Scotland - Can Home Report Valuation be Trusted?

Lynn11

Very interesting thread cause we are planning to put our house on the market in Scotland about March time. Can anyone tell me how long does the home report valid for please?

googler

There's nothing in the Home Report legislation that specifies any limit time, so in this respect, it lasts forever.

However, the difficulty is in persuading buyers and their agents of this. The Law Society of Scotland 'recommends' that its members not rely on a report (or possibly the valuation in the report) older than 12 weeks, and there's been hearsay of some mortgage lenders insisting that the valuation be revised if the HR is getting a bit long in the tooth....

Nosht

Just look at how does an E.A. values a property in the first place then you will see that it is open to outside influence. Basically they look at the selling prices of similar properties in the same area & guesstimate a figure from that info.
Having read on various boards about purchasers & vendors being disgruntled with valuations & actually influencing the valuation I really do not see how E.A.s can be trusted.
Have a look yourself at recent house sales in your area which must be registered by lawyers within about 28 days of sale & draw your own conclusions.

Regards,

N.

googler

Nosht wrote: »

Just look at how does an E.A. values a property in the first place then you will see that it is open to outside influence. Basically they look at the selling prices of similar properties in the same area & guesstimate a figure from that info.
.....

Have a look yourself at recent house sales in your area which must be registered by lawyers within about 28 days of sale & draw your own conclusions.

You're saying EAs can't be trusted with the method you outline in your first paragraph, shown above, then in your last paragraph you seem to be outlining exactly the same method...........?

googler

Nosht wrote: »

Just look at how does an E.A. values a property in the first place then you will see that it is open to outside influence. Basically they look at the selling prices of similar properties in the same area & guesstimate a figure from that info.

If this isn't the right method to determine what the public are willing to pay in a certain area for a certain style of property, then what is?

TheOracle_3

This is a really interesting thread. Estate agents are not bound by the same rules as the surveyors, and also don't get sued if they get a valuation wrong. But there are times where a surveyor and agent will 'work' together and I suppose if this is disclosed it should be ok. I think the main thing to remember is that a reputable locally based surveyor should be used - someone who knows the market and has a local knowledge. Also someone who is part of the local community and has a reputation to protect. Likewise, a good agent is equally important. Just going with the highest valuation or the lowest fees will, in most cases, not work in your favour. There is no such thing as a free lunch and if something appears too good to be true it probably is. So in summary, I think you should always do your own homework - you probably have a good idea of what your house is worth - and then use locally based reputable professionals that will give you good service.

Lou0512

Hi all. looking for a bit of advice. I sold my house in scotland in december 2009 for £145,000 fixed price as the home report stated that the value was £145,000. Since then a neighbours house has come on the market with a home report valuation of £155,000. My own house was far better. It had a much bigger garden, more rooms, a drive way, downstairs wc and it had been completely refurbished from top to bottom. At the time I thought my house valuation was on the low side but the surveyor assured me that it was due to the market being a little slow. But I now feel that I have lost thousands of pounds as he has grossly undervalued my property? Is there anything I can do? Need to put my mind at rest.

Snippa

I recently bought in Glasgow, having spent a year looking. It's funny, but you do realise that there are some EAs who routinely overvalue propties and others who routinely undervalue them, presumably to get interest. It's different strategies, I suppose. What happens, as a buyer, is that you're sucked into the cheap ones, but then they expect offers over the asking price, of quite a long way.

This market is really difficult to judge though, as properties seemed to either go relatively quickly, or not sell at all. There were loads I saw that just sat there for a year, 18 months and are still there as far as I'm aware. So, in response to Lou, it's hard to tell whether something was undervalued or not. If it sold quickly, that may be something to be thankful for. Wait and see whether the neighbouring one sells, or sticks there for a year....

googler

Lou0512 wrote: »

Hi all. looking for a bit of advice. I sold my house in scotland in december 2009 for £145,000 fixed price as the home report stated that the value was £145,000. Since then a neighbours house has come on the market with a home report valuation of £155,000.

Only if they actually SELL at £155,000. Your sale will be public knowledge on sites like zoopla, nethouseprice, etc now, so - why would anyone, seeing that you sold in December for £145,000, pay £155,000 for your neighbour (regardless of what the HR says)? I wouldn't.