Contesting a Lender's Valuation for remortgaging. Please Help.

Redzim

I bought a 2 bed flat in London for £250k three years ago. This is one of three flats in a completely renovated Victorian terraced house in Zone 2 - refurb very high spec including wet rooms and surround sound etc.

Fast forward 3 years and i need to find a new deal but my current lender doesn't have any fixed rates so with the very helpful and efficient London & Country I look to remortgage. Shortly before most of the fixed rate deals were pulled off the market we managed to secure an agreement in principal from RBOS for a reasonable (but not ridiculously low) fixed rate deal.

The lenders then conducted a drive by valuation - that came back valuing the flat (2 bed 2 bath, central London) at £160k. Now maybe I'm overreacting and when they get inside to have a look around (which they will) they will revise it radically, but even without seeing the interior a 2 bed flat in London in the current climate would have to be quite rundown from the outside to be valued at this. Now I am in the lucky position that the flat just below me with all the same elements of refurbishment, same rooms and same outside frontage has just sold for £385k (bought at the same time as mine for £310).

However L&C keep reiterating that the lender's valuation will be final and there is nothing i could do to contest it. Surely there is some sort of regulatory body / rule that stops lenders from grossly misvaluing a property and so getting out of a deal they offered? I am wondering if they want to get me off the good deal and onto one more favourable to themselves.
Can I contest?

Mr_helpful

Of course you can contest it. Normally you need to find about 3 comparables close to yours that have actually sold. Sounds as though that shouldnt be that difficult. The broker should have advised you this. Got to WWW.hometrack.co.uk or www.nethouseprices.com and see what has sold for how much in your area

Redzim

Thank you Mr Helpful - that is indeed v helpful! To be fair to L&C they were probably waiting for the final word on the valuation (ie interior visit) before they gave me all the options. I must admit though that I'm wondering if the valuer actually did drive by.

Mr_helpful

He might have but he might also have driven by the wrong house. i have had this twice. One time we even got a whole mortgage offer on a house the client didnt own because lender mis read the postcode and sent valuer for drive by past wrong house.

MortgageMamma

l&C will have that many mortgages on the go I'd be suprised if one of their overworked battery hens would have the time to assist you contesting a downvaluation

Who was the lender?

Redzim

Royal Bank of Scotland - I have been passed from the original broker at L&C to a more administrative contact. However i intend to get back in touch with the first guy if it goes much further. I'm wondering if they didn't just go on one of the house price websites to get an approximate value. Although Mr Helpful's story about the misread postcode made me laugh (and groan).

One issue may be that, although flats in the area are well above the £160k, many are not renovated so wouldn't be as high in value. I can only hope that when the valuer visits he is reasonable enough to judge it on its own merits. A slight under valuation I could deal with, but not £100-150k.

AndyWallace

Redzim wrote: »

Royal Bank of Scotland - I have been passed from the original broker at L&C to a more administrative contact. However i intend to get back in touch with the first guy if it goes much further. I'm wondering if they didn't just go on one of the house price websites to get an approximate value. Although Mr Helpful's story about the misread postcode made me laugh (and groan).

One issue may be that, although flats in the area are well above the £160k, many are not renovated so wouldn't be as high in value. I can only hope that when the valuer visits he is reasonable enough to judge it on its own merits. A slight under valuation I could deal with, but not £100-150k.

Hometrack have teamed up with Trigold and are offering a 60 day free comprehensive automated survey report facility. not all results are highly accurate, but around 85% are.

If you'd like me to quickly do this for you email me your full address and postcode.
Andy.

MortgageMamma

I'e had a couple of downvaluations from RBS in the past 12 months, I only managed to sucessfully contend one, but it can be done.

MM

Redzim

Is there a formal route to contest? Do you think getting an independant valuation helps or will i need to rely entirely on nearby house prices?
What i don't want to do is waste time contesting this while my current fixed rate runs out - wondering if I should just cut my losses and try with another lender while i have time. It doesn't seem right that they are able to do this to get out of a deal they offered in principle but now think they could do better.

Are there any other whole of the market, free brokers anyone would recommend?

herbiesjp

YOu need to get the details of at least 3 properties - simlar build type and within close proximity of yours if possible

You need this informtion from an estae agent if possible.

You would need to have the details of the actual SOLD price as opposed to what a property is on the market for

The sites posted above by Mr H are helpful to some extent to let you get an idea of current values, but agents letters are what are needed. Even with the letter, it is not guaranteed that the original surveyor will budge though

HTH

Redzim

AndyWallace wrote: »

Hometrack have teamed up with Trigold and are offering a 60 day free comprehensive automated survey report facility. not all results are highly accurate, but around 85% are.

If you'd like me to quickly do this for you email me your full address and postcode.
Andy.

That's kind to offer but at this stage I'm not sure if even that would help! I'll wait out the next valuation from them (next few days....) and see what happens. Will definitely have a look into the service you mention though.
Thanks
R