The Appraisers Association of America (AAA), American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) announced an initiative on the qualification standards for appraisers. The groups said the standards were a needed step to improving professionalism and competency, and furthering public trust in personal property appraisers.
To help guide the initiative and frame the scope, new mission and vision statements were developed, leadership of the three organizations – Deborah Spanierman (AAA), Linda Trugman (ASA) and Christine Guernsey (ISA) – explained in a statement.
“Our mission is simple, to raise the public awareness of qualification standards for credentialed personal property appraisers who are members of The Appraisal Foundation sponsoring organizations,” the group said “The motivating intent behind the mission is explained through the coalition’s vision statement, ‘to protect the public from the risk and abuse of unqualified individuals performing personal property appraisals; to bring the Appraisal Foundation’s AQB (Appraisal Qualifications Board) standard to the forefront of public awareness. and to raise the profile of the credentialed personal property appraiser.’ ”
In addition to adhering to a code of ethics and following the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), members of these associations earn their credentials through stringent accreditation processes, as well as completing continuing education requirements. These requirements are meant to ensure the public that the appraisals performed by an accredited appraiser are among the most reliable appraisals available, they said.
All three organizations strongly urged the public to verify the educational and experiential background of an appraiser prior to retaining their services, and to be wary of red flags that indicate an appraiser might not be objective in conducting appraisals.
Examples they cited include charging for appraisals based on the appraised value of an item or offering to purchase an item the appraiser has appraised. Professional, competent appraisers always conduct appraisals at “arm’s-length,” without self-interest, they said.