FAQs

1. Why are you qualified to do an appraisal on my property?

Being a designated member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) such as an AACI, P. App. (Accredited Appraiser of the Canadian Institute, Professional Appraiser) means that the appraiser is recognized by the AIC as having completed a rigorous academic program through the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and completed the applied experience program through the AIC, under the guidance of an accredited appraiser as their mentor. An AACI is allowed to prepare appraisals on all types of real property, including agricultural and commercial property.There is also an additional designation from the AIC, which is the Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA) designation. These appraisers are qualified to appraise individual, undeveloped residential dwelling sites and dwellings containing not more than four self-contained family housing units.2. Why is it necessary to prepare an appraisal report when all I want is the value of my property?

There is also an additional designation from the AIC, which is the Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA) designation. These appraisers are qualified to appraise individual, undeveloped residential dwelling sites and dwellings containing not more than four self-contained family housing units.

2. Why is it necessary to prepare an appraisal report when all I want is the value of my property?

Why can’t you give the value in a letter?

The appraisal of a property is a systematic process undertaken by the appraiser. The rules which guide appraisers in Canada are the Canadian Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practise or CUSPAP (“the Standards”). The Standards provide guidance to appraisers as to what has to be included in an appraisal report, which outlines all of the items which must be included in the appraisal report to give the information necessary for the intended users of the report to have all of the information necessary about the subject property. The report includes some of the information the appraiser used to determine the market value of the property, and also explains the rationale used to support the value conclusion by the appraiser. The reporting process for an appraiser outlines all the information that the appraiser used and the thought process that he or she used to make their final value conclusion in the form of a written report.

3. Why would I need an appraisal?

There are a variety of reasons that a person would need an appraisal. If you go to purchase a property, build a new building on your property, or refinance your property, you are often required to have an up to date appraisal report done by a qualified appraiser for financing purposes by your financial institution. When planning your estate, it may be useful to know the current market value of your property. Appraisals are also used by the legal system and government agencies for determining settlement values in divorce proceedings, arbitration and expropriation, land title transfer values, and capital gains taxation.

4. What is the difference between assessed value and appraised value? Aren’t they the same?

An assessed value is a value appraised by “mass appraisal” and is for a specific reference date as determined by legislation. Groups of properties are analyzed in order to determine their probable selling price as of that reference date, based on their property characteristics as compared to sales of similar properties. There are some items which are not assessed under legislation, which would influence value and would be included in an appraisal. Bear in mind that the property being assessed could not have been physically visited for many years, and could have changed significantly since the assessor’s last physical visit.

The appraisal process involves a site visit and inspection of the subject property (unless specifically noted in the appraisal report that the site was not visited), which is important since the subject property could have changed drastically since the last physical inspection that was done by the assessor. Market value appraisals are generally done to value to property at current market conditions, and assessments are always a retrospective valuation which may be up to two or more years in the past in Manitoba. Depending what has happened in the market place, values could have increased or declined since the assessment’s reference date.