Date-of-Death Property Valuations: An Executor's Practical Guide

Dealing with an estate often means finding documents while managing unfamiliar decisions. A property valuation can become one more task on an already long list. Getting the instruction clear at the start makes the process easier.

A date-of-death valuation looks back. It asks what the relevant property interest was worth at that date—not what the house might sell for today. A current inspection helps gather information, but the valuer also needs evidence about the earlier property and market.

In this guide

• Confirm the instruction before gathering everything
• What helps establish the property’s earlier condition?
• What if the property has been renovated or damaged?
• A practical document checklist
• Where the SARS REV246 form fits in

Make a brief timeline of major changes. Include additions, demolition, substantial repairs, fire or storm damage, and changes in occupation where relevant. Separate work completed before the date of death from work done afterwards.

For example, suppose a kitchen was replaced six months after the date being valued. Today’s inspection shows the new kitchen. Dated photographs and invoices can help establish what was there before. The amount spent on the renovation is not automatically the amount to subtract from today’s value.

This is an illustrative scenario, not a client case. A retrospective valuation is not simply a current estimate adjusted by a general house-price percentage or a total of renovation bills.

• The property address, erf or sectional-title description and available title information.
• The required valuation date and the executor or administrator’s instructions.
• A municipal account and plans where available.
• Information about the deceased’s ownership interest and any relevant rights or restrictions.
• Dated records of material alterations, repairs or damage.
• For rented property, leases and income information relevant to the period being assessed.
• An access contact and details of any inspection restrictions.

Send documents through an agreed channel and avoid including unrelated personal or estate records. Ask which documents are needed before forwarding a large file.

The official SARS REV246 form separates the executor’s instruction in Part A from the valuer’s report in Part B. It requests fair market value at the date of death, and a separate form is used for each property.

Confirm the form and supporting-report requirements with the executor or appointed adviser. Our deceased estate valuation and REV246 service page explains how C2C can assist. This article focuses on preparing the historical property information rather than replacing the form’s instructions.

Can I use the municipal value?
A municipal assessment may have a different effective date and purpose. It can be useful background information, but check whether it meets the estate’s actual requirements.

Does a later sale establish the date-of-death value?
A later transaction may be relevant evidence. Its timing, terms, the property’s condition and market changes still need to be considered; it is not automatically the answer.

What about a tenanted office or warehouse?
The historical rental position may matter alongside sales evidence. See our guide to commercial rental income and industrial property valuation service.

Send the address, required valuation date, property type and any deadline. Mention known changes to the property and whether access can be arranged. That gives C2C a useful starting point for confirming the scope, fee and expected timing.

The valuation provides property-value evidence. The executor and appointed advisers remain responsible for the estate’s administration and tax or legal decisions.