Have you ever met a real estate appraiser who shuddered or held up a hand to stop you when you mentioned the value you were hoping for? We have heard stories of appraisers who are extremely sensitive to what they perceive as "pressure" from realtors, homeowners, or lenders, and while some reactions may seem extreme or paranoid, it is also very important for appraisers to maintain a lack of bias. "Bias" means acting in favor of one thing or against another, and it is an integral part of the appraiser job description that we act with no bias, and in full compliance with the ethical requirements of USPAP (AKA the appraisal bible).
In fact, the preamble of USPAP states:
The purpose of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) is to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice by establishing requirements for appraisers...Contained within this notion of trust is a relationship that requires the professional to provide more than their skill or expertise. There is a distinct ethical obligation to act in the behalf of the public’s interest, not out of self-interest. Because of the public interest aspect of the service the public must be able to trust that a professional will act in an ethical and competent manner.
Since the main purpose of USPAP is to "promote and maintain a high level of public trust in appraisal practice," it is important that appraisers have standards of ethics and adhere to these standards firmly. Ideally, the appraiser's ethics are supposed to equally protect the buyer, seller, and the bank in a sale, or both the homeowner and the bank in a refinance. This means that an appraiser cannot "aim" for a value, or use comps provided by someone else if the appraiser finds that they are not the most similar, or purposely inflate or undershoot the value in anyway. 
Sometimes this can be frustrating, and understandably so. We do not like "killing a deal" either! However, it does happen sometimes (although luckily, not often at all these days!). When this happens, however, we remind ourselves that for most people, a house is the largest investment they will ever make, and we have a responsibility as appraisers to protect the consumer. We did many appraisals in the dark days following 2008, including many REO appraisals, and we never want to be inadvertently responsible for someone buying a home that is worth less than what they pay.
However, this is no reason to feel scared while interacting with an appraiser! We greatly enjoy interacting with both realtors and homeowners, and think that good relationships can be established far outside the realm of "pressure" or "bias." In fact, we wrote a post on the topic here.
What do you think of appraisal ethics? Have you ever encountered an appraisal who seemed to take this concept too far, or maybe an appraiser who seemed to have never heard of the concept? Let us know your experiences in the comments!
