Your property questions answered

Guidance on AMVs

Reading up on houses in your supplement last week I noticed that the prices were given as being advised minimum value (AMV). Is that your value or the agent's and how am I supposed to know the guide?

Property never gets involved in pricing a house so any value you see on the page is one that has been established by the agent. There are no guide prices any more. Estate agency is a self-regulated profession and its regulatory body, the IAVI, has introduced this new system in an effort to do something about the situation where houses were going for a significant price over the pre-auction guide price.

The advised minimum value (AMV) is supposed to be just what it says, the price that the agent advises the seller that the house is worth. You'll notice if you've been watching the market closely that the AMVs coming out now are higher than the old guide prices. That's because there was the nod and the wink system where an agent typically gave a house a guide price around 20 per cent less than everyone knew the house was worth or what the seller might possibly accept.

There's a bit of cynicism around as to how effective AMVs are going to be, and if they really are guide prices by another mouthful of a name. The IAVI's hope is that the AMV will mean fewer surprises in the auction room but the truth is that no one will know until early February when the houses now on the market begin to go to auction.

A word of caution in all of this - the AMV has nothing to do with a reserve price - the seller still has the final say.

If, for example, a house has an AMV of €700,000 and it reaches, say €750,000 at auction, but the seller has it in his mind that he won't accept anything less than €800,000. In that case the house is likely to be withdrawn, causing grief for the bidders who had gone to the considerable expense of going to the auction.

Selling plans for extension

Two years ago we had an architect draw up plans for a large kitchen extension and we also secured planning permission. Between architectural fees and planning costs we spent a lot of money before deciding that we would prefer to move rather than extend. Should we wait until the house is sold and then approach the new owners to see if they want to buy the plans?

Selling a house that already has planning permission for an extension is always a plus - it usually gives new owners confidence that, if they do decide to extend, a precedent will have been set showing that the planners have no objection in principal to work being done on the house. Extensions, especially kitchen extensions, tend to be quite personal and people like to work with the architect on the design.

Any prospective buyer can get details from the planning office of your planning application and will be able to get a good idea of your intentions. It's difficult to see why a buyer, knowing that the plans now are of absolutely no value to you, will be prepared to buy your plans off you. Let your agent show interested buyers the plans - helping people see the potential of your house will speed the sale.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.