Valuation fee charged when selling 1% of garden!!

janlowe44

We are currently selling 1% of our back garden amounting to 5metres squared(our garden is around 600 metres squared) and we are gaining about 2 metres squared. This just allows our neighbour at the back to reverse his car more easily and he is paying us a good price for this small piece of land. I have however been informed that our mortgage company will now charge us 250 pounds for a new valuation of the property and the report they make will be non-disclosable so we cannot even see the results. Our mortgage is for less than a third the value of the house so this seems to me like money for old rope. I tried to make a complaint with Barclays (the mortgage company) and they said this was not possible as it is a change to land registry so automatically incurs a 250 valuation charge this just seems an enormous sum of money?

dunstonh

this just seems an enormous sum of money?

Not really. Why should it cost less for you? The same amount of work is involved irrespective of whether you are selling 1% or 50%. Someone has to pay for it and if you dont, who do you propose should?

tanith

Pass it on to your buyer would be an answer but he might just think its not worth it..

janlowe44

Whilst I appreciate the cost does not change for a valuation survey however much land you sell, it is the requirement to have it revalued at all, surely selling that tiny amount of land cannot affect the mortgage companies liability in our house especially as the mortgage is only for one third of property value?

opinions4u

Unfortunately you are at the mercy of the lending criteria of the lender.

In my view, they are being extraordinarily cautious here given the LTV.

I can understand them charging a fee for assessment and consent, but I'm gobsmacked that they need to value in these circumstances.

But, as I say, they hold the cards. You have to play by their rules.

kingstreet

janlowe44 wrote: »

they said this was not possible as it is a change to land registry

Is it just a valuation fee, or is there a change at the Land Registry included in the price?

dunstonh

The problem as I see it is that they need someone to verify that the 1% going isnt going to hit the value hard. That person cant just be a local bank clerk.

It does seem that they are being a bit OTT given the loan to valuation.

GMS

Selling 1% of the garden sounds like it's an easy thing to do and considering a very low LTV surely it's a no brainer to all involved.

However what if the 1% of the garden was the only access to the property? Instantly the property would be potentially worthless. After all how can you have a house when you can't access it due to the new owner of the entrance not permitting it.

Not for a minute suggesting this is your situation but the only way a lender can protect themselves is to get professional and indemnified advice.

Try passing on to or splitting the cost with the neighbour.

DVardysShadow

janlowe44 wrote: »

Whilst I appreciate the cost does not change for a valuation survey however much land you sell, it is the requirement to have it revalued at all, surely selling that tiny amount of land cannot affect the mortgage companies liability in our house especially as the mortgage is only for one third of property value?

It is not so much about the valuation of the trivial piece of land, it is also about establishing that the piece of land to be sold is actually a trivial few square metres.

Incidentally, I doubt your garden is 600 metres squared - this would be 36 hectares, which is about 89 acres. More likely your garden is 600 square metres - about 0.15 acres.

Eliminating confusion like this is another reason to pay an expensive professional.

Thrugelmir

Start with £250.

£42 is VAT.

So the net cost is only £208.

janlowe44

Now they have cashed the 250 and declared the report has been written although it is not disclosed so we cannot see the report all without ever visiting the property!