Western residents fight house valuations
WHAT’S your house valued at? Nearly 300 residents from three council areas objected to their property valuations in the past financial year — and a third got the value reduced, leading to a reduction in council rates.
NEARLY 300 residents in the Marion, Holdfast Bay and West Torrens council areas objected to their property valuations in the past financial year, with just over a third of them having the house value reduced.
Marion recorded 132 objections to the Office of the Valuer-General (54 successful); Holdfast Bay 83 (26 successful); and West Torrens 72 (29 successful).
A new, and complex, case now involves South Plympton householders Robert and Elana Bajraszewski, aged 60 and 55.
They are seeking a reassessment of their home value after being hit, in July, with a rate rise in excess of 50 per cent in just one year.
They claim the capital value of their property, which was subdivided and built in 2016, was largely to blame for the rate increase from $1306 to $1978.
Their three-bedroom, 351sq m house’s capital value has risen from $365,000 to $560,000.
The Office of the Valuer-General told CoastCity Weekly the increase was because the home was “being recognised as a newly completed house”.
The couple, who moved from Glandore into their new home in April 2017, have approached Marion Council, the Valuer-General’s office and Infrastructure Minister Stephan Knoll in the past three months.
Mr Bajraszewski said an arbitrary $50,000 was taken off the purchase price to arrive at the current home value, which was above South Plympton’s median house price of $535,000.
“I raised questions (to the senior valuer) — what’s the guiding principles of the valuation, how do you work this all out?” Mr Bajraszewski said.
“He didn’t want to go into too much detail but I asked ‘Do you appreciate the fact that this house is half the size of our last home, the block’s half the size (and) the medical reasons that we moved here?’.”
The Valuer-General’s office told CoastCity Weekly general valuation was determined by “property sales and market information obtained from various sources, including market participants such as real estate agents”.
Location, land zoning, building size and age and topography were among factors which could affect a property valuation.
“We’re not really arguing, we’re asking, ‘can you clarify?’ … they don’t appear to be accountable,” Mrs Bajraszewski said.
“It’s good that you’ve got an asset that is more valuable but the thing is, they lose sight of the fact that it affects the majority of people in our demographic … where you have a fixed limited income.”
Marion Council’s average household rate rise this financial year was 1.8 per cent, which was the third lowest among Adelaide metropolitan councils.
Marion chief executive Adrian Skull said its annual budget ensured the council did not collect revenue over and above what was required.
“The City of Marion does not receive a cash windfall when blocks of land are subdivided to increase the number of rateable properties,” he said.