PRICE OF VALUATION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 16 April 1928, Page 4

PRICE OF VALUATION

COMPLAINT BY FARMERS

TO MINISTER OF LANDS

At a gathering of farmers at Bainham on Saturday to" inpct the Minister ot Lands (the'Hon. A. D. McLeod), complaint against the excessive cost of revaluation of land by the. various departments was made by Mr John Fish. Mr Fish said that the. State Advances Valuer came along to a man's farm and looked over the fence. The next thing the man received was a bill for 14 or 15 guineas. Farmers objected to that. In one case some, two or three months ago the valuer came to Golden Bay to valuo two or three properties. The only difficult one to visit was Westhaven. The charges made by the valuer (5, 10 and 15 guineas) were an absolute imposition. The Minister said he did not know of. any valuation charges that were anything near the amounts mentioned. At. the end of the last financial year it was reported to him that the Department had parried out 30,000 valuations for the State Advances Office at a loss of between £5.000 and £9,000. A discussion then took place as to whether the Valuation Department should not raise its charges to the State Advances Office. The Valuation Department: never charged more than the actual cost to tho Department- -£2 2s a day for the valuer, tar hire. clc. It. cost somewhere abot.f £'oo,ooo a year for the valuation work for local body and general taxation. Out oT HO.OOO land owners in New Zealand there were 65.000 who paid no tax iti respect of those valuations. The Minister stated that if the farmers got their own valuer it would cost more than the Department charged.

Mr Fish did not hold with that, and said he could have, got for £'3 3s valuations that cost sometimes £ls 15s.

Mr McLeod offered to supply pavitcubus of why any particular charge hadl been made. He was also prepared to wager Mr Fish the best hat thru could be bought in Nelson that he could not. produce any actual case where a valuation for the Si a 11- Advances had eosj. more thai 1 £5.

Mr Fish did not accept the challenge. The Minister said that valuation charges made by the Public Trust Office should nut be confused with ordite. an Government valuations. The Public TrusH-o often renuired an independent valuation in addition to the Government valuation. The impatience of the applicants themselves did much to increase tl.e cost of valuation work. A valuer might, be in the Gr.lden Bay district ot<o day and then rush away to Mnrchison to another farmer who wanted his land valued in a hurry. Costs would be much cut down if the valuation officers eouM remain some time in the one distrit I dealing with all the work there.