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Council tax rise?

Stubabuba
Stubabuba Posts: 19 Forumite
Fourth Anniversary 10 Posts
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi everyone, I'm looking for a bit of advice if anyone can assist.

I'm considering bidding on a house that has been extended considerably by the existing owner. The house is currently a band E. Am I right in saying the house will be reassessed after purchase? Also, is there a way of determining which banding it will be allocated? All other houses in the street are a band E however none have been sold since being extended. I'm in Scotland and value of house is 290, 000 according to home report. Thanks for any assistance.

Comments

  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Stubabuba wrote: »
    I'm considering bidding on a house that has been extended considerably by the existing owner. The house is currently a band E. Am I right in saying the house will be reassessed after purchase?
    There's likely to be an Improvement Index flag if you search the CT record - that's set by planning permission, and is what triggers the reassessment.
    Also, is there a way of determining which banding it will be allocated?
    Nope. You can make your own assessment, but the responsible official valuers are the ones who ultimately decide by reference to comparables.
    All other houses in the street are a band E however none have been sold since being extended.
    It's rare that going wider than street level is pointless...
    When we queried the VOA's reassessment of this place in a similar situation, the comparables were within about a 5 mile radius.
    I'm in Scotland and value of house is 290, 000 according to home report.
    Scottish CT bands are set by recalculating back to "the Assessor’s opinion of its open market value as at 1 April 1991, but taking account of its physical state and its locality as at 1 April 1993"
    https://www.saa.gov.uk/council-tax/

    (In Scotland, it's the SAA who are the responsible official valuers - the VOA do England and Wales, NI doesn't have CT.)
  • Stubabuba
    Stubabuba Posts: 19 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 10 Posts
    Thanks for the advice, that's very helpful. I've used an online calculator on the nationwide site and it looks like the house would've been valued at 97000. Band F is 80000-106000 so hopefully we will be pretty safely in that banding. :money:
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 19,449 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Online calculators are notoriously inaccurate, so it would not be impossible for the house to creep into a Band G
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • Stubabuba
    Stubabuba Posts: 19 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 10 Posts
    Not so good... Would it not be fairly easy for them to determine the value if the house has just sold? I take it there's no definite way to know until we move?
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 7 December 2019 at 7:48PM
    Stubabuba wrote: »
    Not so good... Would it not be fairly easy for them to determine the value if the house has just sold? I take it there's no definite way to know until we move?
    As the rebanding is only done on completion it's not possible to know beforehand what it will ultimately be...
  • jimbog
    jimbog Posts: 2,300 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Stubabuba wrote: »
    Not so good... Would it not be fairly easy for them to determine the value if the house has just sold? I take it there's no definite way to know until we move?

    They came to inspect my place about a month after completion
    Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
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