Low house valuation - how do I counter?

kingstreet

Zoopla is a waste of time.

You could pay £20 for a HomeTrack valuation, although that's probably what Halifax uses already.

nikkilala_2

I have just been through this myself with Halifax. I needed the valuation to be higher to get the better deal. They charge £200 for the survey up to a value of £400,0000 so we went for this one as that was all we needed. They had previously valued it at £285,000 and the value has just come back from their surveyor at way over £400,000 (even though we only asked for a value of £400,000 to be put on it). Also their surveyor wasnt available to do it so they used snother company who only charged £165 and who told us that the previous valuation had been done on a drive by!!!!

Bartlebeans

nikkilala wrote: »

I have just been through this myself with Halifax. I needed the valuation to be higher to get the better deal. They charge £200 for the survey up to a value of £400,0000 so we went for this one as that was all we needed. They had previously valued it at £285,000 and the value has just come back from their surveyor at way over £400,000 (even though we only asked for a value of £400,000 to be put on it). Also their surveyor wasnt available to do it so they used snother company who only charged £165 and who told us that the previous valuation had been done on a drive by!!!!

So basically it's just another way of them getting money from us. Give people a deliberately low evaluation then charge them to have it upped. I wonder if Trading Standards know about this? Thanks though. I'll ring the Halifax and ask them which surveyors they will accept valuations from. I'd rather pay £165 than £200! I will also follow kingstreet's advice. Thanks all.

kingstreet

Halifax normally instructs Colleys, the HBoS in-house surveying firm. Failing that, it'll be panelled to another firm via a network like Esurv. Don't instruct a surveyor of your own.

Trollfever

The foundations of the housing market are being chipped away at by a flood of disputes between mortgage lenders and surveyors being fought out in the High Court.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8529474/Housing-market-hit-by-rise-in-writs-against-surveyors.html

nikkilala_2

Bartlebeans wrote: »

So basically it's just another way of them getting money from us. Give people a deliberately low evaluation then charge them to have it upped. I wonder if Trading Standards know about this? Thanks though. I'll ring the Halifax and ask them which surveyors they will accept valuations from. I'd rather pay £165 than £200! I will also follow kingstreet's advice. Thanks all.

The valuation fee seemed to be charged on depending how much you needed, so it will depend on how much you need it to be, which is why we had it capped at £400,000 (even though we knew it was worth more) It is wrong and unfair but we decided that the savings we would make on our mortgage were far higher than the valuation fee. Even the valuer said it was a wrong and unfair system!!!!

Conrad

Bartlebeans wrote: »

So basically it's just another way of them getting money from us. Give people a deliberately low evaluation then charge them to have it upped. I wonder if Trading Standards know about this?

Not really, valuation fees rise with the value of the property so one could argue they have saved you money!

Also you are thinking in a one sided manner, and thus not being rational.

For a start lenders often sell-on these mortgages as packages to investors and as you will be aware the whole reason we had a world credit crunch was because these packages were sold on with incorrect valuations hidden away inside of them.
Investors demand accurate and CONSERVATIVE valuations.

If you were one of those investors you would be glad the Banks were being so cautious, so as I say, you need to see such a debate in the round and not from a single self interest view point.

If yours is worth more, prove it with empiracle evidence in the shape of sold comparible property as anything else is meaningless. Indeed, PAYING your own surveyor will proove nothing as the lender / investor will assume the surveyor may have been kind to you and merely gone along with your desires in return for a fee.