An independent valuation of the family home. We prepare divorce and separation appraisals for property division, equalization, and legal proceedings across Waterloo Region, Southwestern Ontario, and the GTA.
Divorce and separation appraisals are often retrospective — the figure that matters is what the property was worth on a particular date, which may be well behind you.
Which date, or dates, apply is a legal question, and it belongs to your lawyer. Common examples are the date of separation, the date of marriage, and a current date where one spouse is buying out the other. Once you know, we value the property as at those dates. Where a file needs more than one, using a single appraiser across all of them keeps the methodology consistent, which matters if the figures are ever questioned.
If you don’t yet know which date you need, order nothing until you’ve asked. Send us a note in the meantime and we’ll explain what the appraisal process involves — there’s no cost to asking.
Equalization under Ontario’s Family Law Act applies to married spouses. Common-law couples who own a home together still usually need a value to divide it or for one to buy out the other. The appraisal itself is the same.
We can give you a defensible, professionally prepared figure that will stand up if your former spouse’s lawyer looks at it closely.
We can’t give you a number that favours you. If the matter reaches court, an expert giving evidence in an Ontario family proceeding must provide an opinion that is fair, objective and non-partisan, and that duty overrides any obligation to the party who hired them. If you are shopping for a valuation that lands where you want it, we are the wrong firm — and you should be wary of any firm that suggests otherwise, because a report that visibly leans is the first thing opposing counsel will attack.
The practical case for a proper appraisal is straightforward. Arguing about the value of the house is one of the most expensive fights available in a separation. A credible report usually costs less than a single round of correspondence between lawyers about whose estimate is right.
A market evaluation from a real estate agent is a useful tool for pricing a house for sale, but it was built for a different job. It isn’t prepared under professional appraisal standards, it is rarely written to a specific past date, and it doesn’t set out the evidence behind the figure.
An appraisal from a designated member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada is prepared under CUSPAP, documents the evidence supporting the conclusion, and is signed by someone who can be called to explain it.
If one spouse has moved out, the inspection is arranged with whoever is living in the home. On a joint retainer, we communicate with both parties equally and both receive the same report.
Standard residential appraisals start at $500. Larger, executive, or unusual properties requiring more analysis range up to $2,000. Retrospective valuations and files with multiple effective dates are quoted individually. On a joint retainer, the fee is usually split between the spouses.
A typical file runs about a week from inspection to delivered report. We will tell you at the outset if your timeline is a problem.
We respond to every request within 24 hours.
You do not need a lawyer to order an appraisal.
Ask a question first — contact us.
