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Hi Alison74. I'm not sure if you are still looking to purchase but my advice is to ask the lender what company they use before you instruct them. You are entitled to say 'not Esurv'. First Direct/HSBC use Direct Valuations. Sadly, a few of the other big lenders only use Esurv.
It was E-Surv that lost me my first buyers saying my house had trees next door that were too close (I had a structural engineer report saying the trees were of 'no significance whatsoever') and the house had active woodworm. As an ex Rentokil Surveyor I knew this simply wasn't true. The valuation surveyor will tailor the survey for the bank to leverage their risk.
For example if you have a 90% LTV expect the valuation to come in lower than your offer. If you have 70% deposit the valuation will be your offer price. RICS are a law unto themselves don't expect any fairness.