Valuation report handover meetings: explain the figure

Send the valuation report a day or two before a short handover meeting, then use the meeting to walk the owner through how you reached the figure: the method, the comparable sales, the adjustments, and what the value can and can't be used for. Let owners book the meeting online from a dedicated service, with a slot long enough for questions, and ask them to note what worries them in advance. The report stops being a number on a page, and questions get answered once, in one conversation, rather than in a long email thread.

A valuation report can be long and technical. An owner who reads it alone may jump to the final figure, compare it with an online estimate or a neighbour's sale, and draw conclusions the report doesn't support. A meeting lets you explain the reasoning, correct misreadings early, and make sure the owner uses the report for its intended purpose, whether that's an inheritance, a separation, a financing file or a sale.

It also protects your time. Questions come in one planned slot instead of scattered calls over the following weeks.

Start by restating the purpose of the valuation and the date it applies to. Then go through the method in plain language, the comparables, and the adjustments for size, condition, location and anything specific to the property. Leave the final figure until the reasoning is clear. Keep time for questions, and note any factual error the owner points out, such as a wrong surface or a missed renovation.

Disagreement can rest on something concrete: a sale the owner knows about, works you didn't see, or a different idea of what the valuation is for. Listen, ask for evidence, and explain what would and wouldn't change your figure. If a fact in the report is wrong, say you'll correct it and when. If it's a difference of opinion, explain your reasoning and stay with your professional judgement. Agree in writing on any follow-up.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes, one place per slot. Clients pick a service, then a free slot.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Say in the description whether the meeting is included in the valuation price, and that it takes place after the report has been sent.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the property address, the report reference, who will attend, and the main questions. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description. Book doesn't handle attachments: send the report by email.

In an inheritance or a separation, several people may want the explanation, sometimes with their advisers. One person books and writes in the note who will attend. If the parties prefer to be seen separately, create two slots and book each yourself from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. Explain the same report the same way to each, and don't take sides. If someone can't make it, reschedule the booking from your bookings list, even to a video call slot on another service, and tell them the new time yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes.

Book doesn't write reports or take payments; it handles appointments. With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), visits and report meetings sit in one calendar. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.