I'm seeing this and I'm now wishing I hadn't clicked into this thread.
A lot of people seem to think that what we sell is value opinions; but in my view that's really not true. There's nothing special or marketable about having a value opinion. Everyone and their dog has a value opinion. What makes our value opinions marketable - let alone relevant - are our assertions of complete impartiality. We assert that we will ignore what everyone else wants in the way of a value conclusion, including our own clients.
When an appraiser conspires with a client to cheat the other intended users of that impartiality, by doing things they certify in the appraisal that they don't do, that detracts from their own integrity as well as to the public's perception of the integrity of the entire appraisal profession. That's because even if there isn't a 3rd party to bear witness and "prove" an allegation to a state board, the client themself knows of the appraiser's compromise. There is no such thing as a secret in our society.
Moreover, word of that appraiser's "cooperation" gets around, no matter what the client promises to their co-conspirator. These clients tell their borrowers, they tell their peers, and if jammed on a bad appraisal by a lender they'll roll over on the appraiser in a heartbeat. There are other progressions, too. Once that client knows they have a weak appraiser on the hook they become emboldened to ask for more compromises, including more serious compromises, based on the appraiser's demonstrated lack of personal integrity. The next step for that client is to project those same expectations to every other appraiser they deal with.
This sequence and its results are not a matter of idle conjecture. All of us have had the experience of clients asking us to do something we're not supposed to do and then professing surprise based on their past experiences that "every other appraiser does it". Even though that's usually a gross exaggeration the fact remains that there is a kernel of truth in there somewhere, thanks to some donkey who decided their point of no return is defined by their chances of getting caught.
So in answer to what the professional appraiser would do in the above situation, the answer is that they wouldn't be so foolish as to allow themselves to get into that situation in the first place. They'd use the "no" word right up front and let the donkey client go find their team player appraiser somewhere else.
I mean, it's not as if that donkey client is actually going to be grateful to their team player or show any loyalty. Usually what happens is they come to expect those "favors" as representing the minimum basis of their relationship. Its inevitable that the longer that relationship goes, the greater that client's sense of entitlement becomes and the less room they leave that appraiser to say "no". Such a relationship is doomed to die within a matter of months, if even that long. So there is no long term payoff for laying on your back for a client, particularly for a loan originator client.
This might sound like a lot or moralizing, but it's not. It's really about being practical. If what we really sell are our reputations for playing it straight down the middle then doing anything to undermine that perception among our clients only plays to the strengths of the AVMs and the BPOs and the lowest common denominators in the appraisal business. Taken to its logical conclusion, undermining our own integrity detracts from the economic lifespan of our profession. The "public trust" is the only thing that keeps the appraisal profession alive.
It's not altruistic to diligently try always to do the right thing; it's ultimately a matter of survival over the long term.
