Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is James Home Ratings?

Answer: A company independent of sellers and  agents that rates homes currently for sale in Melbourne from a buyers point of view.

Question: How does it work?

Answer: We rate all homes out of a 1000 and give them a score on their combined  financial and emotional characteristics or put another way  their growth and lifestyle  characteristics. More info see How Ratings Work.

Question: Who uses James Home Ratings?

Answer:  1st and 2nd home Buyers,  Investors at all Levels, Inner City Million Dollar Homebuyers, Property Professionals in the wider Melbourne Area

Question: Who rates the properties?

Answer: Licensed Buyer Agents and/or Architects from James Buyer Advocates.

Question: Can't find a rating on a particular property?

Answer: Either that property hasn't been visited and rated by us yet, we've rated it with a score of less than 500, or we are currently acting on behalf of a client for that property. Call us on 03 9596 8822 to find out.

Question: How much does a Rating cost?

Answer: A full rating with comparable values including James Q score and other analytical reference data costs $4,950.00

Question: Disagree with a score?

Answer: That's ok. After all it is our opinion based on our patented set of criteria. You may have another opinion and we'd like to hear from you in that case. If your thoughts are valid we may re-assess or amend our rating score.

Question:  If I find  a home that rates well can you buy it for me?

Answer: Yes. We are licensed buyer advocates or buyer agents. We have a number of clients.

Question:  Do you believe in client confidentiality?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. No property we are currently negotiating for a client will be shown on the website unless given permission by our client.

Question: Do you rate properties and provide price reports for homes not on this site?

Answer: Yes please contact us. Call our James Home Ratings office in Malvern - (03) 9804 3133.

Question: Is James Home Ratings patented?

Answer: Yes we have an Australian Innovation Patent.

Definitions & Explanations

Ratings - Homes may be full or provisional rated. A provisional rating is our Initial and indicative thoughts using selling agent and web data only. James Home Ratings visits most homes that have been rated.

Bought* - Indicates property has been bought. We are a buyer rating company and a buyer advocate company only, and we use the word bought instead of sold to give the website a buyer flavour. We do not buy all the properties listed on this website, therefore we often rely on an advertised price or the selling agent to indicate the bought price and occasionally the result may be inaccurate.

Agent Quote - Indicates what an agent has written, spoken or implied. Agent Quotes in moving markets change. Please refer to selling agent for their latest quote if in any doubt. It may have been updated since we last put it up.House Sizes and Land Sizes - These are either supplied by agent or estimated by our architects and are indicative. You should not rely on this. Make your own enquiries prior to purchase. Check title for land size and measure up for house size.

House Sizes and Land Sizes - These are either supplied by agent or estimated by our architects and are indicative. You should not rely on this. Make your own enquiries prior to purchase. Check title for land size and measure up for house size.

Your Needs Score - Available to clients only, where all homes are rated against each individual client's specific criteria - scores can vary dramatically from public rating scores.

James Control Prices** - James Control Prices are the price points we at James place on the property. Our GUIDE price is a raw price based on our land value estimate and house value estimate. The selling agent, other buyers and vendors may have completely different thoughts on price. We find the James GUIDE price very useful as an initial statement of price give or take – a guide on where the market may start it’s thinking. If the property has a high James rating, similar homes are in short supply, low stock levels, high clearance rates and Bidderman has been recently strong at other similar properties then we would expect the other Control prices (50/50 and BUY) to come into play and possibly be exceeded. If the market is weakening, there are a number of homes for buyers to choose from and Bidderman has been weak then the eventual bought price may be below all the Control Prices including the GUIDE price. The James Control Prices do not necessarily reflect the vendor reserve (we don't know it) or the selling agent quote. Please the James Control Price system starts with a GUIDE price then steps your attention to where we think you have a 50/50 chance of buying and then finally to where we think you have a very good, say a 90% chance of buying - the BUY price. These Control Prices are a basis for discussion on past sales in the area and possible vendor/other buyer expectations - they are not a panacea or guarantee. Below the James Control Price are up to three properties that we think support our opinions. You may of course disagree with them, however they are genuine.

Full Ratings - Full Ratings with James Control Price, Information on Selling Agent's Performance, Negotiation Strategies, Architectural Opinion, Pest, Building and Legal Opinions, Town Planning, Other Buyers. Available to clients only. Home has been visited by a qualified James Home Rater and worksheet is available.