Remortgage house valuation

MDL74

'They' are countrywide associates. It's for a remortgage with a new provider.

They did a drive-by valuation which i appealed with supporting evidence as they are genuinely quite wide of the mark. I'd be surprised if they did anything more than a google streetview search.

They also claim to have compared the value to other houses in the area - the value they put on my house is below similar (no of bedrooms within a 1 mile radius) houses currently for sale (which i appreciate isn't the same as sold)

The house purchase was also a distressed sale

kingstreet

Right.

So, you applied for a remortgage and the lender instructed Countrywide, but only to do a drive-by. Is that because you have a lowish loan to value?

You've been offered an internal inspection, but at your expense?

Surveyors typically use the recent sales of three comparable properties to support their valuation. Did they do this? Have you seen their comparables?

Has the work you have undertaken made the property more saleable, rather than more valuable? What have you done to increase the size of the property? An extention? Loft conversion?

It would seem you have two real options;-

- pay for an internal inspection by Countrywide
- find another lender to remortgage to.

However, it's worth considering, several lenders use Countrywide, so "out of the frying pan and into the fire" may be a risk. In addition, if you do have a lowish LTV, a free valuation may always result in a drive-by, as the lender attempts to limit its expense and won't see your drive to scrape out the 60%, 70% or 75% threshold for the better rate as its problem.

MDL74

You're pretty much spot on with what you say - one thing though is that the work we have done does make the property a lot more saleable, but also more saleable at a higher price so therefore, one would expect it to be more valuable.

I had noticed that a number of lenders use countrywide unfortunately however i'm just reluctant to go through the expense of an internal valuation which may not yield the jump in value that i was expecting.

Also, the process for questioning a value was carried also out by Countrywide who have a vested interest in safeguarding their reputation so were always unlikely to back down when their judgement was questioned.

Just wondering, would a lender ever part fund a house valuation?

kingstreet

Is it Nationwide BS by any chance?

They use Countrywide as their panel manager, so 99 times out of 100, you apply for a Nationwide mortgage, you get Countrywide for your mortgage report & valuation. It is, however, the lender which decides on an internal inspection or a drive-by.

Others may "panel" a job to Countrywide if they have cover in a particular area.

As mentioned, lenders offer a free valuation on remortgage business, but they decide on what they want - drive-by or inspection. They won't pay for something they don't need.

It would appear that you will have to choose a lender which will have an internal inspection carried out at its expense, or you will have to pay for such an inspection, if you have no alternative to the inspection to get the valuation you need.