  This means you can be assured we are working to objectively determine the home or property value.

With over 30 years Experience, you can be assured of Integrity, Professionalism and Quality Reports when using Albert Marshall Cheney, a "Certified Residential & FHA/HUD Home Appraiser!"  Cheney Appraisal Services is located within the city of Mobile and covers the entire "Mobile Bay Metro Area," Baldwin and Mobile Counties of Alabama.