rateable value/rates

[migratory birds]

...means what when I'm looking at houses on-line?

[jackie m]

Its what the value of the house was when the council did a valuation on it for rates. IE ours was done 3 years ago when we brought a year ago it was $280,000 & we paid $330,000 for our house so gives you a rough idea on the value. Sure someone else to correct me if I'm wrong.
Jackie

[dharder]

...means what when I'm looking at houses on-line?

I always think of them like the council tax bands.

They may or may not be an indication of what you'd have to pay, the market value and the rateable value might be very far apart, depending on the intervalls in which the rates are readjusted and the housing market (i.e. if the council valued the place a long time ago, and prices have gone up lots, then there will be a significant difference between the two values).

The annual rates you have to pay your council depend on the rateable value of your house.

Daniela

[Hibiscus]

In US terms rates = annual real estate taxes

Not sure if it is the same for all states, but, in CT usually referred to as town taxes. Covers things like garbage collection, schools etc

As mentioned, rateable value is the amount the local town/county think your home is worth - this is the one they increase when you apply for permission to extend/improve your house ......

[migratory birds]

How would I know if the difference between the rateable value and the list price is what would be expected for the region or if an agent/homoeowner is expecting/asking too much on the sale to milk it for all they can?

[Tia Maria]

migratory birds wrote:

How would I know if the difference between the rateable value and the list price is what would be expected for the region or if an agent/homoeowner is expecting/asking too much on the sale to milk it for all they can?

Research and gaining as much knowledge of the local area as you can.

Are you in NZ? (It doesn't say in your profile). If you are, visit lots of open homes, even ones you are not interested in, to see what sells quickly and what hangs about and why - condition, location, lack of similar properties etc. You will soon get a feel for what level houses should be priced at.

QV is a good site for telling you what prices houses have actually sold for, it costs but well worth it in my opinion:

www.qv.co.nz

For a free version - but with less properties try:

http://nz.helpsellmyproperty.net/

When it comes down to it the RV will reflect land size and property size for that area but it can't tell you whether somone spent $5,000 on their kitchen or $65,000 on it. Hence, price differences and like Jackie M said they were set about 3 years ago and the market has moved on quite a bit since then.

When you are actually buying you can get a survey done if you are unsure about the price, just make sure its one of the clauses of the offer!

Cheers

Tia

[IanW99]

As a general rule, houses in the same immediate area will increase in value by the same percentage. So using the RV can be a good indication of the current value of a property (useful for sales by tender).

So when you start looking in an area, take a note of the RV and asking price for those that tell you and then you can use it as a guide for those that don't.

If you do find a property that you are interested in e.g. at an open home, ask the agent for sales in the area and they should be able to print off a list of all the sales around the property - will include size of property, rateable value, sale price and date of sale. You can use this to get a good idea of it's value. Your bank can also provide some (free) basic information as to what the property is worth.

If it all still seems worthwhile, then you could get a QV report, they can tell you the 'actual' price that the property is 'officially' worth today.

This may not include any recent improvements, or what a buyer would be prepared to pay for the property but is a very good starting point to be sure that you are not paying way over the odds.

Ian

[nickydwuk]

When looking at house details on the real estate sites - if they quote the rates for the property is that monthly or annually? Wewere looking at a property and it said that the rates were $1154. This seems a lot monthly.

[james the mechanic]

I don’t know which area you’re looking in, but mine are around $1100 per year in Hawke’s Bay if that helps at all.
James

[IanW99]

When looking at house details on the real estate sites - if they quote the rates for the property is that monthly or annually? Wewere looking at a property and it said that the rates were $1154. This seems a lot monthly.

I would agree, most likely to be annual. We pay our rates every two months, don't know if that is the same for all regions?

Ian