Once you get this information from Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd., you can drive around the neighbourhood and look at all those other properties on the list from the outside to make comparisons with yours. There is also no reason why you can’t politely knock on a few of the doors of these properties, explaining to the new owners that you are wanting to sell your property and that because you know that they recently paid so much for their house, you would like them to let you have a brief look through it since it could help you get a better estimation of the value of your own property. Discussing this with the new owners could give you a bit more insight on the value of your house since they most likely would have looked at several houses before buying theirs and could benefit you with information they gained from their experience.

Of course, if you wanted to, you could pay a certified valuer to value your property, but his would cost you several hundred dollars and the essential information that they would base their valuations on would come from Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd anyway. However, if your property is likely to be worth several hundred thousand dollars and is difficult to compare with other properties, it could be a very worthwhile investment.

So I hope you will have gathered by now, that arriving at a reasonable marketing valuation for your property requires nothing more than finding out a bit of information and applying some basic common sense. No special skills are required.

Because you can never really know the best price that your property could fetch beforehand, it is wise to start by asking ten or twenty thousand dollars more than your estimated value just in case you under estimated it. You can always come down. If you receive an offer that is lower than your advertised price but which you would be likely to accept if there were no higher offers, you can tell the buyer that you might consider it in a few weeks time if you get no higher offers.

Below is a list of things that would add value to a property followed by another list that would reduce its value:

Things that will add value to a property;
A popular locality
Good street appeal
Scenic outlooks
A corner section
Handy to amenities
Not being shaded from sunshine
Being in a cul-de-sac in the midst of other well maintained properties
Plenty of natural light
A unique style
Architectural design
Extensive floor space
Being constructed with high quality, low maintenance materials
Large bedrooms
A conservatory
A modern kitchen and bathroom•More than one story or floor level
A large section
Landscaped gardens, tidily mown lawns, neatly cut hedges, well maintained fences and clean and tidy paved pathways
A fresh coat of paint with a good colour scheme
Decorative hanging plant baskets, window boxes and letterboxes
An attractive well maintained roof that matches the colour of the house
Drive on access
A neat and tidy interior
Good quality drapes, curtains, floor coverings and light fittings
More than one bathroom and toilet
Verandas, porches and sun decks
Double garages and workshop space
Glasshouses, gazeboes and garden sheds
Fruit trees and tidy flower and vegetable gardens
An overall impression of new purchasers being able to move in without having to do much work or have to make alterations

Things that will detract from the value to a property
An unpopular locality
Poor street appeal
Difficult access
Being set in the midst of unappealing badly maintained homes
Old age, unless it has special architectural value
An untidy section
A very small section
Being a long distance from amenities such as bus stops, shops, schools and churches
Being too close to bus stops, railway lines, shops, schools, churches and play areas where one is subject to noise interference
Being shaded from sunshine
A lack of natural light
Being subject to dampness
A plain unimaginative style
Building additions that don’t match the original style
Limited floor space
Small rooms
Being constructed with low quality materials
Having rotting weatherboards
Having wooden piles
Not having insulation
An old kitchen and bathroom
Having a lawn that is too difficult to mow
Run down fences
Smelliness caused by cigarette smoke and pets
Being obviously in need of painting
Being painted but having a poor colour scheme
Having an ugly roof or one that obviously needs attending to
An untidy interior
Poor quality drapes, curtains, floor coverings and light fittings
Not having a garage or car port
Run down garden sheds
An overall impression of purchasers being required to do a lot of work either before or after they move in.