VALUE!

Fri 1 April 2016

What a word! We are, in our day to day capacity as valuers and auctioneers, being asked regularly to “can you please value this or value that”. But if you stand back and consider the word value and its associated close relatives, we have a whole world of words surrounding one core word.

For example, we have value added, value added tax, value analysis, over value, under value, actual value, best value, worst value, average value, cash value.

A dictionary definition of the word value is “the desirability of a thing, often in respect of some property, such as usefulness or exchangeability worth, merit or importance”. Relative to property perhaps the question most people want answered is the current market value of their property. Again we have to consider some different interpretations such as arm’s length, open market, willing seller, willing buyer, forced sale value, potential value. What a conundrum of words! We have unique value, particular value. We have clients who are looking for a property and “seeking value”.

Perception of value. Very few parties have little or no opinion of how they see the value of their own property. It is still surprising how many times parties are reluctant to give an indication of their own thoughts and will, so often, say “I have no idea”!

So you want to get your house valued? Does this mean a Market Appraisal with a view of coming for sale or the Bank might have asked you what is your house currently worth? Sadly, where following a death or thoughts of separation and divorce are concerned the parties will, more often than not, want to know current market value and a “bottom line” or perhaps they mean a forced sale value.

We then have the request for a valuation. The dictionary tells us that a valuation is “the act of deciding how much something might be sold for”.

Who or what is a valuer? A buyer and a seller may both enquire of perhaps the same or a different valuer the opinion of what they think something is worth. Basically, a valuation is not an exact science and so often during the depths of discussion where we are looking into the smoke screen, ghost and mirrors, which surround the subject we so often will hear a phrase either said by “the valuer” or the party requesting the advice, that ultimately value is what someone will pay.

So relevant to property and value, the value will reflect “where it is, what it is, what condition it is in, the potential or lack of potential it has and, perhaps, is it mortgageable”.

Most parties when contacting an Estate Agent will expect to receive a visit from a property expert. The dictionary tells us that an expert is “a person who has special skills or knowledge in some particular field”.

Within Phipps & Pritchard with McCartneys, we do have access to experts. Our property world is still dominated by real people in real offices. Admittedly, there are purely some on-line marketing agencies coming through but most traditional Estate Agents with office locations offer as a minimum all of the services that an on-line agent will profess to offer, but we retain prominently positioned local offices offering a depth of knowledge available locally with real people willing to come and visit you to discuss and offer the appropriate services that you may require, face to face and in the old fashioned way, plus giving you access to real experts plus, of course, the on-line and digital marketing backed up by support from our successful award winning offices.

If you are not quite sure what value or valuation you are seeking then, as ever, please do contact me or any of my colleagues and we will try to assist in the tried and tested old fashioned way.

Chris Rees MRICS - Managing Partner (01562) 822244