There appears to be a misconception surrounding property Values in South Africa. There is no such thing as a Bank Evaluator, Valuator or Bank Appraiser. We are property Valuers who are registered with the South African Council for Property Valuers Profession. Property Valuers who either work in the private sector or are employed in Financial Institutions are all members of SACPVP and fall within the requirements and ethical constraints of the statutory body. The Valuers are either in training and referred to as Candidate Valuers working with a mentor or they are qualified as Professional Valuers and Professional Associate Valuers.
To qualify as a Valuer requires a minimum of 3 years of study, attending a week long intensive workschool before a minimum of 2 years work experience and thereafter applying to the SACPVP board to sit and write the entrance board exam.
The 2nd misconception within the South African property market is that there is a difference between Bank Valuation and market valuations. Valuations are performed predominately at market value no matter whether performed by a Bank or for a Bank. Other Valuation requests are at times required by the client, such as replacement cost or insurance Valuations, but they are predominantly requests for market valuations.
The purchase of a property may well be the largest single investment that the average person makes. It is therefore important to understand why the valuation is required, and why the services of an independent and objective Property Valuer is required.