Keystone Appraisals

Keystone Blog

December 31st, 2010 4:28 PM

As a professional and accredited appraiser of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, I am bound by not only Appraisal, Review and Consulting Standards, but first and foremost Ethical Standards. These standards are laid out in the Canadian Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (CUSPAP) and their application is compulsory.

Our primary responsibility is to our client. The client is generally the party or parties ordering the appraisal. It does not matter who pays for the work. Often, the client is the lender who orders the appraisal as part of the mortgage lending decision, but the client can also be another person who requires the information to make various types of financial planning decisions. For example:

a homeowner wishing to sell may want an estimate of value to determine a listing price;
estate planning;
a prospective purchaser may want an appraisal prior to making an offer;
a commercial or residential property owner may need to know current market rents for leasing premises;
an insurance company or a property owner may need to know replacement cost for insurance purposes;
a homeowner may want to know if they do renovations will they get all or a percentage of their investment back;
a strata council, property manager or company with numerous and or large property holdings may require reserve fund report.

There are numerous and various reasons for requiring an appraisal. As an appraiser we have obligations to our clients that include confidentiality, competency and education. Our reports, statements and testimony must represent our experience and capabilities and reflect an objective and unbiased opinion. Third parties will sometimes ask us for a copy of the report. However, we cannot release or discuss the report without permission from the client.

Fiduciary obligations may also apply to third parties such as homeowner, buyers, seller, or others. They are normally identified in the appraisal assignment and based on the scope of work.

It is unethical for appraiser to take an assignment if the fee is based on a contingency. Examples of contingency fees are:

Predetermined values;
Direction given that favours the client;
The attainment of a stipulated result (i.e. property assessment reduced or expert testimony in a litigation;
The fee is dependent on a result (i.e. only if the loan or mortgage is approved).

It is also unethical to take an assignment if the appraiser or company that the appraiser works for has any direct or indirect, current or contemplated, personal interest in the property or the outcome. For example, if my relative is purchasing a property and Keystone Appraisals was asked to complete the appraisal we would decline sighting conflict of interest.

Keystone Appraisals ensures that professional ethics are always complied with. Every appraiser must be a member in good standing with the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

Just a reminder that your Property Assessments will be mailed out in the first week of January 2011. If you don’t receive it, be sure to contact your nearest assessment office. I will be offering a course on:

“Understand Your Property Assessment and How to Appeal”

at various Selkirk College Campuses as follows:

Date	Time	Where	Please Call to Register
Jan. 16, 2011	12:00-2:00pm	Grand Forks Campus	250.442.2704
Jan. 17, 2011	6:00–8:00 pm	Trail Campus	250.364-5770
Jan. 18, 2011	6:00–8:00 pm	Castlegar Campus	250.365.1261
Jan. 19, 2011	6:00-8:00 pm	Nelson-Silver King Campus	250.352.6601

This is a community service and the cost is FREE, but please call the campus number above or Keystone Appraisals at 250-365-6855 to register.

Finally, we would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Posted by Gina Ironmonger on December 31st, 2010 4:28 PMPost a Comment (0)

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