People are surprised to learn that Ontario does not have licensing for appraisers. Anyone could basically call themselves a real estate appraiser and be in business but few would be recognized.

It takes years of hard study for an appraiser to achieve their designation. In Canada, the most recognized appraisal designations are from the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) and include the AACI for commercial and residential work or the CRA solely for residential. As well, CNAREA, a smaller appraisal organization (add comma) has members across Canada. All members of appraisal organizations must have high education, ethical standards and errors and omissions insurance. Their annual dues and insurance costs are very high.

Appraisers are trained to be detailed, thorough and neutral. They have one service, appraisal. Their services are not governed by the outcome.

Realtors may give opinions but many courts want certified appraisals by appraisers as does Canada Revenue and other agencies. Realtors may have ulterior motives, such was wanting the listing which does not put them into a neutral position. As well, few Realtors are trained in appraisal save for cursory courses and their errors and omissions insurance limits the work that they can undertake.

In simple terms, Realtors give opinions, appraisers give certified valuations. Note, some Realtors are also appraisers and are members of the recognized appraisal associations.

When hiring any professional or tradesperson, personal recommendations are best. Go online, check the appraiser on Google. Are there any negative comments? Is there any mention of them at all outside of a professional listing? If the purpose is litigation go to https://www.canlii.org/en/ a legal site to search their name and see what judges have said about their evidence.

If yours is a specialized matter such as tax issues, litigation, stigma, etc. ask the appraiser about their experience in that field, have they testified in court on these issues, would they testify if they had to, and do they have references from either past clients or lawyers or accountants.

Note, in the residential field, a good majority of the appraisers solely do basic mortgage work which consists of filling in forms in the quickest time. They are not thorough and most will not attend court, a tax office, etc. Vet your appraiser carefully, they are not all equal.

By degree. The degree of ease or difficulty establishes the fee. If for a house and there have been many similar houses sold recently, the fee is as at base pricing but should the house be unusual, should there be limited comparable sales or worse, none, the fee will increase and substantially.

For commercial work, most firms have their base fee but again as issues get more complex the fees must increase. Commercial reports are based on the appraiser’s estimate of how many hours it may take to complete the assignment. For very complex assignments, the appraiser could be involved for years if it is a major litigation or tax issue. There is a great difference between appraising a small store with an apartment above to appraising entire blocks of buildings, highrises, large land holdings and other more complex matters.

Litigation files require special skills, many hours of research, review and meetings with clients, lawyers, other professionals and the hours to be spent upfront are difficult to estimate. Litigation appraisal work is not inexpensive.