Valuing a house: how the plot and building work together

First establish which house is actually being valued

Begin with the parcel number, land register folio number, address and valuation date. Is the driveway in the same ownership? Is the visible garden entirely within the recorded parcels? Is the whole house being sold or only a share? These questions change the subject of the valuation. A photograph of the house and a living-area figure do not answer them.

Then note use: owner-occupied, let, vacant or partly made available to others. List all structures, including the garage, garden house and later extensions. Each part needs an area, use and supporting evidence. For a house on someone else's land, a building right or an allotment property, the special legal bases must be clarified separately; this guide assumes an ordinary house with its own plot.

What the land contributes to the house

Two plots of the same size may offer very different uses. Record shape, slope, access, utility connections and the house's position on the plot. A narrow strip of garden may be valuable private outdoor space without constituting another building plot. Conversely, inconveniently positioned existing construction may hinder otherwise conceivable development. The plot area is therefore not multiplied by an arbitrary price for undeveloped building land without checking.

For Vienna plots, the information system for the land-use zoning and development plan provides an initial starting point. The city expressly states that the overview creates no legal entitlement. Have specific extension or subdivision proposals checked against the relevant provisions. In the profile, write, for example: additional development unverified, rather than additional building area available. This prevents a hope from quietly becoming a valuation premise.

Foundations: Stadt Wien [3]

Record buildings and external works according to their usefulness

For the building, layout, natural light, access between floors and technical condition matter alongside size and construction type. A generous area with many walk-through rooms serves a different purpose from the same area with readily usable rooms. Allocate modernisation to individual components: a renewed kitchen says little about the roof, waterproofing or services. Invoices evidence expenditure; they do not prove an equal increase in value.

The cost approach under § 6 LBG considers land, structures and other components. For buildings, relevant factors include construction costs, age, condition and economic considerations. External works such as boundaries, paths or retaining walls are allocated transparently. A pool may appeal to some buyers and represent ongoing expense to others. A historical invoice amount cannot replace an assessment of its market acceptance today.

Foundations: RIS [1]

A profile links characteristics and evidence

Do not enter a single overall rating such as good condition. Write down observable characteristics and their sources. A document may be outdated, and an inspection cannot assess concealed building components. The unresolved-question column makes these limits visible and shows which next check would actually make a difference.

Why the sum is not yet the market value

Individually recorded components form an understandable valuation model. The result must then fit the market for the house as a whole. Within its scope, § 7 LBG requires consideration of conditions in fair market dealings. This does not mean every detached house is automatically assigned to exactly one method. Available comparable data, property characteristics and valuation purpose determine the professional choice.

Check particularly for double counting: a total price derived from house sales already includes a land component. Adding a full land value to this price would be inconsistent. Likewise, estimated refurbishment must not be reflected both in an expressly reduced building condition and again as an identical full cost deduction. Ask for an explanation of where each particular feature enters the result.

Foundations: RIS [2]