Appraiser cum Broker Anomaly

There is an anomaly on the appraised value of the property when the Appraiser and the Broker is one and the same person. Although the function of the appraiser is to render an honest opinion of the current price of the property, the function of the broker is to protect and serve the interest of the client.

If the client is the property owner who is selling the property, his interest is to sell it at the highest price that can be justified by the sense of reason. The broker that he hires as his agent is presumed to be loyal to him and will always protect his interest of selling it at the highest price possible. The broker would be caught in a situation called "conflict of interest" if he is the same person as the appraiser.

Therefore, we can fairly assume that if the appraiser is at the same time a broker agent of the seller, the appraised value will most often be jacked-up. The other way around, if the appraiser is at the same time a broker agent of the buyer, the appraised value price would somewhat be lower than what it should be.