Frequently asked questions:
     ■ What is a 'Comp Check'?
     ■ Why is payment required prior to the completion of the appraisal report?
     ■ I need an appraisal, but I only want to pay for it if it is going to enable a loan for my
         customer / myself.  If you tell me that you can make that value, I will order the
         appraisal.  Can you do this?
     ■ How is the value of the appraisal report determined?
     ■ What should I do to prepare for an appraisal inspection?
     ■ May I have a copy of the report?
     ■ A competitor is advertising a lower appraisal fee.  Why should I order from you
        instead of them?

On every report, appraisers must certify that compensation for performing the appraisal is not conditioned on a predetermined value.  By only accepting payment prior to the completion of the report, we are protected from any arguments against our ethical responsibilities.  Further, we accept credit card payments as well as accept credit card deposits, refunded when payment is received in the future.  With these options, payment for the appraisal can be deferred and paid for out of the proceeds of a loan at no additional cost to the borrower or lending company.

There are also, unfortunately, individuals out there who have no intention of paying for an appraisal that does not meet their value expectations or that will order appraisals from several appraisers and only pay for the appraisal that results in the highest value.  Not only do we need to protect ourselves from these individuals, but we really have to avoid being in situations where we are concerned that payment will be contingent on a particular value because then we are not creating appraisal reports from an unbiased position.