ESTATE SURVEYORS AND VALUERS ARE THE ONLY PROFESSIONALS SADDLED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPERTY AND ASSET VALUATION

ESV Dennis Osamudiame Okunwe

In commemoration of the 2024 Valuation Week, a frontline Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Dennis Osamudiame Okunwe, argued from the professional point of view that Estate Surveyors and Valuers are the only professionals in the built environment that are legally empowered by the federal government to value properties and other assets.

Dennis, a Lagos-based estate surveyor and valuer, who is a member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), and also a registered surveyor with The Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) frowned at a situation where non-professional-estate-surveyors-and-valuers-are being hired to value properties and other assets.

Property valuers are a set of professionals who have been properly trained and licensed by the relevant local and international professional bodies.  In their professional capacity, they offer professional advice to individuals, businesses, and institutions, among others.  In carrying out their asset and property valuation services, they estimate the market and insurance values of the properties.  The primary aim of this is to help their clients to adequately maximize their profit from the sale of properties and other assets as the case may be.

Globally, it is a known fact that a well-prepared valuation report is an asset for valuers and other professionals like bankers, insurance professionals, government organizations and agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to study, analyze, and make informed decisions on assets and properties. Simply put, estate surveyors and valuers bring value to the table across the board.

As we celebrate the 2024 valuation week, a week set aside to enhance the awareness of the valuation profession, and the catalytic role they play in the economy, both the domestic and global economies. This is yet another opportunity to tell the actors and participants of the Nigerian business environment about the need for them to align with the global best practices and hire only registered estate surveyors and valuers in all areas of property and asset valuation.  For valuers to take their rightful place in the overall economic development, Valuation Week must be properly amplified through aggressive advocacy, using the relevant media platforms.

The benefits of using professionals for asset valuation cannot be overemphasized. Besides getting the right price and value for the asset or property, it is a valuable tool for audit reports, obtaining credit facilities from banks, and other financial institutions, mergers, and acquisitions. Better and more informed business decisions are also reached with a good valuation report, among many others.

To gradually get rid of quacks being used as valuers in the Nigerian business space, all stakeholders in the built environment must play their roles most professionally without interference.  Other professionals in the built environment should stick to their core functions for the common good of the different professionals, and the economy at large.
 In the Nigerian built environment and the business of asset valuation generally, estate surveyors and valuers have been saddled with the sole responsibility of valuing assets through the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria ESVARBON Act.

 ESV Dennis Osamudiame Okunwe is a Registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer and Shared this insight from Lagos, Nigeria.