Getting an estate agent to do a valuation, on a budget

Immaculata

Hello folks, I hope you can advise. It's a bit of an epic saga but I will summarise: My brother has a farm in Wicklow and is willing to transfer an acre of it to me. I have no interest in getting planning permission for the land or selling it on; my hobby is gardening and that's what I'm going to use it for. In order to have the acre voluntarily transferred into my name, I was told I need to get an estate agent to give me a value for the land on letterhead, as this will be used as part of the voluntary transfer documents and to calculate any capital gains tax I need to pay. I'm on carer's allowance so I can't afford a whole bunch of money in fees. So what would be the best/cheapest way to arrange this? What am I likely to have to pay an estate agent?

Thank you very much in advance!

JuniorB

Our initial mortgage valuation cost €130 (incl VAT).
Our latest 'drive by' cost us €65 (incl VAT) ... and a lot more when he screwed us on it :mad: Somewhere in between I'd guess for yours.

muffler

Id say you would be looking at somewhere in around €150 give or take.

The lads over in the Accommodation & Property forum will know better so I'll move it over to them

Senna

As the valuation is for documentary purposes only, could you approach a local (maybe small EA) tell them your situation, lack of money, purpose of valuation etc. Tell them where the property is and ask them to write a valuation without a call out. I'm sure you have an idea of the value and i'm sure the EA would have an idea without seeing it (its a field after all, just describe proximity to road, local services, etc).
Offer to pay €50, easy money for an EA and less cost for you.

Cathmandooo

I really think the valuer needs to see the site, they can't value something they haven't seen, it would be wrong.

Approach a couple of valuers that work as close to the field as possible and ask for a valuation. The only way you'll get a good quote is if you shop around. However the cheapest agent doesn't necessarily mean the best deal overall when you consider the capital gains. It would do no harm to ring up a few agents anyway and see what they offer you.

Any sites for sale around the area? Do your research to have a good idea of the value of the land before getting a valuation done.

Jo King

Senna wrote: »

As the valuation is for documentary purposes only, could you approach a local (maybe small EA) tell them your situation, lack of money, purpose of valuation etc. Tell them where the property is and ask them to write a valuation without a call out. I'm sure you have an idea of the value and i'm sure the EA would have an idea without seeing it (its a field after all, just describe proximity to road, local services, etc).
Offer to pay €50, easy money for an EA and less cost for you.

EA would be mad to do it for €50. It is an insult to offer that amount. The EA may be able to0 avoid a site visit because he may know the area in question and may be able to look at the ordinance survey maps so he knows what is being done. The Revenue are not obliged to accept the EAs valuation and may raise a valuation of their own. The result is the EA could be sued if he has gone astray.
Once he puts anything down under his letterhead he is liable for negligence if he gets something wrong.
A site is probably more difficult to value than a house. There are likely to be fewer comparitors so it may be necessary for the EA to do more work to justify the figure he gives.

muffler

Jo King wrote: »

A site is probably more difficult to value than a house. There are likely to be fewer comparitors so it may be necessary for the EA to do more work to justify the figure he gives.

Spoken like a true estate agent


Oh and I couldnt agree with that assessment of the situation at all.

D3PO

Ok so maybe Im being a little simplistic here, but if its your brother and he doesnt want the use of it and your just going to use it for gardening why dont you do just that ?

why bother transferring ownership of the land and going through the cost. I just dont see the point of it especailly if your living on a limited budget.

Senna

Jo King wrote: »

EA would be mad to do it for €50. It is an insult to offer that amount. The EA may be able to0 avoid a site visit because he may know the area in question and may be able to look at the ordinance survey maps so he knows what is being done. The Revenue are not obliged to accept the EAs valuation and may raise a valuation of their own. The result is the EA could be sued if he has gone astray.
Once he puts anything down under his letterhead he is liable for negligence if he gets something wrong.
A site is probably more difficult to value than a house. There are likely to be fewer comparitors so it may be necessary for the EA to do more work to justify the figure he gives.

I'd like to see an EA being sued for an incorrect valuation. Do you know the value of any item of property in the whole country? No-one know what the true value of any property is, i'm sure if the OP contacted 5 different EA's she would get 5 different figures, with a range of 20%.
€50 is more than fair for what i suggest, if a EA is willing or not, is down to the OP to find out.