How and where do I find out my house price in 1991 21 January 2021 at 11:16AM in Reclaiming mortgage fees, council tax, etc 19 replies 80.2K views

Shlbly

Hi I have been trying for weeks now to find out how much my council house was worth in 1991, the closest I can get is my neighbours house in 1995 as I am sure I am in the wrong council tax band. Have written to the VOA and they are saying I have not provided enough evidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

p00hsticks

You could try looking at the property pages in the local newspaper archives ?

As a council house, presumably it - and others like it - came onto the market under the right to buy scheme, which must have involved a current market value valuation, although I'm not sure how you coudl go about gaining access to that info.

When saying that you are sure you are in the wrong band, you need to bear in mind that the 1995 price for your neighbour would typically be around 25% lower than the 1991 price, as house prices dropped significantly during the first part of that decade.

Also, when council tax was first introduced in 1991 it was much in the news and although many properties were probably put in the wrong band as it was a simple 'drive by' exercise at best,   I suspect most house owners who were in the wrong band would have challenged the rating at that point (I speak from experience as I was in the process of buying a property at the time and managed to successfully challenge the rating of both my existing and new properties).

FaceHead

Are you following the official MSE guide here:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change/

There is a calculator on that page where you put in a recent valuation and it tells you the 1991 price.

p00hsticks

FaceHead said:

Are you following the official MSE guide here:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change/

There is a calculator on that page where you put in a recent valuation and it tells you the 1991 price.

For the purposes of appealing a band, that calculator is about as much use as a chocolate teapot......

lincroft1710

p00hsticks said:

As a council house, presumably it - and others like it - came onto the market under the right to buy scheme, which must have involved a current market value valuation, although I'm not sure how you coudl go about gaining access to that info.

RTB started in the mid 1980s and the VOA did many such valuations (and may still do a few)  for local councils, but most councils now have their own valuers. However the valuations would be confidential and not in the public domain. Any details of sales between council and tenant after 1994 and so in the public domain would only show the discounted price paid by the tenant.

lincroft1710

Shlbly said:

Hi I have been trying for weeks now to find out how much my council house was worth in 1991, the closest I can get is my neighbours house in 1995 as I am sure I am in the wrong council tax band. Have written to the VOA and they are saying I have not provided enough evidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

What band are you in as most council houses are in a low band (most I dealt with, post WW2 estate 3 bed semis were in Band B ) and the bands have been well established. Council houses not on estates and especially in villages could well be in a higher band.

Shlbly

lincroft1710 said:

Shlbly said:

Hi I have been trying for weeks now to find out how much my council house was worth in 1991, the closest I can get is my neighbours house in 1995 as I am sure I am in the wrong council tax band. Have written to the VOA and they are saying I have not provided enough evidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

What band are you in as most council houses are in a low band (most I dealt with, post WW2 estate 3 bed semis were in Band B ) and the bands have been well established. Council houses not on estates and especially in villages could well be in a higher band.

Hi I am in band C, I live in a village, I just cannot find any information, apart my neighbours adjoins house in 1995, and going by that I know my house would of been under the limit in 1991. My house is off road no drive/garage.
thank you for getting back to me.

p00hsticks

Shlbly said:

lincroft1710 said:

Shlbly said:

Hi I have been trying for weeks now to find out how much my council house was worth in 1991, the closest I can get is my neighbours house in 1995 as I am sure I am in the wrong council tax band. Have written to the VOA and they are saying I have not provided enough evidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

What band are you in as most council houses are in a low band (most I dealt with, post WW2 estate 3 bed semis were in Band B ) and the bands have been well established. Council houses not on estates and especially in villages could well be in a higher band.

Hi I am in band C, I live in a village, I just cannot find any information, apart my neighbours adjoins house in 1995, and going by that I know my house would of been under the limit in 1991. My house is off road no drive/garage.
thank you for getting back to me.

Is the neighbours house in the same band as yours ?

Have you allowed for the fact that the 1995 selling price will almost certainly have been around 20-25% lower than the value in 1991 ?

FaceHead

The difference between the 1995 selling price and the 1991 value could be anything between a 0% and 25% uplift  to the 1995 price depending on when exactly in the year that 1995 sale was and what part of the country you're in. 

Instead of a finger in the air guess of the adjustment, there's a handy calculator that can take you from that 1995 value to an estimate of 1991 value.

If it's borderline, you might as well give up. If there's a clear case based on that, then it might be time to look for further evidence to add to your case, such as more properties and adverts for sales at the time. 

lincroft1710

FaceHead said:

Instead of a finger in the air guess of the adjustment, there's a handy calculator that can take you from that 1995 value to an estimate of 1991 value.

If it's borderline, you might as well give up. If there's a clear case based on that, then it might be time to look for further evidence to add to your case, such as more properties and adverts for sales at the time. 

Zoopla calculated house prices and Nationwide or Halifax house price indices are all inaccurate generally giving too low a price for 1991

lincroft1710

Shlbly said:

lincroft1710 said:

Shlbly said:

Hi I have been trying for weeks now to find out how much my council house was worth in 1991, the closest I can get is my neighbours house in 1995 as I am sure I am in the wrong council tax band. Have written to the VOA and they are saying I have not provided enough evidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

What band are you in as most council houses are in a low band (most I dealt with, post WW2 estate 3 bed semis were in Band B ) and the bands have been well established. Council houses not on estates and especially in villages could well be in a higher band.

Hi I am in band C, I live in a village, I just cannot find any information, apart my neighbours adjoins house in 1995, and going by that I know my house would of been under the limit in 1991. My house is off road no drive/garage.
thank you for getting back to me.

Can you expand on this? Was the neighbour's purchase from the council? If so, it is of no use. If not, how much was it?