House municipal evaluation

[rorz0r]

I just bought a house and got a bit of a fright with the first rates/water/refuse/elec/sewage/etc bill.

One of the things is your basic "rates". Now this is by far not the worst part of the bill but every bit helps. This is based on your valuation of the property by the municipality.
Now the valuation indicated on the bill is 44% more than what I actually just paid for the house so initially seems rather inflated. The valuation date was july 2007 which was before the recession.
I've done a computer assisted valuation which is based mainly on the plot size and prices that houses in the area have sold for in the last few years and that came up about 55% more than what I paid. Now this is somewhat unrealistic as the house is a bit run down etc and it doesn't take the actual house into account.

So my question is first of all can I ask them to revalue it and secondly if they do will they give it a "real" market value (around what I just paid) or will they do a computer one like I did and end up increasing the value?

 

[ToxicBunny]

You can possibly lodge a request to have it re-evaluated and use the current price you paid for the house as justification, but don't expect to get anywhere with it.

 

[Drunkard #1]

Which municipality? I lodged an objection in April to a property on the general valuation roll, and still haven't had a reply. It's currently sitting with JZ's presidential hotline.

There are very specific procedures to lodging an objection, as the property will need to be removed from the general valuation roll and put onto a supplementary valuation roll. It's bureaucratic, but must (in term of the act) yield results.

An actual sale is very strong evidence of value, and you will probably get the value changed and any overpayment credited, if you've got the time and patience to see it through. Good luck. Contact your municipality for info on the exact procedures that need to be followed.

It's not like you get anything for your tax payments, so why pay more than you have to.

 

[Frankie]

You can possibly lodge a request to have it re-evaluated and use the current price you paid for the house as justification, but don't expect to get anywhere with it.

I don't think that they'll go for that, but they should take it into account while looking at the market in that area for that type of house.

I bought property in Dec 08 and paid the seller a fair amount in cash which does not reflect on the value listed on the deeds.
The municipal valuation was done in June 07 and the previous owner never contested it, and the current municipal value is far higher than what's shown on the deeds because of the property slump, my hard bargaining and the money I paid to the seller off the books.
I contacted the municipality and they said I'd have zero chance contesting the valuation vs the current market value or price paid because every house on the roll would be in the same boat.

 

[guest2013-1]

I remember something about how guava-mint values house property values.... this may vary wildly from what your property is actually worth on the market...

Now I'm sure there might be something wrong with their calculations, just keep in mind that you can buy a house for next to nothing, but if the municipality have valued it to be worth Rx then to them that's how much you would pay.

I could ask my dad how it works (he did it for 23 years before he was forced to retire in 1995) and I'll post here if he gives me an answer (Even though I suspect he might be a bit rusty on any new law that might be hanging around regarding this)

Otherwise, Bt6lw knows quite a bit about this... maybe pm him to respond to this thread with an explanation?

 

[Drunkard #1]

I don't think that they'll go for that, but they should take it into account while looking at the market in that area for that type of house.

I bought property in Dec 08 and paid the seller a fair amount in cash which does not reflect on the value listed on the deeds.
The municipal valuation was done in June 07 and the previous owner never contested it, and the current municipal value is far higher than what's shown on the deeds because of the property slump, my hard bargaining and the money I paid to the seller off the books.
I contacted the municipality and they said I'd have zero chance contesting the valuation vs the current market value or price paid because every house on the roll would be in the same boat.

They're just trying to get out of a bit of work. You should have read the act for yourself.

I remember something about how guava-mint values house property values.... this may vary wildly from what your property is actually worth on the market...

Now I'm sure there might be something wrong with their calculations, just keep in mind that you can buy a house for next to nothing, but if the municipality have valued it to be worth Rx then to them that's how much you would pay.

I could ask my dad how it works (he did it for 23 years before he was forced to retire in 1995) and I'll post here if he gives me an answer (Even though I suspect he might be a bit rusty on any new law that might be hanging around regarding this)

Otherwise, Bt6lw knows quite a bit about this... maybe pm him to respond to this thread with an explanation?

The current act was passed in 2004.

S. 46(1) states:

Subject to any other applicable provisions of this Act, the market value of a property is the amount the property would have realised if sold on the date of valuation in the open market by a willing seller to a willing buyer.

Objections are discussed from S. 50.

Check your municipality's website for more info, otherwise here's Ekurhuleni's.