In the wake of the housing market crash, the public has been inundated with stories of homeowners facing foreclosure, banks closing and once-successful real estate agents and appraisers struggling to make ends meet. As the government and media strive to determine who and what is to blame for this country’s financial crisis, the professionals who continue to work in the real estate industry find themselves operating in an ever-increasing litigious environment. Real estate appraisers, specifically, are routinely expected to sign engagement agreements with lending institutions containing indemnity provisions.

A common indemnity provision looks like this: