Canada’s leading real property valuation association, with over 5,400 members, initially sent out a COVID-19 update on April 7 stating: “We know that some individuals have been expecting members to continue to complete full interior inspections and some organizations are continuing to suggest that those are options. To be clear, do not go inside a property to complete your appraisals; you can instead use third party data video or photographs.”
About an hour later, AIC issued a “revised” communique, telling real estate appraisers to “please disregard previous version” and stipulating instead: “To be clear, you do not need to go inside a property to complete your appraisals; you can instead use third party data, video or photographs.”
AIC also admonished that members have an ethical obligation under their Code of Conduct and Canadian Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice “to fully comply with legal directives and advisories — including public health directives. AIC expects all parties in the real estate industry to conduct themselves in a manner that is not detrimental to the public.”