Ethics and Responsibility

Appraisal is a profession, and appraisers are professionals. In our field, as with any profession, we are bound by ethical considerations.

Appraisers have obligations such as numerical accuracy, are required to attain and maintain a certain level of competency and education, and must conduct themselves as professionals. At Red River Group we take these ethical responsibilities very seriously through our deep commitment to the Appraisal Institute of Canada and CUSPAP high standard of ethics.

Releasing a Report
Typically, in residential practice, the appraiser’s client is the lender (who is ordering an appraisal when deciding whether to make a mortgage loan). Appraisers have certain duties of confidentiality to their clients: the appraisal report is confidential information for the client ordering the report. As a homeowner, if you want a copy of an appraisal report that was ordered through your financial institution, you need to request it through your lender.

Fiduciary Obligations
Appraisers may have fiduciary obligations to third parties, such as homeowners, both buyers and sellers, or others. Those third parties are identified in the appraisal assignment itself. An appraiser’s fiduciary duty is limited to those third parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the assignment.

No Contingency or Percentage Fees
We do not accept assignments based on contingency or percentage fees. Practices such as these would tend to make appraisers inflate the value of homes or properties.