Jeremy,
Please do at least read this:
http://appraisersforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12680
Not all state appraisal board members know what they're doing either.
The following is directly from USPAP 2003 I added the bold in the areas you REALLY NEED to read!!!!!!!
ETHICS:
Management:
The payment of undisclosed fees, commissions, or things of value in connection
with the procurement of an assignment is unethical.
Comment: Disclosure of fees, commissions, or things of value connected to the
procurement of an assignment must appear in the certification and in any
transmittal letter in which conclusions are stated. In groups or organizations
engaged in appraisal practice, intra-company payments to employees for business
development are not considered to be unethical. Competency, rather than financial
incentives, should be the primary basis for awarding an assignment.
It is unethical for an appraiser to accept compensation for performing an
assignment when it is contingent upon:
1. the reporting of a predetermined result (e.g., opinion of value);
2. a direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the client;
3. the amount of a value opinion;
4. the attainment of a stipulated result; or
5. the occurrence of a subsequent event directly related to the appraiser's
opinions and specific to the assignment's purpose.
Advertising for or soliciting assignments in a manner that is false, misleading, or
exaggerated is unethical.
Comment: In groups or organizations engaged in appraisal practice, decisions
concerning finder or referral fees, contingent compensation, and advertising may
not be the responsibility of an individual appraiser, but for a particular assignment,
it is the responsibility of the individual appraiser to ascertain that there has been no
breach of ethics, that the assignment is prepared in accordance with these Standards, and that the report can be properly certified when required by Standards Rules 2-3, 3-3, 5-3, 6-8, 8-3, or 10-3.
***********************
From STANDARDS RULE 2-3:
(This Standards Rule contains binding requirements from which departure is not permitted.)
Each written real property appraisal report must contain a signed certification
that is similar in content to the following form:
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief:
* the statements of fact contained in this report are true and correct.
* the reported analyses, opinions, and conclusions are limited only by the
reported assumptions and limiting conditions and are my personal, impartial,
and unbiased professional analyses, opinions, and conclusions.
* I have no (or the specified) present or prospective interest in the property
that is the subject of this report and no (or the specified) personal interest with
respect to the parties involved.
* I have no bias with respect to the property that is the subject of this report
or to the parties involved with this assignment.
* my engagement in this assignment was not contingent upon developing or
reporting predetermined results.
* my compensation for completing this assignment is not contingent upon
the development or reporting of a predetermined value or direction in value
that favors the cause of the client, the amount of the value opinion, the
attainment of a stipulated result, or the occurrence of a subsequent event
directly related to the intended use of this appraisal.
* my analyses, opinions, and conclusions were developed, and this report
has been prepared, in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice.
* I have (or have not) made a personal inspection of the property that is the
subject of this report. (If more than one person signs this certification, the
certification must clearly specify which individuals did and which individuals did not make a personal inspection of the appraised property.)
* no one provided significant real property appraisal assistance to the
person signing this certification. (If there are exceptions, the name of each
individual providing significant real property appraisal assistance must be
stated.)
Comment: A signed certification is an integral part of the appraisal report. An
appraiser who signs any part of the appraisal report, including a letter of transmittal, must also sign this certification.
Any appraiser(s) who signs a certification accepts full responsibility for all elements of the certification, for the assignment results, and for the contents of the
appraisal report.
When a signing appraiser(s) has relied on work done by others who do not sign the
certification, the signing appraiser is responsible for the decision to rely on their
work.
The signing appraiser(s) is required to have a reasonable basis for believing that
those individuals performing the work are competent and that their work is
credible.21
The names of individuals providing significant real property appraisal assistance
who do not sign a certification must be stated in the certification. It is not required
that the description of their assistance be contained in the certification, but
disclosure of their assistance is required in accordance with SR 2-2(a), (B), or
©(vii), as applicable.
