- First clarify the intended use and required valuation date, then commission the valuation.
- Document property value, debts, costs and legal entitlements separately.
- All parties should work with the same property documents and explicitly stated assumptions.
Which question should the valuation answer?
The question 'What is the property worth?' can conceal several tasks: a basis for probate proceedings, a private agreement, acquisition by one person or sale to third parties. Write the specific intended use in one sentence. Clarify who is commissioning the work, who receives the result and what form of evidence is required.
Austrian probate proceedings are court proceedings generally handled by notaries acting as court commissioners. Therefore coordinate procedure-related valuation questions with the responsible body. A privately obtained online estimate does not automatically meet a proceeding's requirements. A different brief may be useful for an additional private sale or acquisition decision; the two purposes must remain clearly distinct.
Foundations: Österreich.gv.at / Österreichische Notariatskammer [1]
Set the valuation date, condition and definition of value together
The required valuation date follows from the specific legal or agreed task. Do not automatically use either the date of death or today for every question. For a retrospective valuation, the property's circumstances at the time must also be reconstructable: tenancy, condition, areas and rights may have changed since then. Dated photographs, agreements and invoices help establish this bridge.
The LBG distinguishes market value from personal sentimental valuations. Memories of the family home may strongly influence your own decision, but do not determine the usual market value. Nor should a tax value or another official value be equated with market value without examination. The valuation brief should explicitly name the required definition of value and include any differing legal requirements.
A shared instruction sheet prevents contradictory results
Agree on a shared description before commissioning the work. It helps to nominate one person to compile documents and let the others add unresolved issues. Unclear statements are recorded as such. A shared folder alone is not enough if different people select different area figures or use assumptions from it.
| Point | What to record | Open question for review |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Proceedings, agreement, acquisition or sale | Which requirements apply? |
| Subject | Plots, apartment, shares, rights | The entire property or a particular share? |
| Time reference | Valuation date and condition at that time | Which subsequent changes must be separated out? |
| Use | Occupied, let, made available to others, vacant | Which agreements or rights exist? |
| Depth of evidence | Inspection, document review, form of result | Which additional assessments are needed? |
| Organisation | Access, responsibility for documents, recipients | Who is authorised to carry out each step? |
Foundations: RIS [3]
Separate property value from the personal asset calculation
An estate may contain both assets and debts. The shared overview therefore records separately: the property's value under the agreed assumptions, actual liabilities, possible administration or transaction costs and other assets. Allocation of these items and any equalisation claims must be clarified legally. A property valuation alone does not produce a completed distribution calculation.
A co-ownership share is also not automatically equivalent to the mathematical fraction of a freely saleable whole property. Clarify whether the parties need the total value for an internal agreement or the market value of a share to be sold individually. Do not use a blanket share discount. For rights of residence or existing uses, their content and continuing validity must first be assessed legally and then reflected appropriately in the valuation model.
Foundations: Österreich.gv.at [4]
What to check in the completed result
For reports within its scope, § 9 LBG specifies, among other things, purpose, valuation date, inspection, documents, findings and justification of the approach. This structure also helps when reading a privately commissioned report: is it clear what was established and what was assumed? Are an inaccessible basement, missing tenancy agreements or an unresolved area figure explicitly identified?
First compare differing valuations on the same basis. A different valuation date or assumed vacant possession may explain a large part of the difference. Collect follow-up questions together and have new documents incorporated transparently. Only on this basis can acquisition, sale or continued shared use be discussed. Legal entitlements and tax consequences are addressed with the relevant professionals using this clarified factual basis.
Foundations: RIS [3]
Fictional case: two siblings, two different valuation questions
In an explicitly invented inheritance case, one person wishes to take over the house while the other is considering a later sale. An older estimate and a current online result are available.
- The parties clarify with the appropriate adviser which valuation is needed for the proceedings. An additional present-day decision question is formulated separately.
- For their shared deliberation, they document the same areas, the same condition and existing use rights. The older estimate is not simply averaged with the online result because its time reference differs.
- The new report provides a basis for value. Liabilities, any costs and the legal structure of a transfer to one party are then addressed separately.
The case shows how a clear brief can prevent disputes over unsuitable figures. It makes no statement about inheritance shares or a specific entitlement to payment.
Your next assessment steps
Record what you have already clarified and which documents you still need.
Agree purpose and valuation date
Which specific question must the valuation answer?
Where can I obtain the supporting information?
Involve the court commissioner or appropriate legal adviser.
Identify the subject of valuation precisely
Is it the whole property, a unit or a share?
Where can I obtain the supporting information?
Compile the land register extract and relevant deeds.
Organise shared property documents
Are all parties working from the same factual basis?
Where can I obtain the supporting information?
Document areas, use, condition and earlier changes.
Record liabilities separately
Which amounts belong in the asset calculation rather than the property value?
Where can I obtain the supporting information?
Obtain current evidence for the appropriate adviser.
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Sources and date
The following sources support this main article. For your specific property, current documents and the applicable conditions matter.
- Österreich.gv.at / Österreichische NotariatskammerGeneral information on probate proceedings
- RISProperty Valuation Act § 2: valuation principle
- RISProperty Valuation Act § 9: content of the valuation report
- Österreich.gv.atEstate: definition and scope
Editorial date: 11/09/2026. Examples explain relationships and do not contain an individually prepared property valuation. Editorial work and sources.
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