Surveyors Valuation Very Low

Eric1

VIGILANT22 wrote: »

What other type of surveyor could it be!!...Mortgage lenders have very strict criteria as to the panel of surveyors they appoint and instruct... and who are all members of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors...

That's reassuring. I have no experience, only relying on what others say on forums like this one.
For example

rjm2k1 wrote: »

The £300 will be for a basic valuation survey, it basically proves that the building exists, if you are lucky, the surveyor might even get out of their car and look at the property on the inside. I saw a post somewhere recently, where the surveyor did a drive by survey!

madeupname1

WheelieWood wrote: »

Its just the chance that the surveyor is right and we could be overpaying by a large amount if going ahead, which could leave us stuck if we needed to move again sooner than we expect.

I guess I know the answer is to have the second valuation done even if it is going to cost us more money.

If it agrees with the first (& because I'm fairly certain the seller won't drop their price by very much) we'll have to decide if we're happy overpaying or would rather walk away from a house we love.

If your only borrowing 50%, I make that just under £150,000. Therefore even if you are overpaying, you still have a large amount of equity even at the lower valuation. Personally, I would be very nervous about paying £70K over the valuation but thats a negotiation between you and the seller.

WheelieWood

VIGILANT22 wrote: »

Why is it people who appoint surveys and when they come back lower than they expected start "blaming" surveyors....and for some on here even questioning if the property was ever surveyed!

Sorry, I'm just surprised by a) the size of the difference, b) the speed with which the survey was carried out and c) the fact that the mortgage company won't say who surveyed the property (So really no one has put their career on the line that way).

brit1234

WheelieWood wrote: »

Sorry, I'm just surprised by a) the size of the difference, b) the speed with which the survey was carried out and c) the fact that the mortgage company won't say who surveyed the property (So really no one has put their career on the line that way).

Well the simple thing is it is to protect the mortgage lender from the comming price falls. We had years of unsustainable price increases caused by fraud, too low interest rates and iresponsible lending resulting in the credit crunch. The lenders just don't want to support overvalued homes anymore when all likely hood they will fall a lot in value back to normal levels.

Milliewilly

VIGILANT22 wrote: »

Why is it people who appoint surveys and when they come back lower than they expected start "blaming" surveyors....and for some on here even questioning if the property was ever surveyed!...rolls eyes...Are you aware of a surveyors job and the risks that go alongwith it....Why would anybody put their career (they are professionals) on the line by making up a fictious report....this is an totally ignorant remark....If he valued it at 295k and when you some years down the line went to sell the survey came back at 225k ...you'd be jumping up and down at that point saying the original surveyor had made an error!!

What about during boomtime, so many of you all paid way over valuation then and nobody was questioning surveyors then..in comparison with the prices being paid they undervalued then as well did they not!?.......Lenders requirements are based on what is a reasonable (quick) sale price for this property in a market where house prices have fallen and could be set to fall again....

As for "I have similar suspicions about the surveyor myself, especially as they've requested separate damp and electrical surveys to cover themselves.".....and if they didn't and you later had a problem!!.....

It is entirely feasible that as the buyer has such a large deposit the lender has done an online valuation and not even visited the property. Have you checked with the Vendor that the surveyor has actually been and if so how long did they spend at the property. In the boom lots of surveyors were doing what was called in the trade "second gear" surveys i.e they slowed down into second gear as they drove past.

I don't know anyone who paid 'over valuation' in the boom time. My experience was the valuations were coming in at the accepted sale price without exception even if this was bid up considerably from the original advertised price. Why weren't valuers valuing then as a forced sale if someone lost their job???

One of the reasons I successfully sued the Surveyor from the Alliance and Leicester was her report was a work of fiction. Just because they are 'professionals' doesn't mean they cant get it wrong.

Its upto the vendor if they decide to renegotiate with you - for 70K I wouldn't even entertain it and would take the chance on another valuation.

surreybased

Hi,

That is a big difference - I think it's worth investigating further. You're getting advice from your mortgage advisor to re value. I think this is sensible. What would you do if a second RICS survey valued similarly?

What this a full building survey? If so I would have thought you had details of the surveyor.

WheelieWood

surreybased wrote: »

That is a big difference - I think it's worth investigating further. You're getting advice from your mortgage advisor to re value. I think this is sensible. What would you do if a second RICS survey valued similarly?

Thats the big question. Such a big difference makes me nervous, but I know it'll be a hard just walking away if the seller isn't in a negotiating mood. In our view, there's nothing even close to this house on the market currently.

surreybased wrote: »

What this a full building survey? If so I would have thought you had details of the surveyor.

It was just a valuation. Mortgage company wasn't interested in a building survey though we were looking into one ourselves. Now that they've requested the damp and electrical surveys we'll go ahead with those.

My Mortgage Advisor has a contact in the surveying trade who he's going to sound out about this (informally). Given the Easter break, I think it'll be Tuesday before I hear back about that and decide whether to talk to seller and/or get a second valuation.

_Andy_

Why do so many people want to pay thousands of pounds more than what things are worth? (Especially after having paid someone to tell them what it's worth)

Emy1501

You are buying a house that is over 150 years old. No way should you be even thinking of buying it without a full structual survey. A valuation of property ie how much its worth in good condition is not very hard as Surveyors will simply ring up a number of local agents and look at recent selling prices. It likely that you will have more of an idea of the properties worth than they do.

Your real problem is that unless you are a builder or a surveyor you will have no idea regarding any hidden problems and I suspect that is why the surveyor is down valuing to cover his back.

Get a Full structual Survey, if it comes up with nothing and you are happy that the price you are paying is reasonable then go for it if you are putting down enough which will still allow you to get the mortgage.

poppysarah

WheelieWood wrote: »

My Mortgage Advisor has a contact in the surveying trade who he's going to sound out about this (informally).

Ask around for prices for surveyors yourself. Don't rely on anyone to get the best deal for you.