Property Valuation for Inheritance Tax

PaulO99

The district valuer does not accept the valuation of the property A given by 3 local estate agents. He quotes a review of 4 comparable properties of circa size and age and then states the sale evidence were concluded in 2021 which is up to 23 months before the death of the owner of property A. 

Am I entitled to ask for evidence that supports the valuer’s conclusion or is this a case where the ordinary man has no rights?

Thanks

Keep_pedalling

You have rights, but when a valuation is needed where IHT will be payable or close to payable then you really should go for a payed for RICS  valuation not rely an an average from 3 estate agents which is far more open to a challenge from HMRC.

You could counter the challenge but that will require you to get a paid for professional valuation.

Richard1212

The District Valuation Service completely overrides estate agents valuations.  DVS has the proper RICS and other qualifications, the experience and the full support of Government. Estate Agents' valuations are nothing compared to DVS. Just think how Estate Agents will value a property at whatever price a seller asks them to in so many cases ---- they are too anxious to please customers or potential customers.

Nearlyold

How far apart are the valuations? 

Was the Estate property down valued due to condition, properties in need of a complete revamp are down on value as the costs to the developer of  improvements have rocketed (though they are falling slightly).

If there are genuine reasons why the Estate property is of a lesser value than the District Valuers figures for comparable properties then getting your own RCIS valuation could be worthwhile depending on the Cost vs Benefit.

MarzipanCrumble

When my husband died about 15 years GO I paid £50 for a probate valuation from an estate agent - so at that time they did that if you paid.

PaulO99

Nearlyold said:

How far apart are the valuations? 

Was the Estate property down valued due to condition, properties in need of a complete revamp are down on value as the costs to the developer of  improvements have rocketed (though they are falling slightly).

If there are genuine reasons why the Estate property is of a lesser value than the District Valuers figures for comparable properties then getting your own RCIS valuation could be worthwhile depending on the Cost vs Benefit.

Thanks for the info. I am going to see about an RCIS valuation. 

What tees me off is that the Valuer can’t get his backside of his chair but is using indexes and other paper data instead of looking at the property. 

He is expecting an uplift of between £0 and £100000 without providing evidence. 

PaulO99

Thanks to Keep_pedalling and Richard1212 for their advice. I have already started down route of an RCIS valuation. 

In the meantime I have also discovered the DV only qualified in June 2023 and is based in Southampton. As my IHT was only sent in May 2023 it probably one of his 1st reviews as a DV. No doubt he has been nowhere near the property which is in Surrey. Relying on Google Earth and Google Street View plus the indexes of course. 

I hope I can find a good chartered surveyor that doesn’t cost an 💪 or 🦵
Thank you all for your advice. 

lincroft1710

The District Valuer has access to all property sales info going back decades, at the touch of a computer key. So it doesn't matter where they are based they can find out exactly what similar properties have sold for around the date of death.


Executors can instruct a Chartered Surveyor to negotiate with the DV, but it won't be cheap.

PaulO99

It still begs the question, how can you value a property you haven’t seen. The finer details, like, how well is the property insulated, is the flat roof or double glazing in need of replacing,  cannot be found on a piece of paper. 

Indexes, lists and databases just make for lazy valuers who can’t be bothered to get off their backsides. IMHO. 

lincroft1710

I'm ex VOA (of which the DV is a part). 


I don't if it is still the case but valuers would visit a property if need be, but if in negotiation the estate or their representatives would obviously draw attention to a property's faults or drawbacks. When I started over 50 years ago there were about 200 DV offices in England, when I left nearly 20 years ago there were less than a 100 and many closing plus the number of DV staff had been greatly reduced. 


Today with the DV operation centralised, I do not know what happens as valuers could be over a hundred miles from a subject property and it may not viable to visit each property.


I don't remember any valuer checking on a property's insulation, not easy to check if there is cavity wall insulation.

PaulO99

Thanks lincroft1710. 

Surely, that’s the point of getting 3 valuations from local estate agents. They know the area, the local sales scene and they come out to see the property. 

Only to be overridden by a faceless bureaucrat who looks at indexes and Google Earth photos from afar.  

There should be guidelines (possible enforced) that make it clear in IHT cases a property should be surveyed by a chartered surveyor peer.