How do i find out house prices in 1991

gabyjane

I have asked a few different ways but don't seem to get anywhere, i have followed the thread on here and they all seem to be 1998 or later which is no good? we are in a new build so need to check out the surrounding roads so we can appeal our council tax..
Thankyou.

squeaky

Hiya

Did this not help?

Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts Discussion Area

libra10

I dont know whether either of these will help


http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/default.asp

http://www.voa.gov.uk/cti/InitS.asp?lcn=0

Good luck

gabyjane

Hi thanks for the replys, no squeaky it didnt really help! it reffered to the nationwide site that i cannot make head or tale of, i have no idea what Q4 means? or what the houses in the surrounding roads were in 1991..the council page is just asking for authority etc and not recognising the postcode anyway, it also doesnt cover 1991! i feel like im going round in circles!

gabyjane

Ok i ahve found the postcodes of the propertys on the surrounding roads and put them into the council checker, it has come up with 90% of them band A and a couple band B..is this for now or in 1991 as it never gave dates? i have put link below and hope somone can help..does it matter actually if it is now or then as still very low,,we are getting billed on a C..
Also it has been just over 6 months since we moved in BUt it wasnt sorted out for ages as they guessed the banding till they could sort it as new build, can i argue this if they say we are too late?
many thanks..
http://www.voa.gov.uk/cti/RefSResp.asp?lcn=0

gabyjane

me again! ok have checked out 3 surrounding roads and the highest is a B BUT i have to be sure that they are for then..even if they are for now does it matter? really bugging me as just tried one of the new ones opposite us which is a 3 bed and they are a B we are a 2 bed and a C...please help as will need to ring them monday if im right..thankyou.

Altarf

The council tax banding is based on the price the property would have been worth in 1991, irrespective of when it was built, whether that was 1991, 1891, or 2001. Obviously if the house did not exist in 1991 (like yours), then the VOA have to work back to what it would have been worth (had it existed) in 1991.

You can use the property price calculators to give you a rough value to see whether it is worth going any further, but unless the value it gives you is way under the current band, I would suggest doing some more work.

What I would do is find example of properties of a similar size and type (i.e. terraced, semi, etc) to yours in the surrounding area (ignore larger properties as it will just confuse the issue), and see what band they are. If they are all (or mostly all) in a lower band to yours, move onto the next step.

Find out the selling prices of those type of properties in 1991. The easiest way is to visit your local library and check the newspaper archive. You should be able to find examples of properties and the advertised prices from that time.

Your next stage depends on if you are within 6 months of moving in. If so, just use the appeal form on the VOA page, and put in as much detail as you can. You can always provide more later. If you are past the 6 months, then you need to write to them, to point out that you believe that your banding is incorrect (providing all the reasons) and that they have a duty to maintain the integrity of the list. There is no point in phoning them, do it by letter.

gabyjane

Thankyou for your reply very helpfull.
The way i have looked at is this:
The surrounding roads and i have checked 5 of them are as such
Road 1 is houses 2 are band A 7 are Band B 1 is Band C

Road 2 is mixed houses and flats they are all band B except one house which is band A

Road 3 is mixed houses and flats they are either A or B

Road 4,5 and 6 are unavailable and they are my road and the other 2 up and around by us, this is because they are not fully built therefore not occupied yet

Road 7 is houses all band B, a couple of these i know are 3 beds and the rest 2 so id'e be miffed if i was the 3 bed person paying the same as the 2..again these are the new houses by us BUT were the first built so showing up.

Does this sound ok if i write something along those lines..i have heard of you ring and explain they may change it there and then?
At the end of the day surely if any of the ones shown are 3 beds then we have ground for appeal as they are still lower than ours whenever they were banded...
thanks...oh i am registered with a property site too, i have checked one road and they were worth the prices they were banded for..

Altarf

I would write and not ring. You are in danger of sounding like "it's not fair, change my band" in a phone call, rather than the reasoned argument that you need to put forward. Also if you write, then there can be no misunderstanding of what was said by you or them.

As I said before, ignore properties that are not the same as yours, such as 1 bed properties or flats. It is pointless mentioning them even if they are in a lower band, as they are cheaper/smaller properties.

I would only mention 3 bed houses if they are in a lower band than you. If they are in the same band, then they may be at the top of the band and you at the bottom. It's not fair, but it doesn't help your case.

Find several properties that are as similar as yours as possible, so the same number of bedrooms, same size, terraced or semi, etc that are in a lower band than yours and use that as the basis for your claim. That way your claim is simple and straightforward, and more difficult for the VOA to disagree with.

gabyjane

Hi Altarf thanks for the reply. Well ALL the surrounding houses are either A or B as i said i can't imagine that any of them were near the next bracket as looking at sale prices even 6 or so years ago they were in the line of the £35k-40k mark so very low. IF it doesn't change and we stay a C then fair enough but if we can get it knocked to a B then great..
I have just rung the valuation office and spoke to them, the woman said that we were only actually banded properly on the 15th Of October even though we moved a month before then and so therefore have until the 15th of April to appeal otherwise we would have been out of the 6 month time limit..So i am awaiting the form!
Now question is the best way to word it..any ideas please!

Altarf

gabyjane wrote: »

I have just rung the valuation office and spoke to them, the woman said that we were only actually banded properly on the 15th Of October even though we moved a month before then and so therefore have until the 15th of April to appeal otherwise we would have been out of the 6 month time limit..So i am awaiting the form!
Now question is the best way to word it..any ideas please!

If you are within the 6 months then use the web appeal form. You only have a limited number of words, so keep it simple. As you are in time to appeal, then if they knock you back on the web appeal then you will have a further opportunity to write to them.