Residential properties can range from free standing buildings, multiple or single strata units of various qualities and business uses.  Appraisal and consulting services are required for many purposes including sale or purchase, finance, divorce, estate or  tax settlement, investment, strata and insurance   policy requirements, bankruptcy/foreclosure, investment, financial planning, mergers and more.

Typically, residential appraisals will include details about the subject property, comparison of similar properties, typically three comparable sales, an overview of the overall real estate market in the area, commentary on potential issues or qualities and characteristics that the appraiser deems impactful to the property’s value, positive or adverse.  Also within the analysis, a comparison of average sales time of comparable properties and/or estimated exposure time for the property. A review of listing history of the subject property will be research for the past 3 years.

Most residential appraisals are prepared in a format known as a Form report, generally represented by its standardized format with a combination of check (√) boxes and narrative commentary. Standard information includes owner of the property, address, legal description, assessed value  & taxes,  age of the dwelling and narrative description A description of the neighborhood in terms of its age, distances to schools and shopping centres, common types of dwellings, services and utilities available, etc.

A full residential property valuation, except for Apartments and some strata units, utilize two valuation methods, the Direct Comparison Approach and the Cost Approach. Strata units will typically utilize Direct Comparison Approach only as Apartment units and the like involve shared amenities, building structures and land that is complicated to allocate and depreciate for single unit(s).

• Direct Comparison Approach: An appraisal valuation, estimates a property’s market value by comparing it to similar properties recently selling in the area.  Most properties are never exactly alike, so adjustments must be applied the comparables sales to make their values most reflective of the subject property’s.  Resulting in adjusted values of each comparable, indicating a price or value it would have sold for if it had the same components as the subject.
  
  
• The Cost Approach: The Cost Approach estimates how much it would cost to replace the structure, with an applied depreciation for the subject improvements, adding in land value and site improvements -estimated cost.