House valuation services

The six services divide along two axes, and it helps to see them that way rather than as a flat list. The first is what kind of property is being valued: residential covers houses, units, townhouses and apartments; rural covers farms, lifestyle blocks and holdings where land quality and water entitlements drive value; specialist covers heritage homes, development sites and property that standard comparison methods handle badly.

The second axis is how thoroughly the property is inspected: desktop with no site visit, curbside from the street, or a full internal and external inspection. This is the axis that determines who will accept the report, and it is where most people choose wrongly.

The two combine. A rural property can be valued desktop, curbside or full — but a rural full inspection takes longer and costs more than a suburban one, because the land is the asset and it has to be walked. A heritage-overlay home needs a full inspection almost by definition, since the controls that affect its value cannot be read from sales data.

Choosing by property type

Most Melbourne property is straightforwardly residential, and the residential service covers it. Move to rural where there is meaningful land, productive use or a water entitlement attached. Move to specialist where the property has an attribute that a comparable sale cannot capture — a heritage overlay, development potential, an unusual title, or a design with no real peers. If you are unsure which applies, describe the property when you enquire and we will tell you, at no cost.

Choosing by depth of inspection

Ask who has to rely on the number. If the answer is only you, a desktop valuation is enough and it is the fastest and least expensive route. If the answer is a lender, the loan-to-value ratio decides: desktop at low LVRs, curbside through the middle band, and a full inspection once the ratio passes 80 per cent. If the answer includes a court, the ATO, the State Revenue Office or the other side of a dispute, only a full inspection valuation will be accepted, and a cheaper report bought first is money spent twice.