Appraisal Procurement Fees vs. Finder’s Fees
(by David Maloney) Appraisers often wonder if they are allowed to request a finder’s fee when referring an appraisal client to another appraiser, or a would-be consignor to an auction house. Or if appraisers can pay a fee to others in order to entice them to send appraisal business their way.
It is a confusing issue and the waters quickly become even more muddied when one takes into consideration that many appraisers perform in other roles, such as as dealers and auctioneers—roles which are not governed by USPAP and roles for which the awarding of finder’ fees is a common practice. USPAP sets forth requirements regarding fees or things of value being pro-actively paid by one performing as an appraiser in order to procure an appraisal assignment, but USPAP does not address accepting finder’s fees. (By the way, this is to be expected, since USPAP applies only to appraisers and not to individuals performing in non-appraiser roles such as dealers, estate liquidators, auctioneers, etc.)
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