a RV enquiry

[clockworker]

I am going to do a RV on my current house in order to get RC done. I have not done any RV before, I am wondering what kind of things would add value to my RV? I am doing my bathroom renovation at the moment, what kind of things does a valuer look at?

[freezinhot]

I know from asking the landscaping does add value also, maybe more than we realise.

Others:

1. Tidy unclutterd property.
2. Condition of home.
3. Proximity to good schools & transport.
4. Other homes in the street and sales in the area.
5. Kitchen & bathrrom
6. Number of bedrooms.

Just some im sure there is a few more.

FH

[xris]

Maintenance spent on a property can add a surprising amount to a valuation figure.

Clearly presentation can be an inexpensive effective way of adding value - gardening, cleaning, painting.

New windows also are a good one - do a whole house with aluminium or similar and you should get that cost added to the final valuation figure.

But in the end you are tied to certain things outside your control such as floor area, age of house and most of all comparable sales in the area. If a similar house next door sold last month for $400,000 then the valuer is highly likely to use that as the starting point, varying it only slightly if at all.

xris

[JohnL]

Read other threads on valuers. You can influence the final figure up or down a little (as a valuer would normally have a range in mind). Get them to ring through the figure they have in mind before they commit it to paper. You have better chance moving it up the range at that stage (I'm not suggesting you try to get it so high its unrealistic).

John

[freezinhot]

I try and use the same valuer now everytime, helps when you really know hes being fair if you trust him to do a decent job valuing your property.

I broke that rule once and paid the price with an under value valuation.

I now use the same company.

FH

[Mark_B]

As noted above, nothing affects a valuation as much as the recent sales price of comparable properties (they dictate the estimated "market value").

Access to good schools and public transport might give you more CG in time, but they are meaningless with regards to a current valuation (it is all about recent sales and how your place is better / worse).

As suggested, keep your property well maintained inside and out. Have your carpets cleaned as close to the time of your valuation as possible. Get out the paintbrush and do any basic touchups that are required.

Valuers rely in access to sales data - something that most people don't have access to (I'm fortunate enough in that I do have access to the same data).

We've just had our PPOR re-valued and I wasn't backwards in telling the valuer (who I use often and know quite well) what I thought of how it compared to recent sales (properties which, btw, I had also been inside as I open homed them when they were for sale).

As a result of that I talked him up at least $10k on the valuation he initially proposed and as I type this he is again reconsidering his valuation (upwards).

In short, valuers can be influenced, but you have to have:

a) the facts (sales data and knowledge of other properties), and

b) presented your place well (if you want the value to go up, of course)

M

[QueenBee]

I had a RV done on my PPOR in August, as I was putting it on the market and thought it would help if people could see a recent RV.

When I employed the Real Estate Agent I asked him what he thought he could get for our house. He said low 5"s. The valuation came in at $480k.

He decided to put it on Tender, against my wishes, but said that you usually get more money by putting it out to Tender, so I eventually gave in. So six weeks later, we got one Tender for $410k, and the guy had to sell his house. I said to the REA, get knotted.

The Real Estate Agent then put the house on the market at BEO $460k, said that we would get more potential buyers looking at the house if we started there.

I told him about the valuation we had had done, and that $410k was way off. He agreed. Then when I complained to him that he wasn't getting any offers, he blamed it on the fact that not as many people were going to Open Homes these days, and that 80% of houses sell from Open Homes. Then the next excuse was the weather. People don't like buying houses when it's raining. Then he decided he wanted to look at the valuation, and said the valuation was wrong and proceeded to tell me that the Valuer hadn't compared apples to apples, because this other house was 20 sqm bigger than ours, and so that would take another $30k off the value of our house. I said to him, what would you value it at and he said he wouldn't like to start trying to value the property, because he's not a Valuer.

Then he rang the Valuer without telling us and told him that he had raised our expectations too high with his valuation, and that was why the house wasn't selling. And then proceeded to tell the Valuer that he wanted him to change the Valuation to $440k. The Valuer rang me and told me this. I thought this was very unethical.

Maybe our expectations are a bit high, but it wasn't the Valuer who raised them, the REA has a very short memory, he was the one that said we WOULD get $500k.

I'm really annoyed with the REA, and our contract has until 7th January until it expires.

