Appraiser’s Code of Conduct Under Scrutiny

On July 28th, 2009 CAARE was briefly interviewed on public radio about the problems with the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct.  The purpose of the HVCC is to obtain sound appraisals free of influence and coercion from vendors and parties to the transaction.  The goals are accomplished by preventing interested parties from communicating directly with appraisers. 

CAARE supports the idea of an HVCC but finds severe defects in the way this idea was implemented.  The end results of this first attempt at a good idea are higher prices and lower quality appraisals for consumers, lower pay for appraisers and the creation of an unregulated new profit center called Appraisal Management Companies (“AMC”).  We have solutions.

We ask, “Why to stop with appraisals?”  All the safeguard industries for which residential real estate depend are also routinely subjected to coercion, undue influence, bribery and self-dealing.  An economic recovery is likely to stall if those other areas are not also addressed.

It is time to remove all conflicts of interest from the residential real estate.