Consulting Services

Depreciation Reports / Reserve Fund Studies

Our Consulting Division provides Reserve Fund Studies (Depreciation Reports) completed to the standards of the Real Estate Institute of Canada and the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

If you require a Reserve Fund Study and would like additional information, please visit our Reserve Fund Advisors website.

For more information about Reserve Fund Studies, check the Reserve Fund Studies FAQ page

Contact us today to discuss a Reserve Fund Study for your Strata Corporation.

Assessment Appeals

Our team of residential and IC&I appraisers have extensive experience in the valuation of property for purposes of tax assessment appeal. Often a back‐dated or “retrospective” appraisal report is required for these purposes, therefore it is important to know that your appraiser is familiar with completing backdated reports. If you require a real estate appraisal for these purposes, feel free to contact our offices for a no obligation quote.

Expert Witness Testimony

The appraiser as an expert Witness ‐ BC Supreme Court Civil Rules

Real Estate Appraisers are often requested to provide an expert opinion as to the value of a property (an appraisal), for the purposes of litigation. Additionally, appraisers are often requested to complete an appraisal where the purpose is not explicitly described as being for litigation, but where litigation may result. Examples would be an appraisal completed for divorce proceedings, foreclosure or power of sale, or for civil forfeiture. Although appraiser’s reports are often entered into evidence for court, the appraiser is not necessarily called upon to provide expert witness testimony or to defend the report. However, it is prudent for the client ordering an appraisal to be sure the appraiser is aware of the duty of the expert witness and the court rules for report requirements, prior to engagement for an appraisal assignment.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia civil rules for expert witnesses has changed as of July 1, 2010, with Rule 11 coming into force. Three pertinent sections of Rule 11 pertain to the duty of the expert witness, the appointment of joint experts, and the requirements for expert reports.

• Rule 11-2 Duty of Expert Witness
  The key concept of the duty of the expert witness is the duty to assist the court, and not to be an advocate for any party. If a report (appraisal or appraisal review) is to be prepared, the expert witness (appraiser) must certify they aware of this duty, have made the report in conformity with this duty, and if called upon to give oral or written testimony, will give that testimony in conformity with this duty.
• Rule 11-3 Appointment of Joint Experts
  In some cases, the parties to an action may agree to or be compelled to appoint joint experts. This rule requires several items be settled before the expert is appointed, including the identity of the expert, the issue in the action that the expert may help to resolve, any facts or assumptions of fact agreed to by the parties, any further assumptions in fact that each party wishes the expert to consider, the questions to be considered by the expert, when the report must be prepared and given to the parties, and the responsibility for fees and expenses to be paid to the expert. Subsequent to agreeing on the above, there are further rules as to the steps each party must take to have the appointment of the joint expert resolved.
• Rule 11-6 Expert Reports
  There are several rules pertaining to the requirements for expert reports, but in summary they are as follows:
  • must be signed by the expert
  • must include the certification requirements
  • the expert’s name, address and area of expertise
  • the expert’s qualifications and employment and educational experience in his or her area of expertise
  • the instructions to the expert
  • the nature of the opinion being sought and the issues of the proceedings to which the opinion relates
  • the expert’s opinion respecting those issues
  • the expert’s reason for his or her opinion, including a description of the factual assumptions on which the opinion is based, a description of any research conducted to form the opinion, and a list of every document, if any, relied on by the expert in forming the opinion
• Furthermore, the expert has to provide a proof of qualifications, service of report within the required time frame (often at least 84 days before scheduled trial), service of responding report (at least 42 days before scheduled trial) or any supplementary reports, if applicable, and follow the rules for production of documents if requested. The one significant area of potentially additional information which an appraiser may need to provide, that would not by typically found in each appraisal report, is the list of any and every document relied upon in forming the opinion of value. These types of documents could include BCAA (British Columbia Assessment Authority) information provided by MLXchange, MLS listings from MLXchange, legal, zoning, and site information taken from municipal websites or geomaps, and/or emails or other correspondence with property managers, Realtors, etc.

In Summary, it is imperative that your appraiser be aware of the Expert Witness requirements under Supreme Court Rule 11, so they may adequately prepare their reports accordingly, and do not weaken the presentation of your case by having inadequate content for court purposes.