Surveyors are jokes

Sheep

I bough a house in Jan 2007. It was on the market for £75000 and the surveyor valued it the same. In the end we got it for 67k as we were first time buyers and could mover quick. The house was a just like a shell. No bathroom or kitchen and everywhere needed redecorating. We did the house up and went to Natwest to remortgage 2 months ago. They did a valuation and said it was worth £70000 but would have been worth £75000 had it had a driveway. In the end we didnt end up going with Natwest as that product was withdrawn and last month I saw a better product with the co-op. Before the valuer came I spent £4500 doing a double driveway with beautiful metal fencing around. The surveyor came and valued the house at £62820!!!!! I couldnt believe it. Both surveyors came round my house. Yesterday I looked at Zoopla and guess what figure they had.... £62820. Zoopla was bound to have a lower figure as it has no idea I bought a shell and spent nearly £20k altogether doing it up. The co-op surveyor obviously only turned up because he had to and was always going to use Zoopls's figure even though it is far off the mark. Co-op said send us prove of other properties that have sold in the area etc which i could do but is it worth it? Will the surveyor swallow his pride and amend the figure by £15000??? I dont think so. These people are messing with people's lives but they dont give a crap as long as they get paid. Sorry rant over :mad:

ILW

Most home improvements (even major ones) add very little value. There is always a limit to a certain type of house in a certain street.

MacsReturns

There's only one person who can ever be "right" about the value of a house, and that is someone who's buying it - THAT is the market value, not what you, the bank or any surveyor thinks.

daveyjp

"Co-op said send us prove of other properties that have sold in the area etc"

This is the surveyors job! Tell them you'll do it for £200

Thrugelmir

Sheep wrote: »

These people are messing with people's lives but they dont give a crap as long as they get paid. Sorry rant over :mad:

The valuer represents the lender not you. They are employed by the lender, and will most likely be instructed by the lender depending on market conditions.

When you first bought the property markets were buoyant. By getting a discount you thought you were getting a bargain. All the valuer was doing at the time was confirming that the property was adequate security for the mortgage advance. Considering you had to put a bathroom and kitchen in the property. You no doubt spent a fair amount on that alone. Did your lender not withhold a rentention at the time for this work?

As ILW says. Improvements often do not add value. Metal fencing is just that, however beautiful you believe it to be.

dunstonh

The home improvements you have done have probably enhanced its appeal to prospective buyers but probably havent done much for the overall resale value. Especially in a market that has seen house prices fall.

Yesterday I looked at Zoopla and guess what figure they had.... £62820. Zoopla was bound to have a lower figure as it has no idea I bought a shell and spent nearly £20k altogether doing it up.

Zoopla tends to over price if anything. Mine is showing about 30k higher than I would likely get for it and about 15k more than an estate agent would put it up for.

These people are messing with people's lives but they dont give a crap as long as they get paid.

Your solution is to search your house thoroughly for the price tag and tell the CIS that is exactly what it is worth.

maginot

I have to agree that surveyors do seem to be pointless. I had the pleasure of doing work experience with an estate agent and spent a lot of time with a surveyor. They spent most of their time just going to other estate agents and finding similar properties and what they are priced at.

They would just have a quick look in the property to see if there was any noticeable structural problems or damp!

I understand that properties are only valued what people would pay for them and therefore checking out what people are paying for similar problems is good sense. But you don't really need a full paid surveyor to do this, when it would reduce many costs by paying someone minimum wage to do this job!!!

new_home_owner_3

you can increase the price yourself on zoopla just by adding the improvements on there site.

daveyjp

"But you don't really need a full paid surveyor to do this, when it would reduce many costs by paying someone minimum wage to do this job!!!"

Would a minimum wage person be able to identify high sulfate problems? Cavity wall tie failure? Value a leasehold property? Value a property being sold on behalf of a charity? Value for probate? Freehold houses are the easier end of the scale, there are lots of other house valuations whch are much more complicated.

Trollfever

Complain to the RICS about the poor quality of their qualified surveyors:

RICS is the world's leading professional body for qualifications and standards in land, property and construction.

http://www.rics.org/

dunstonh

I have to agree that surveyors do seem to be pointless. I had the pleasure of doing work experience with an estate agent and spent a lot of time with a surveyor. They spent most of their time just going to other estate agents and finding similar properties and what they are priced at.

Are you talking about an estate agent valuer or a fully qualified surveyor?