G. Kutz Appraisals provides honest and ethical appraisals for Luzerne County

Honesty and Integrity: G. Kutz Appraisals

Appraising is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have increased more than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be dubbed a profession rather than a trade. In our field, as with any profession, we have a strict ethical code.

We have a great deal of responsibilities as appraisers, but our chief duty is to our clients. Typically, for a regular residential appraisal, the lender (or an agent of the lender) places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Thereon, appraisers are typically restricted to only disclosing their findings to their clients, so as a homeowner, if you would like a copy of the appraisal document, you normally should get it from your lender and not the appraiser.

Other obligations include numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, attaining and keeping an appropriate level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics and client confidentiality is just normal course of business for us at G. Kutz Appraisals.

Appraisers may also have fiduciary obligations to third parties, including homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Generally the third parties are clearly defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary duty is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the job.


	G. Kutz Appraisals has worked hard for its reputation for completing appraisals with the highest of ethics. Contact us 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 a minimum of five years - something else G. Kutz Appraisals diligently adheres to.

We require the highest ethical standards possible from ourselves. Doing orders based on contingency fees is not something we can consider. That means we don't agree to do an appraisal report and base our pay upon coming up with a particular value conclusion. There's a definite conflict of interest if an appraiser can report a greater value with the reward of getting paid more money!

Finally, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (or simply "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", or "the amount of a value opinion" in addition to other situations We diligently follow these rules to the letter which means you can be assured we are going above and beyond to objectively determine the home or property value.

As soon as you engage G. Kutz Appraisals, we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the honesty and integrity we're known for.