Revaluation of house for new mortgage

mathsmoney

Our current mortgage deal comes to an end in the next 6 months. Since we last remortgaged (2 years ago), we have built an extension, rewired, replastered, put new windows in - all of which add considerable value to the house. How can we go about having this taken into account when remortgaging? If the mortgagers only look at what the house was worth when we bought it (then adjust for rises/falls since) our LTV will be higher and so we will not be able to access as good a deal as if it is revalued with the improvements taken into account. Should we get estate agents round to value it, or will a mortgage company valuer come round and value it (rather than just driving by, like they normally do!)?

The_J

Depends on the mortgage company. Some will always send someone around, some will only send someone round if the LTV is over a certain percentage, some will make it up as they go along.

Broker time. Make sure you mention it to the broker.

cattie

The extension may add a bit of value, but I very much doubt the rewiring, windows & plastering will. They may make the property more appealing to a buyer, but that's about it. General improvements to a property these days add very little value.

kingstreet

Are you remortgaging, changing from one lender to another, or are you simply asking your current lender for a new deal?

mathsmoney

OK ,so far it's

a) go through a broker - how does this help? Will they make sure my valuation goes well?
b) depends on the LTV. If the LTV is low, wouldn't that (in one way) increase the chance that they will do a proper valuation, as they won't be giving me as good a deal (ie lower percentage) if I have over-valued?

mathsmoney

I am currently with Santander. I am open to going with someone new. My dealings with Santander thus far don't give me much hope - I imagine they will drive by, and say, "Nope, it's worth what it was 2 years ago, even though you've spent £80K on it"

kingstreet

If you remortgage to a new lender they will send a surveyor to value the property by inspecting it internally. Lenders only tend to use drive-bys for low LTV cases of 50% or less.

Many remortgage products include a free valuation, so there would be no cost if you decided to pull out if the valuation wasn't to your liking...

Indexed valuations tend to be used only by existing lenders when borrowers are looking to move to a new deal, although Halifax, as an example, will allow a borrower the choice of desktop/indexed, drive by, or inspection on a product transfer with the borrower picking up the cost, of course.

213ad

kingstreet wrote: »

If you remortgage to a new lender they will send a surveyor to value the property by inspecting it internally. Lenders only tend to use drive-bys for low LTV cases of 50% or less.

I appreciate this answer is old, but I am in a similar situation and I was wondering how would the lender be able to establish an LTV before having a valuation? Is that based on a claimed figure on the application?

Debt_free_soon_2

From the experience I had last year when I tried to remortgage at the end of a fixed rate deal they did not even do a drive by let alone enter the property to do the valuation.
I was told by my MA that they look at what you paid & when & they look at recent sold prices within the same postal code area.

For us we were in a large old semi & they were using the sold price of properties with less sq footage & fewer bedrooms etc.
It made no sense at all.

213ad

that's what I was afraid of. Does anybody know any way to avoid this? Would brokers/IFAs be able to help?