Most people ask “What is property valuation anyway? And why should I bother to know about it?” Well, for starters, property valuation is a very important step in putting up a property for sale or rent. Having knowledge about property valuation is a great advantage to a valuer or property owner and to each and every person (banker, accountant, student, electrician, politician, buyer, prospective tenant, etc).

Property Valuation is an estimation of the worth of a property (land, buildings or other properties). It’s one of the many real estate terms everyone should learn. Estimating the worth of something may sound easy but in truth, it requires experience and expertise. So that is where values come in. A value is a professional whose job is to determine and say how much a property is worth.

There are a lot of reasons that would make someone want to value the worth of his/her property. These reasons include (but are not limited to): sale/purchase, rental/letting, insurance, mortgage, compensation, and taxation on property. Most people value their properties for the purpose of sale or rental. Either they no longer need the property or they are in urgent need of money so the best thing they do is to:

• Hire a valuer
• The valuer values the worth of the property based on such things as the dimensions of the property and the type of building materials used
• The property is then put up for sale/rent at (or based on) the price that was determined by the valuer
• The property gets sold and the owner gets their money

The procedure might look rather simple but in truth, it is not. It is quite a lengthy process.
Before you can know the worth of your property, the first most important thing is to make sure all the legal documents of the property in question are handy. The next step is to find a renowned and trustworthy valuer (if you have trouble getting one you can go to any Lands Commission office in the country or visit www.ghisonline.org).

After going to meet the valuer, he/she will ask for your property documents and would want to go see the property. The valuer takes over at this point by using his/her hard earned qualifications, skills, experience and professionalism to value the worth of your property and come out with an approximated value. This usually takes between four (4) to seven (7) days depending on the skills of the valuer and also the nature of the property.

Within these days, the property’s worth is estimated based on specific standard measurements and the type of materials used in the building, determining its the worth. It is important to know that the ascertained value of a property is dynamic that is, once a property’s worth is determined, there is the probability of its worth changing over time depending on the inflation or deflation rate of the economy.

Therefore, if a building is valued (mostly for sale or rental purposes) and after a year (depending on the state of the economy) it hasn’t been sold out or rented, it must be re-valued for the greater good of the possessor.

The next time you move into a building or want to sell, rent, insure or mortgage a building, plan on a professional property valuation and implement these pointers on increasing your home’s value for a big sale.