What you should know about General Valuations:
1. An unrealistic increase in the value of your property will have you paying more for your rates, in the short term. Long term, it escalates annually for the next 4 years, until the next GV, which means your increase will compound annually.
2. Historically your Municipal Valuation has very little to do with the marketing or the selling price of your property. Don’t confuse an inflated GV valuation with a market-related price, as is often the misconception. Buyers won’t fall for this.
3. Little known fact – SARS expects the Duty on a property to be paid either on the Sale Price or the General Valuation, whichever is the higher. So be careful not to penalize your future buyer or put the sale of your property into jeopardy. Currently, the conveyancing attorney can make a case on the buyer’s behalf but SARS has the final say!
4. The objection period is usually very short, only 3 – 4 weeks.
5. The objection process is quite sophisticated but more user-friendly than you think.
