Our property valuation for Rates purposes increased by 30% despite the world having been in a prolonged recession and no improvements having been made to the property since 2008, when we put up a small wooden fence and a large sliding gate. I got out my little map with the erf numbers for Kommetjie and set about snooping into the valuations of all the neighbours' properties - the council website holds no secrets and you may look up the information on any erf you wish. So now I know whose names they are registered in, the street addresses and the latest valuations. The problem is that our street address is wrong. We have moved around the corner into one of the side streets, according to someone with finger trouble at the council. I don't think I'll even bother to pursue it - it's rather like Telkom - an employee is allowed access to our accounts and is able to make changes to our addresses, apparently. Over the last few years, I have had no fewer than three changes of gender, postal address and street address on our phone accounts, all without request or notification. It's a miracle we ever get the accounts, as currently the business phone is situated in Scarborough (according to Telkom), although the building is in Hout Bay. The mind boggles. However, back to the Rates valuation...
Having seen that the neighbours' valuations are some R300 000 less than ours, and one in fact R1 000 000 less (!), I thought it was time to exercise our voice in this country and lodge an objection. The next day, a local flyer was stuck through the gate and there on the front page was an offer by a local estate agent to do a free valuation and fill in the form! With nothing to lose, I immediately made an appointment for them to come over.
We started off in the garage, where the agent duly admired the ample space for 8 cars, extensive shelving for tools, large equipment, bar area and office, together with large window and sliding doors leading out onto a patio. (Well, that didn't go too well - it all looked rather desirable.) Then out into the garden, where we paced up and down the 175 feet from one end to the other, pointing out the numerous taps, space for water tanks, 4 wellpoints and well with pump, supplying adequate free water throughout the year. (Hmmm.)
I indicated that, as it was a wooden house, it needed lots of maintenance and at present was in a rather sad state, needing a complete sand down and revarnishing. (He knows someone who will make it look like new for R2 000.) I then pulled out my trump card - an asbestos roof! I heard the other day that an asbestos roof can devalue your property by R300 000 or the cost of a new roof, and I though we were onto something, but the agent said he hadn't heard that it would need replacing if we sold the house and the thick layer of lichen that covers it was keeping it under control. (I personally feel that we are in no danger as long as we don't go up there and grind it.) So that blew that one out of the water.
We then discussed the spacious back yard where it would be very easy to build a small second dwelling. It was starting to sound as if we were putting together a brochure for a For Sale advert and all we could find was good points.
Proceeding upstairs to view the accommodation offered, my relatively small house was bathed in sunshine, giving it a warm, cottagey feel inside. The spacious balcony afforded a limited but more than adequate view of the sea, with crashing waves and passing ships. The only downside was the unfinished bathroom (he knows someone who can fix that for R1 000).
All in all, we succeeded in convincing ourselves that there wouldn't be a more ideal place to live and that the current valuation was probably a bargain, considering that the erf is 50% bigger than our neighbours' land.
I have only one card left to play - when it rains, a river runs through it.
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