Paragraph (f) of Article (4) of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for the profession Real Estate Appraisal sets forth the duties of a certified appraiser when handling information and documents related to the preparation of an appraisal, including:

– The appraiser must thoroughly verify the accuracy and reliability of the data used in the appraisal.

– When obtaining information from a client, the appraiser must ascertain and document the extent to which the client trusts this information and must reasonably verify its accuracy.

– The appraiser must not rely on information provided by the client or any other party without verifying its suitability or confirming its source, unless its nature and degree of reliability are specified as a limiting condition—that is, as one of the parameters of the appraisal.

– The working file must contain all information supporting the appraiser’s work, even when a summary report is provided to the client.

– The working file must be prepared in such a way that a person with no prior connection to the assignment can review it and identify the stages of the process the appraiser went through to reach the results.