Valuation, dispute, etc.

skater_kat

I have a 2bed flat which i bought in mid 2008 for £226,000. i live in brighton. I'm looking to move to a garden flat.

I had my flat valued just before xmas, which came in at £198,000.

I disputed the valuation, with evidence of other similar local flats selling for around the 225-250k mark, but they stuck to their price.

There is a requirement (it's a Shared ownership flat) that I have to have my valuation done by a RICS regulated surveyor. i then have to sell for the exact fixed price of the valuation.

Obviously if i sell for 198k i will have 'lost' 28k. This means i won't be able to afford to buy my next place.

My neighbour had her one bedroom flat valued at £220k by a random cold calling estate agent. I assumed that EA's over inflate their values as this brings them more commission? whereas a paid for valuation, that is not an issue so its not in their interests to inflate.

My question is that, should I pay out another c.£250 for a valuation by another RICS firm, hoping that they will have a different opinion to the first ones. Obviously i have an emotional investment in this, but i find it hard to believe that my flat has dropped that much in value (no issues with flat itself BTW).

StuC75

Has your neighbour that has been valued at 220k actually been able to sell at that price yet?

tim123456789

skater_kat wrote: »

I have a 2bed flat which i bought in mid 2008 for £226,000. i live in brighton. I'm looking to move to a garden flat.

I had my flat valued just before xmas, which came in at £198,000.

I disputed the valuation, with evidence of other similar local flats selling for around the 225-250k mark, but they stuck to their price.

There is a requirement (it's a Shared ownership flat) that I have to have my valuation done by a RICS regulated surveyor. i then have to sell for the exact fixed price of the valuation.

I can't believe that is the rule, surely they mean "not less than".

agrinnall

I'm not sure why you find it hard to believe the flat has dropped 10% in value. You bought when prices were at their highest, many people would be delighted to hear their property was only worth 10% less now than it was in 2008.

ScotlandM

How was the 220k to your neighbour phrased?

Valued at 220k with them putting it to market at 240?
Or this flat is worth 220k we'll put it on the market at 220k?

With the above, nobody pays the price on the board anymore.
And a marketed price of 220 could be worth the same as your 198k.

In additon there is speed, perhaps you can find a buyer who likes your flat enough to pay 225k but it would take 2years. Or you could find a buyer in <6months at 198k.



A cold calling agent needs business so is very likely to try and get themself some business by telling people what they want to here. Yes agents will say its valued at 220, market at 240 but then come back in a month of no views and suggest to market at 220 (and then suggesting you accept an offer of 200).

Finally, while you find it hard to believe it's dropped that much it happens. You possibly paid an extra 5k than it was "worth" it's then dropped in this market by 10k and the the valuer hasn't liked your decor and lowered the valuation by 5k. Have you decorated in 4.5 years? 4.5 years of no love to a flat could devalue it by another 5k as the seller will deduct decorating costs from his offer.

I'm not usually this glooming sorry. No one here can help without seeing the flat and local sold prices. It could be worth only 198 now but if you disagree to most of my above then you should get another RICS man.

DRP

agrinnall wrote: »

I'm not sure why you find it hard to believe the flat has dropped 10% in value. You bought when prices were at their highest, many people would be delighted to hear their property was only worth 10% less now than it was in 2008.

Many people might be, but it is highly dependent on where you live.

DannyboyMidlands

A quick look at the Land Reg gives average 2008 Brighton flat price at around £111k. Currently £98k. A fall of, you guessed it, about 10%.

The surveyors value seems ok to me and I would imagine another RICS member to use the same methodology as the first and come up with the same amount again.

GDB2222

Kat, was your flat new when you bought it?

tim123456789

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

A quick look at the Land Reg gives average 2008 Brighton flat price at around £111k. Currently £98k. A fall of, you guessed it, about 10%.

The surveyors value seems ok to me and I would imagine another RICS member to use the same methodology as the first and come up with the same amount again.

I don't know which Brighton you looked at, but the one I found shows current Flat prices at 182,565 up from 182,065 in Jan 2008