To All,
This is a tough topic. We can look for answers from the ASB, state boards, USPAP, CE classes, secondary market publications, other appraisal related sources, and they all either have nothing at all, or fall short of answering just one question in a way that clarifies what to do in all situations. Leaving the door wide open for personal politics to be used to cloud the issues regarding the duties of a real estate appraiser. Then what duties? The duties we all have in any situation as a member of the trade? The duties to our clients? The duties we might have to intended users of our reports? All things that have to be considered when we find illegal activities taking place on land we are asked to appraise. Perhaps we are in a position of not being able to determine if the activity is illegal or not, but we think it may be. The one question......What do we do?
I see in this thread that one answer is we use our personal politics to decide if we look the other way or report our findings. Another answer is we attempt to determine if the illegal activity is, or has a potential to, harming the land or improvements or expose them to governmental seizure by police powers, as a method to decide if we report our findings or not. Are we making this more complex than it really is? Perhaps the only question that matters is what parts of our findings, the things we observe during a viewing phase of our assignments,
do we not disclose under the ethical obligations on those who serve in this capacity? How many participating in this thread recognize those underlined words and know where they came from?
We have an obligation to disclose good things, do we not? We have an obligation to disclose things that might not be good. Where does our obligations allow us to bias our disclosures, or lack of them, based on our own personal political views of any certain topic or any certain laws that govern our society?
Perhaps our own trade's codes of conduct just have not had the time to mature since state licensing and all went into affect around 1991. After all, that is only seventeen years or so. We are only children compared to the codes of conduct of related real estate trades. Why don't we look towards the Code of Ethics And Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]©[/FONT] as our own seems to have failed to clarify this for us? It does have over a one hundred year head start on us and might guide us on all of this. What in that Code might apply?
While the Code of Ethics establishes obligations that may be higher than those mandated by law, in any instance where the Code of Ethics and the law conflict, the obligations of the law must take precedence.
That's a good one! .... Do we have something similar?
Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which Realtors[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]©[/FONT] should dedicate themselves, and for which they should be diligent in preparing themselves.
Gosh, what a mouthful that was! ... Too bad we did not include words just like that seventeen years ago or more in ours.
They identify and take steps, through enforcement of this Code of Ethics and by assisting appropriate regulatory bodies, to eliminate practices which may damage the public or which might discredit or bring dishonor to the real estate profession.
How it is our very own Preamble failed to contain such words is a travesty for us all. I personally would like to suggest the ASB try reading this other Code and asking if they can borrow some of it for ours! It is never too late.
Article 2: Realtors[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]©[/FONT] shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.
Standard of Practice 2-1: Realtors[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]©[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif] shall only be obligated to discover and disclose adverse factors reasonably apparent to someone with expertise in those areas required by their real estate licensing authority.[/FONT]
Alright then! Do not conceal pertinent facts, be responsible about things that would be reasonably apparent to anyone else working in the trade. That all seems fairly darn clear to me, what about you? Do we have words like those in our Standards? Darn good words if anyone asks me. Perhaps it is past time we all decide the word “
omission” belongs somewhere in the Conduct section of our Ethic's Rule, it got left out somehow. ... You know..... Stuff like not accept assignments based on unspoken agreements to omit pertinent facts as well as not to accept them based on predetermined opinions and conclusions? I think we should tighten all that up a bit, don't you?
Compared to a Code that was adopted first in 1913, ours has a long way to go in answering all our questions. Sure is too bad our governing bodies seem intent on reinventing the wheel regarding real estate ethics for our trade. Especially, when so very much can be learned just by consulting those who have gone before us in a related sector of real estate practices.
articularly considering the further information regarding the room that has been provided by the OP. 
