Initial privacy Notice

Initial Privacy Notice

Our privacy principles: We are committed to protecting our clients' personal and financial information. This privacy statement addresses what nonpublic personal information we collect, what we do with it, and how we protect it.
What information we collect: We may collect and maintain several types of personal information in the course of providing you with appraisal services, such as:

Information we receive from you on applications, letters of engagement, forms found on our website, correspondence, or conversations, including, but not limited to, your name, address, phone number, social security number, date of birth, bank records, salary information, the income and expenses associated with the subject property, the sale price of the subject property, and the details of any financing on the subject property.
Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates or others, including, but not limited to, payments history, parties to transactions and other financial information.
Information we receive from a consumer reporting agency such as a credit history.

What information we may disclose: We may disclose the nonpublic personal information about you described above, primarily to provide you with the appraisal services you seek from us. We do not disclose nonpublic personal information about clients or former clients except as required or permitted by law.

Who we share the information with: Unless you tell us not to, we may disclose nonpublic personal information about you to the following types of third parties:

Financial service providers, such as banks and lending institutions.
Non-financial companies.

You may limit information shared about you. If you prefer that we not disclose nonpublic personal information about you to third parties, you may opt out of those disclosures, that is, you may direct us not to make those disclosures (other than those permitted by law). If you wish to opt out contact us at 412-831-1500 or complete an opt-out form at our web site, located at on our appraisal order form located within this web site.

Confidentiality and Security Policy

We consider privacy to be fundamental to our relationship with clients. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and security of clients' personal information. Internal policies have been developed to protect this confidentiality, while allowing client needs to be served.

We restrict access to personal information to authorized individuals who need to know this information to provide service and products for you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to protect your nonpublic personal information. We do not disclose this information about you or any former consumers or customers to anyone, except as permitted by law. The law permits us to share this information with our affiliates. The law also permits us to share this information with companies that perform marketing services for us, or other financial institutions that have joint marketing agreements with us.

When we share nonpublic information referred to above, the information is made available for limited purposes and under controlled circumstances. We require third parties to comply with our standards for security and confidentiality. We do not permit use of consumer/customer information for any other purpose nor do we permit third parties to rent, sell, trade or otherwise release or disclose information to any other party.

WARNING!

(ARM) Adjustable Rate Mortgage Holders!

New credit reporting criteria!

A new credit-scoring system that rates borrowers based on the type of mortgage they have could cause people with adjustable mortgages to pay higher interest rates on everything from credit cards to car loans.

Some financial experts, however, say this system bears a close resemblance to so-called universal default, which allows a credit card company to raise a customer's interest rate if he makes a late payment with another creditor.

"This is pretty much going to be all that credit card companies, student loan companies, auto lenders and other banks need to charge customers higher rates solely based on the kind of mortgages they have," said Lynnette Khalfani, a former reporter for t e Wall Street Journal and CNBC, and author of "Zero Debt." "Folks who were teased and seduced to sign up for ARMs just two years ago are paying for that decision in ways they never imagined," Mrs. Khalfani said. "You could never fathom it would cause higher rates on credit cards and higher payments too. That smacks of unfairness to the consumer." Not everyone with ARMs is struggling to make ends meet.