House undervalued 20% - is surveyor wrong?

redstiletto

Hi all, would really appreciate some advice here as I'm trying to purchase a house which is very difficult to value. It is a 2-bed end terrace in poor condition (needs complete refurb but structurally sound). It also has an outbuilding and 6 acres of land.

It was originally on at 200k, which was overpriced, but we finally agreed a price of 163k with the vendor.

Mortgage valuer has gone out this week and valued it at £130k. I am totally shocked as is the EA. Although it was very difficult for us to come up with an offer we did think the price we agreed was fair and I think the EA had a time of it getting the vendor to accept that was a fair offer.

EA tells me that she spoke briefly to the valuer and he said he basically wouldn't consider the land in his valuation, just considered it as a house 'with a large garden'. Eh?!

Obviously valuing it 20% under means I cannot proceed at current price. If his valuation was correct I'd be stupid not walk away from any price over 130k. But in my heart of hearts I think the valuation is far too low, and I really do think the house should be worth more, considering the land. I'm in West Yorkshire, where farmland in large batches sells for around 5k per acre, but small plots consistently fetch upwards of 10k per acre.

I'd like to hear anyones opinions on the difficulties of valuing properties with land, your experiences and any advice on what I should do.

Can I challenge the valuation? Should I try with a different mortgage company? Would it be stupid to do that?

This valuation was with eserve. If I did try another mortgage company, how would I find out which one's do or don't use eserve, so I don't get the same guy going out again?

Thanks in advance!

poppysarah

Offer what they valued.

kmmr

e-surv are terrible. valued my flat at 325... estate agents valued at 675! on this board there are complaints. i got mine revalued by doing research, comparatives etc for them. but only to 400 which was enough for my additional mortgage, but they are annoying.

on this site everyone will say surveyors word is gospel, but i disagree. in my case they ignored the massive extension on the back!

good luck. its a tough fight, and maybe need a new lender...

Doozergirl

I'm very surprised that 6 acre of land wasn't included in the valuation! Did he even look at where the boundaries were? 6 acres has to be valued itself, no-one can consider that a 'very large garden'!

I'd challenge it, but be prepared to go to another lender.

Flashmanchop

Your complainign that, if used correctly, you could be saving yourself a lot of money, and have the ammunition to aid you....

MrJF

Redstilleto I've had the same problem, and I agree with your comment 'in my heart of hearts', as we really can't see why the property we want to purchase is being valued so low in comparison to all of the house prices in that area. We're stuck in a rut and I've posted the same today, but people are telling me that the valuation should be stuck to

sonastin

6 acres is probably well outside the realm of normal for residential property. It is highly likely that the valuer just doesn't know what to do about it so he's made an assumption that brings it back into his comfort zone (large garden my !!!!!!). I can think of 2 options: first is to go back to the lender and challenge the valuation on the basis that their surveyor considers 6 acres to be worth no more than a large garden. Secondly - is there any possibility of separating the plot and buying the 2 independently? A house with a small garden is a common purchase that falls within everyone's experience and purchasing plots of land happens often enough as well. For that to work you'd need the vendor to agree, the solicitors to say its possible to carve the plot up and the sums with the mortgage lender(s) and deposits to fit together in a way that works. As a linked transaction it would be counted as one purchase for SDLT but it could get round the surveyor-too-stupid-to-value-it problem.

Incyder

Perhaps the land has little value. It may not be of arable quality, it may not have any access apart from the house, to it, so could not be sold to, lets say, horse owners.

It may be in a zone where planning would never be granted to build on it.

So, it may be just a big back garden, and thats it.

poppysarah

The difference between your offer and expected value isn't huge enough to cause me worries.

As a buyer I'd assume that was a fair value and offer that. If they dont' accept then they have to assume someone else will come along and offer cash for more.

Doozergirl

Incyder wrote: »

Perhaps the land has little value. It may not be of arable quality, it may not have any access apart from the house, to it, so could not be sold to, lets say, horse owners.

It may be in a zone where planning would never be granted to build on it.

So, it may be just a big back garden, and thats it.

Alll land has value regardless of it's type. Even greenbelt land. And 6 acres of greenbelt land has a quantifiable value, much more than just a large garden.

I can't believe the gall of the surveyor, he must think he's untouchable! I'd complain to RICS if a surveyor thinks that 6 acres of any kind of land is just a big back garden.

I've had a surveyor undervalue once. They valued £140k on a flat we sold a few weeks later for £180k with no issues. After bombarding them with much more expensive comparables we got their valuation up to £155k, no more.

Chris55_2

We moved a couple of years ago. The e-serve valuer appointed by the Building Society was completely useless. Our property is a barn-conversion, so slightly different from a standard property. We have lots of knowledge about these - certainly enough to know that the "surveyor" did not have a clue - confusing slight cracks caused by differential drying with major structural faults! We paid for a survey by a from a proper surveyor experience with this type of property and the Building Society were quite happy to take his report and valuation.
I've heard several stories like this - so talk to the Building Society / Bank and see if they will let you find a more experienced surveyor / valuer.