First direct valuation dilema

kawale

Hullo all
I wanted to ask for some advice..

We are trying to remortgage our flat- currently we are with Abbey on their SVR of 4.69%. We applied for a C&G mortgage (75% LTV) in January however they downvalued the property from our estimate of 380K to 360K so the amount we needed to borrow was above 75% and so we didn't get the deal.

We have continued to look at options and when we saw the First Direct fixed of 2.99% we hatched a 'cunning plan' that we could borrow a lump sum of 12K from a relative in order to get under the 75% limit and then because our monthly payments would be considerably lower than now we would be able to repay our relative within a year or two. This would also mean that the amount we borrowed would only be 4x our joint salary which is allowed by FD.

The problem is, in order for this plan to work, we would need to get a valuation of at least 360K again and we just have no idea how likely this is. We have only had the one valuation (from C&G) but our neighbour (who has a similar property) has had a number of valuations and they have varied from about 350K to 400K! It seems to be such a lottery. If we go for the first direct option we have to pay a non-refundable valuation fee of £275. If we have no chance of getting it then of course we don't want to waste the money but we just have no idea how likely it is.

So my question is... does anyone know, do surveyors used by different banks have different reputations- e.g. is C&G known to be particularly generous or particularly mean?! Also, is there anywhere we can get independent advice on value before applying? We have tried looking at property valuation websites but unfortunately very few properties have been sold in our street (the last one was in 2007) so it is difficult to estimate. We purchased our property in Feb 2007 for 350K however we settled the price in summer 2006 but then the sale was delayed for a long time -we were told that by the time we made the purchase we were getting a very good deal- but in terms of the valuation now maybe the long delay will act against us since all that will show up is the purchase date?

Any advice welcomed!

K

jiggy2

we bought in June 2007 with the price agreed in early 2007...the FD valuation was 10% lower compared to what we had paid in 2007...

so i was quite happy with that considering it was a new built flat....if u paid £350k in 2007...would expect atleast 10% fall (if not more) from that price...

Comyface

I think the banks may use the same valuers, they have a panel so you could end up with the same one (HBOS have a valuation arm, Colleys, but other lenders can also instrut them for instance and HBOS do also panel out). I'm not sure about reputations to be honest regarding 'stingy' or otherwise, sorry.

Some lenders also use 'automated valuation models' (usually the 'free' vals though) which rely on prices in a particular area and basically give an estimate based on that. Did someone actually come out?

You could tell the valuer what value you need to achieve to get the deal, they do sometimes have a degree of flexibility (poss around 5 -10% each side of what they actually think it's worth) as values can be so subjective.

Monty76

When I applied to FD I had the same dilemma. I ended up taking the risk but made sure I was generous with what I told the bank the property was worth. Valuers, particularly if they are just doing a drive-by, don't always do their homework. I was pleasantly surprised when the valuer came back with the figure I suggested to the bank.