Straight answers, no sales call

What was there at the date? Torquay property valuation questions.

If yours is not below, ask a real valuer and somebody who signs reports answers.

Acceptance & compliance

What is a property valuation?+

A valuer's signed opinion of what a property was worth on one nominated day, with the comparable sales and the reasoning set out beneath it. The day fixes two things, not one: which sales count as evidence, and which version of the property is being described. On a Torquay property that has been lived in and added to for years, the second matters as much as the first.

What is the difference between a property valuation and an agent appraisal?+

An appraisal is a free, unsigned selling estimate given while an agent competes for the listing, and it is always about the property as it stands today. A valuation is independent of any sale, effective as at a stated date, evidenced by settled sales and signed. Most Torquay owners who need a figure are not selling and are asking about a day that has already passed.

Who is qualified to prepare a property valuation?+

In Victoria, a valuer with the professional qualification and standing to have their opinion relied on. Their name and credentials appear on the report, which is exactly what allows a third party to act on it.

Timing & process

Will the ATO and an SMSF auditor accept the report?+

Yes. A valuer independent of your fund prepares and signs it, SISR 8.02B is the standard it is written to, and the comparable sales are attached rather than summarised, so an auditor can follow the figure back to its evidence.

Who signs the report?+

The valuer whose opinion it is, named with their qualification. Not the evidence engine that gathered the sales, and nobody signing in their stead. (from $550).

Is an Automated Market Assessment enough for tax purposes?+

No. Nothing in it is signed, so there is no independent opinion for an auditor, an accountant or a revenue office to stand on, and it reads the property as it stands rather than as it stood. Use it to decide, not to report. On timing: a signed desktop report usually goes out the same day, and an Automated Market Assessment the next business day.

How long is a property valuation valid for?+

It is effective as at its date rather than open-endedly. Where the recipient applies a currency period, that period governs, and your adviser will know which. A large share of the Torquay work we do is written to a day years back, where currency is not the question and the state of the property on that day is.

Pricing & orders

Are the prices really fixed?+

Yes. $169 for signed desktop reports, $79 for Automated Market Assessments. Inspection valuations start at $550, with the exact price confirmed at checkout before you pay, never after.

Why is the valuation different from the price a property is advertised at?+

An advertised price is a marketing position, often a range set to attract interest. A valuation reports settled evidence. A Torquay campaign will also lean on everything the property has become, whereas a valuation reports what it was on the day it has been asked about.

How long does a property valuation take?+

A signed desktop report is usually ready the same business day. An inspected report waits on access, and where the valuer also has to establish what was added and when, that conversation with the owner is the step worth allowing time for. An Automated Market Assessment arrives the next business day.

Is market value the same as the value on my council rates notice?+

No. A rates notice generally carries a land value, the ground on its own with nothing standing on it, struck for rating at a date the council chose. In Torquay, where so much of the difference between two properties is what has been built on the block, that is a long way from the question you are asking. A valuation covers the whole property at the date you need.

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