LIST OF COUNCILS WITH ONLINE PROPERTY RATING DATABASES:
Investors should know their rates/property taxes are and if doing due diligence on a potential property purchase, you should be preparing a proper budget; so knowing the propertys’ rates is important, as is looking at the breakdown between land and improvements to assist in projecting your depreciation claims. As a result I always use councils’ rating databases. As every quarter rolls on, more and more councils are finally coming on-board and making this information freely available for anyone.
Note: Even now in 2010 some councils in New Zealand unfortunately do not hold current rating databases online. For example if you lived in Waiuku, your local council is currently the Franklin District Council. This council doesn’t have a current online database available for you to research your or other property’s rating information. This is the same for many councils, including neighbouring Papakura District Council. However you can often use the Regional Council database if the relevant Local Council doesn’t have the rating information available. For example if you were looking to buy a property in Papakura or Franklin Districts, you could use the http://maps.auckland.govt.nz/AucklandRegionViewer/# website instead. (Note that this site gives you an aerial photograph of the property you are looking at thanks to Eagle Technologies GIS Viewer product – by selecting Create PDF Report)
You will be able to see that some councils have fantastic information including aerial photographs which are great if you are considering developing a property, and even better certain councils like North Shore have comprehensive information freely available on-line, including public drainage records and development contributions if you were to subdivide or build a minor dwelling on your property.
Could you please e-mail admin@davidwhitburn.com if you notice any council website changing address, or if your council has got their rating database online. I want to keep this website as current as possible for all investors, however I would appreciate your help to ensure this list is as up-to-date as it can be.