Honesty and Integrity: Mau Realty Inc.

We think of what we do as a profession. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question in this day and age that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be called a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we must follow strict ethical considerations.

As appraisers our chief responsibility is to their client. Generally, in residential practice, the lender places the order to the appraiser, becoming the appraiser's client. Appraisers are required to only disclosing information to their clients, and as a homeowner, if you would like to review the appraisal document, you should obtain it from your lender. Other obligations also include, accurate figures appropriate to the scope of the report, attaining and maintaining a particular level of competency and education, and the appraiser must conduct him or herself as a professional. Maintaining high ethics is standard operating procedure for us at Mau Realty Inc..

There are some scenarios in which appraisers will have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, buyers and sellers, or others. Typically the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary responsibility is limited to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other things in the framework of the order.

There are also ethical standards that have nothing to do with whom we share information. For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Mau Realty Inc. you can rest assured that we stick to that rule.

Mau Realty Inc. holds itself to the industry standards and rules set in place for professional behavior. We refuse to accept anything less from ourselves. Working on assignments that contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we don't agree to do an appraisal report and collect the fee only if the loan closes. We can't do assignments on percentage fees. That is probably the appraisal professions biggest taboo, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the value of the home would raise the their paycheck. We don't do that. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies that the appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also 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," "the amount of a value opinion," in addition to other situations We follow these rules to the letter which means you can be at ease knowing we are doing everything we can to objectively determine the home or property value.

When you engage Mau Realty Inc. we'll make sure you're getting the professional service you expect along with the an ethical approach with appraisals that we're known for.