Huge differences in Mortgage Valuation results

mandy_spring

Hi all I'm new to the forums so apols for any mistakes....

We are trying to remortgage at the moment, applied for an 80% LTV mortgage but the proprty valuation came in at 150K (which would be 85% LTV).

We then applied for an 85% LTV mortgage and had nother valuation carried out 2 and a half weeks later and it came in at 128K!

On both occasions a surveyor came to the house and looked inside the property. How can two people qualified in the same profession come in with such wildly different valuations? I could understand a difference of 5-10 K, but to drop £22,000 in 2 weeks?!?!:mad:

We contacted the lender but they said they wouldn't do anything, and that if we wanted to we could pay to have another surveyor come round. But even then any results would be sent to the original surveyor for consideration.

Whats going on here? Is this right? Or are the surveyors nervous at the moment and so under-valuing?

dunstonh

How can two people qualified in the same profession come in with such wildly different valuations?

Very easily. Houses do not have a price ticket on them. The price is subject to opinion. Also, the criteria given to the valuer may be different. One may be told to value on the basis of current market conditions and sale within 4 weeks.

Whats going on here? Is this right? Or are the surveyors nervous at the moment and so under-valuing?

Who says they are under-valuing? Unless you can find a person willing to pay that money then the price is just opinion.

cbrpaul

did you lose any money on the valuations ? ie the valuation fee, ?

I wonder if there is abit of quick money making scheme going on with these valuations ,

Hmmmmmm

Trollfever

Or are the surveyors nervous at the moment and so under-valuing?

Yes.



.

koexelek

Perhaps the lender who put the higher valuation on it was having a good day, where as the one who put the lower value on it was having a bad day .:D

I said that this sort of thing probably happens, half jokingly, to a surveyor friend of mine the other day, and he said I was probably right :eek:

mandy_spring

dunstonh wrote: »

Very easily. Houses do not have a price ticket on them. The price is subject to opinion. Also, the criteria given to the valuer may be different. One may be told to value on the basis of current market conditions and sale within 4 weeks.


Who says they are under-valuing? Unless you can find a person willing to pay that money then the price is just opinion.

Hmmm... It's a bit worrying then that people are often having to pay out £200-£300 to have a mortgage valuation carried out when actually there is no method or structure to these surveys at all. I am a bit concerned that people are being asked to pay this money for someone's 'opinion'.

I thought that the point of having a surveyor to come round to value is that they should have access to local information and figures that would indicate the current value.

Why do mortgage lenders use their services at all then, since there is clearly no consistency, and therefore I would have thought that their reports are unreliable??

Anyone can give their opinion on what a house is worth, but they are supposed to be trained professionals able to give an accurate figure.

mandy_spring

cbrpaul wrote: »

did you lose any money on the valuations ? ie the valuation fee, ?

I wonder if there is abit of quick money making scheme going on with these valuations ,

Hmmmmmm

Luckily we didn't have to pay for the valuations, as we were careful to only go for mortgages with free valuations. Lucky we did, and seeing as it is such a gamble and results are random we definitely won't pay for a valuation in future.

damianmkv_2

I think lots of people coming to the end of a fixed rate will be in a similar position. There's a 3 bed detached house directly oppostive mine which last sold Oct 2004 for £340k and is now up ( as of last Friday ) for £435k. I paid £300k for my semi in April 2004 and it was valued at £400k in Jan 2008.

My fixed mortgage expires next month so I'm guessing my valuation would be £355k but based upon my neighbours, maybe I'm looking at things too bleakly ?

cbrpaul

mandy_spring wrote: »

Hmmm... It's a bit worrying then that people are often having to pay out £200-£300 to have a mortgage valuation carried out when actually there is no method or structure to these surveys at all. I am a bit concerned that people are being asked to pay this money for someone's 'opinion'

my thoughts also !!

mandy_spring wrote: »

Luckily we didn't have to pay for the valuations, as we were careful to only go for mortgages with free valuations. Lucky we did, and seeing as it is such a gamble and results are random we definitely won't pay for a valuation in future.

Good idea ,

but alot of the "better deals" are valuation fees upfront !!

damianmkv_2

HSBC valuation is free IIRC..