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

mustafa · 19 February 2018 at 11:11AM

Thanks again, sorry to keep banging on, According to MSE calculator the price of this bungalow was £66,029. Which is within the Band C 52 to 68K
Does that work both ways? This property has not been sold since 1996 with improvements made by the current owners.

lincroft1710 · 19 February 2018 at 2:45PM

Calculators should not be relied on, as they can only give approximate valuations. If the current owners have made improvements, it would suggest the value would be higher.

ddks · 24 February 2018 at 1:54PM

Lincroft - looking at the sales evidence in our area it appears that a new build premium was in the region of 10-12% as at 1991 prices and an additional garage would have been approx £12,405
I kept coming up with a figure of £24,000 but that's because house prices in the area were on the rise rather than falling!
Does that sound about right to you?
Thanks

rabbitlover · 24 February 2018 at 2:46PM

It makes me a bit frustrated: houses round here have been improved/extended a lot, but still remain in the same band my house is in. I know that is the way it works, but just seems unfair to me.

lincroft1710 · 24 February 2018 at 3:27PM

ddks wrote: »

Lincroft - looking at the sales evidence in our area it appears that a new build premium was in the region of 10-12% as at 1991 prices and an additional garage would have been approx £12,405
I kept coming up with a figure of £24,000 but that's because house prices in the area were on the rise rather than falling!
Does that sound about right to you?
Thanks

Difficult to say. In the areas I worked, house prices peaked in about 1988/89 then fell until 1995/96 after which they quickly rose reaching 1991 levels in 1997/98. I seem to remember colleagues talking about 10% new house premium but cannot remember if there was evidence to back this up.

ddks · 24 February 2018 at 8:55PM

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Difficult to say. In the areas I worked, house prices peaked in about 1988/89 then fell until 1995/96 after which they quickly rose reaching 1991 levels in 1997/98. I seem to remember colleagues talking about 10% new house premium but cannot remember if there was evidence to back this up.

I can only see & prove a 5% new build premium from a sale in 1990 compared to a 1991 sale of an identical property.
The remainder of the second hand sales within each area, with no adjustments brings me back to £24,000 for an additional garage - the properties have no conservatories, no large gardens!

The larger new estate was approx £6,000 cheaper than exiting properties in the area.

Sales of estate properties (new or second hand) with single garages (integral or detached) up to 150m2 show a max of £79,950!

Property prices were on the way up in the area.

The only properties that were over £88,000 were infill plots. I can understand that these have individuality compared to estate developments.

lincroft1710 · 24 February 2018 at 9:21PM

ddks wrote: »

I can only see & prove a 5% new build premium from a sale in 1990 compared to a 1991 sale of an identical property.
The remainder of the second hand sales within each area, with no adjustments brings me back to £24,000 for an additional garage - the properties have no conservatories, no large gardens!

The larger new estate was approx £6,000 cheaper than exiting properties in the area.

Sales of estate properties (new or second hand) with single garages (integral or detached) up to 150m2 show a max of £79,950!

Property prices were on the way up in the area.

The only properties that were over £88,000 were infill plots. I can understand that these have individuality compared to estate developments.

There is little more I can say. Prices in your area were behaving very differently to the areas I am familiar with, and any further comment would be pure guesswork on my part

MeganLloyd · 26 February 2018 at 10:16PM

I've tried getting my house re-banded downwards. The local valuation officer paid a visit, the upshot being that I could go to Triibunal if I wished but I wouldn't succeed because the house was too big to be down banded. And there I was thinking Council Tax was based on value. I mentioned this to a member of staff in the local authority's council tax department and she'd never heard of banding being based on size.

Mersey_2 · 27 February 2018 at 2:18AM

Clearly the greater the square footage the greater the £ generally speaking. But no, there is no "too big to re-band" rule if that is what you were told.

[Unless of course it's in Chelsea or a mansion in the countryside, ie little point arguing you shouldn't be in Band H if it's worth £20m]

MeganLloyd · 27 February 2018 at 10:48AM

No, this is a standard 3-bedroom stone cottage being charged more than similar and more expensive properties in the same village. I watched Martin's TV prog last night and I've done everything he said - checked what others are paying, valued the property at 2003 prices (I live in Wales). But apparently, as well as the size mattering, I not allowed to backdate the value either! There was an independent valuation made in early 2016 (£125,000) which cut no ice. Still in Band E.

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

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