Estate Agent London News

How to Arrange a House Valuation

There are several potential reasons why you may need to arrange a valuation of your property. If you are planning to put your house on the market for sale, then getting an accurate figure for how much it is worth is crucial to ensuring that you set the right asking price for the house. Or you may need or want to remortgage your property for various reasons.

Homeowners will often opt to remortgage rather than take out another type of loan or save up for years if they want to do major renovation work on the property such as building an extension or having a loft conversion, for example. Finally, it is wise to have a property valued before you purchase it. While this is often something that the mortgage lender arranges, there can be many benefits of arranging for an independent valuation of a house, especially if you do not agree with the valuation figure provided by your lender’s surveyor.

Arrange a House Valuation With an Estate Agent

Perhaps the easiest way to determine an average figure for the estimated value of your property before you put it on the market or remortgage it is to have a valuation done by an estate agent. If you are selling, there may be a chance that you can get a free valuation carried out by an estate agent as many will offer this to have a chance to look around your property, meet you, and pitch their services. However, remember that not all estate agent valuations will be accurate, so don’t just rely on one.

The best approach is to ask at least three estate agents who are experienced with selling properties like yours in your area to value your home. Then, take the average of the figures to get the best option for how your property should be priced.

How to Arrange a House Valuation with a Surveyor

For a more accurate idea of how much your house is worth, an RICS surveyor might be a better option. Lenders will typically work with RICS surveyors when they conduct a valuation survey on a property before releasing the funds to the buyer.

If you are selling your property, having a valuation report carried out by an RICS surveyor beforehand can help you get a better idea of how much a potential buyer’s lender might value the property further down the line, which can help you determine how to price the property and avoid a future down valuation.

To do this, you can contact an RICS surveyor directly to arrange the survey. You can request either a desk-based survey, which involves comparing your property to comparable homes local to yours that have sold in the previous few months, or a more in-depth survey where the surveyor will visit your home and inspect the property to determine the value, along with comparing and analysing similar property prices in your area.

Surveyors can be either companies or independent contractors. Make sure that they are registered with RICS and can provide proof of this before you order the valuation.

Who Else Can Arrange House Valuation?

While it makes sense that a property owner may want to arrange a house valuation before putting their home on the market or applying to remortgage the property, other parties may also have an interest in having a property valuation carried out.

Lenders are another party who are most likely to order a valuation survey on a property before they decide whether to accept the lender’s mortgage application. The main purpose of this is to ensure the lender does not end up providing a mortgage for more than the value of the home to minimise their risk.

If the lender’s surveyor finds that the value of the property is less than the asking price, then a down valuation may occur. In this situation, the buyer is only provided with a mortgage amount that matches the valuation figure.

If you are selling your property and it is downvalued by the lender, then you have two options. You can either renegotiate the asking price with the buyer so that they can continue with the purchase using their new mortgage offer, or you can wait to see if any other buyers are interested in your property. However, bear in mind that there is no guarantee that another lender is not going to simply downvalue your property again.

What to Expect From a Home Valuation

In most cases, your property will be valued behind the scenes if you are working with an RICS surveyor. If you hire an estate agent to value your property, then you will usually get a visit from them to look around the property and sell their services. However, RICS surveyors will conduct the majority of valuation surveys from the office.

They will usually only need to visit the property if they have been appointed by a mortgage lender who has requested that they visit in person due to a higher level of risk or the lender not being familiar with the area. They may also need to visit the property in person if there is not enough information available to them online that they can use to make the valuation. In most cases,

a surveyor will provide an estimated value for your property by using house price indexes like the Land Registry to compare your property to similar properties in the area that have sold recently. They will also take into account factors such as proximity to amenities and transport links, number of rooms, home improvements, and the property’s potential. As part of the survey, they might drive past the property to look at it and make sure that it is in good condition and as expected.

How Long Does a Property Valuation Take?

How long you can expect your property valuation to take will depend on several factors. Whether an in-person visit is necessary will be one of the main determining factors when it comes to the length of the valuation time. Surveyors who do not need to visit the property in person to value it will usually be able to analyse the data and get an estimated figure in around one hour. On the other hand, if they are required to drive by or visit the property in person, then it could take a day or even longer to complete. If you are having your property valued by an estate agent, then a visit to your home will usually be included with this as standard, meaning that this type of valuation will usually take longer.

How Long Will My Property Valuation Last?

As the housing market is subject to constant change, you cannot expect a house valuation to last forever. If you compared the value of your house right now to how much it was worth just five or ten years ago, or even last year, you will likely find that the value has changed quite a lot over time. Because of this, any valuation figure that you are provided with will remain valid for a limited period to make sure that it remains accurate. Even less than twelve months later, the valuation that you have been given is not likely to still be accurate, so if your property has not yet sold after this time, you may need to have the property valued again.

How Much Does a Property Valuation Cost?

How much you can expect to pay for your property to be valued will depend on several factors, including whether you are selling or buying the property, whether you are having it valued by an estate agent or an RICS surveyor, the size of your property, and whether the valuation will be desk-based, a drive-by, or a full visit to and inspection of the property.

If you are ordering a valuation survey by an RICS surveyor yourself or have been asked by your mortgage lender to pay for this when buying a new property, then you could pay anything between £150 and £800 depending on the size, condition, and location of the property. £300-£400 is a typical average figure for a property that is priced between £100,000 and £249,000.

In some cases, you may be able to have a valuation carried out free of charge. For sellers, an estate agent might offer a free valuation as part of selling their services to you.

It’s a good idea to get several local estate agents to value your property before working out an average of the figures that they give. If you are buying, some mortgage lenders will cover the cost of the valuation survey while others will request that you pay for it, so this is something that might be worth looking into.

Arranging a property valuation may be necessary if you are selling, buying, or remortgaging a property. To arrange a valuation, you can contact either an estate agent or an RICS surveyor.

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