SALES OF PROPERTY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 121, 18 November 1943, Page 4

SALES OF PROPERTY

COMMITTEE'S POLICY

A ruling on the policy of the Wellington Urban Land Sales Committee in regard to depreciation, and allowances for vacant possession, land agents' commission and other costs, was given by the chairman of the committee, Mr. C. O. Bell, yesterday. "The committee, has gone into the question of depreciation in connection with timber houses, and is of the opinion that 1£ per cent, is the minimum depreciation that could be allowed only in houses constructed of the best materials, and when maintained in an exceptional state," said Mr. Bell. It was impossible to fix the amount of depreciation in other cases, as the matter depended entirely, on the materials with which the dwelling had been constructed and the manner in which it had been maintained, also as to whether it had been owneroccupied. The question of allowing a premium for vacant possession had also been considered, and the committee was not prepared to make any allowance for this, said Mr. Bell. The-question of an allowance "for land agents' commission, stamp duties, and costs had also been raised and considered. Here again the committee was not prepared to make . any allowance for these items in respect of valuations. The absence of Mr. H: Ppole, a member of the executive, from the opening of the rose show at Lower Hutt yesterday was commented upon by the president of the Horticultural Society, Mr. N. B. Gibbons. He said he could not remember a similar occasion in the history of the society. Mr. Poole, who is 85 years of age, was tfnable to be present owing to the absence of help at his nursery gardens. i