POLOKWANE – Residents should make use of the opportunity to inspect their properties’ new valuations, said property owners who received nasty surprises when they inspected the new valuation roll on Monday.
Review investigated and found some properties worth millions were valued at R0, while others were valued at around half their expected selling price or the previous valuation. Property owners said they were surprised by the decrease in the value of their property as valued by the new valuers, with properties worth around R2 million going down to a few hundred thousand rand.
Review found mistakes were made with the number of dwellings per erf on some valuations and some properties could not be found on the roll at all.
Valuations were mostly based on aerial photographs, and few properties were physically inspected. A representative of eValuations, the company who won the municipal valuation tender last year, recently told Review that properties were not physically inspected as it was not easy to gain access when people were working during the day, for instance.
Properties were supposed to be valued at market value in terms of the Local Government Municipal Properties Rating Act No 6 of 2004. This entails the most probable price that your property would realise if sold on the open market to a willing buyer
Review spoke to property owners about their property valuations and many were happy with the valuations. Some properties, both residential and industrial or business were valued less than the previous value and some more. Most owners were satisfied that a fair market value was set for their properties.
Owners have only until May 30 to lodge objections and no late objections will be accepted by the municipality. It is a big question, however, if owners whose properties were valued too low or lower will lodge an objection.
No electronic, e-mail or facsimile objections will be accepted: only objections by registered mail or hand-delivered forms will be accepted at the municipal offices. Objections by registered mail must be addressed to the Municipal Manager, PO Box 111, Polokwane, 0700.
The required forms for objection to an individual property are available on the city’s website, www. polokwane.gov.za or at the municipal offices or libraries. A Section 49 notice, which informs property owners of the amount at which your property has been valued, must be brought along when submitting an objection to expedite the submission process.
A property owner can object to the market value (as determined on July 1, 2014) or the stated category of the property or if property description or owner names are incorrect. Bring along a municipal account with your municipal account number and your erf number when inspecting your property value. When entering your account number on the website, be sure not to enter the letters POLO as per the municipal account; you will not be able to access your valuation. Just enter the digits of the account number.
The objection will be referred back to the valuer, who will review the valuation in light of additional information provided and you will be informed in writing of the outcome. Should you still not be satisfied, you may lodge an appeal to be heard by a valuation appeal board.
The new tariffs will kick in on July 1 with the commencement of the new financial year.