My point is, that getting a house valued higher for finance purposes is a good thing, but when you are trying to sell and it's a bit on the high side, maybe not.

The REA has said he doesn't know what else he could do, and I've told him he should go out and hire a chicken suit for our Open Homes. He didn't fancy that.

Cheers, QB

[Mark_B]

I'm really annoyed with the REA, and our contract has until 7th January until it expires.

Have you considered marching into speak to the REA's Principal and complaining and making a fuss so that they agree to release you from your marketing contract early?

I have never done it myself, but I am aware of it being done.

M

[QueenBee]

Oh I've dreamed of doing all sorts of things. LOL. Yes, I have thought of doing it, but don't know how effective it would be.

I've rung him and told him I want the ad changed. He's put Off to Oz on the ad, and I've told him all along that that makes us look desperate. He thinks it makes us look like motivated vendors.

But I argued with him, saying that when there's a Garage Sale advertised in the paper, and they say off overseas, it means you are likely to get a real bargain. Just my thoughts anyway.

I suppose I will wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks, everything will slow down for Xmas, so it's probably a waste going to another RE Agency.

[cube]

Hi QB,

I think your tail shows very clearly that there can be a difference between a valuation and market price for a property.

As has been highlighted before, the valuation is the valuer's opinion (hopefully well qualified opinion) of the value, but it is the market that decides the eventual price.

This is why it is important to distinguish between "increase in equity" and "profit" when buying a property for less than a registered valuation!

cube

[Realtorman]

Queen bee. The marching into the office and demanding a release really works.
You have enough evidence to get a release from the contract for non performance.
Just take a deep breath and do it.

[xris]

Hello QB,

A good story.

How long has this salesperson been in the job? I suspect not long.

There seems to be a collection of errors here which add up to a stuff up.

In general terms you need to know what you are doing from day one and go at it hard. Tenders are a cop out in my opinion (with only a few exceptions). The result is what has happened to you - you are worse off than when you started.

xris

[QueenBee]

But on the contract it says we will contribute $1k towards advertising, so we will still have to pay that? And I'm thinking if the property is already out there, is it really all in the marketing, would another Company be able to sell it. Would it be worth starting all over again, and paying someone else for advertsing etc.

It's probably not a very good time to sell at the moment, maybe everyone is waiting for bargains.

[Mark_B]

The REAs that I know well who do very well aren't relying on marketing to sell properties. They already have a very sophisticated database of clients and contacts.

Another REA = another database of clients / contacts.

And to be honest, what is $1000 relative to a $450k plus property? It's nothing. A better REA will be able to return you that $1,000 and then some imho.

M

[QueenBee]

Hello QB,

A good story.

How long has this salesperson been in the job? I suspect not long.

There seems to be a collection of errors here which add up to a stuff up.

In general terms you need to know what you are doing from day one and go at it hard. Tenders are a cop out in my opinion (with only a few exceptions). The result is what has happened to you - you are worse off than when you started.

xris

He's actually been doing it for years and years. We brought our first investment property from him just over 5 years ago, and he was in the game before that.

Maybe REA's have had it too easy for too long, and think that they can just plonk a couple of ads in the paper, put a flag outside your house for an Open Home (actually we didn't even get that) and it's sold. Maybe they will have to start thinking outside the square to sell properties, if they want to survive in this market.

Actually talking about Open Homes, the week after our Tender closes, we didn't have an Open Home (even though he never took the Open Home sign off the fence) and someone turned up to our non Open Home, so I ended up showing them around. When I asked him why we were having an Open Home that weekend, he said they never do after a Tender has just closed, because it makes the Vendor look desperate.

I'm not having much luck with anything this guy does am I?

He's also got an investment property to sell for us, which is having just as much luck. The tenant has now moved out, and I said I wanted an inside photo on the ad (the house is a bit ugly on the outside). He said that you don't tend to get much response from inside photo's if the house is empty, because it doesn't look as good. Mmmm.

We've had heaps of interest, but mostly from investors, who are coming in with offers $20k under the BEO. I said to him, if someone asks you how much we want, what do you tell them. He said I don't, because we want them to offer more. I said why don't you just tell them, he said no, it doesn't work that way.

I don't know what I was thinking when I got this guy. LOL.