Re-valuation of assets for IHT

Linton

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The price needs to be at the DOD not at some later date. Whatever the solicitor may have told you it is very well established practice, over many years, that a professional valuation is the right one. By using the incorrect valuation there is also the question of CGT. IMHO you need advice from an IHT specialist not a non specialist high street solicitor.

That really is nonsense. How on earth can you get an accurate valuation and meaningful CGT calculation with death and sale just a few weeks apart? The advice was from a solicitor specialising in wills/probate/trusts etc. Now who should I believe? What are your qualifications?

Yorkshireman99

You obviously have to make the choice you wish to. I would never exepect anyone to take advice solely from a forum. As I said in post #9 valuation is not an exact science. A variation between valuations over a range of 10%. You should remember that a valueing one property in a street full of near identical properties is relatively simple to someone with local knowledge. It is also true that extrapolating what happened in the case of one individual property to the market as a whole is inherently risky. A professionally qualified surveyor with good local knowledge will be most able to give an accurate valuation. They will use the same criteria as the district valuer and if need be negotiate, and agree, a mutually acceptable value. That may, or may not, coincide with that given by several house sellers whose prime objective is persauding potential clients to give them their business. An independent fully qualifid surveyor has no such constraints. I can only say that it seems unprofessional for a solcitor to rely on estate agent's "valuations".