What's the rebuild value of the house?

curedham

We're buying a house for the first time in London, one of the item to sort out is the building & content insurance for the new house for the exchange.

Now how do we know what the rebuild value of the house? There's the purchase price but is that the rebuild value of the house?

Calleja

No, the purchase price is not the rebuild price. My surveyor gave me the rebuild price in my building survey. Did you get a building survey done? Not sure if its standard to give it in the survey or not (I had actually asked for it)

G_M

No.. You are also buying the land, which has a value, but is unlikely to need re-building!

Ifyou are getting a mortgage, the lender will have a Valuation done, and the surveyor will give a rebuild value. The lender will tell you this and insist you insure for (at least) this amount.

Failing this you can

* pay a surveyor to give you a rebuild value or
* get a rough estimate here from the RICS

Many insurers offer a standard amount ie they'll cover any property up to £500,000 rebuild, or £1m. In this case, knowing the precise amount does not matter (as long as it is less than the quoted amount!).

Others need a precise figure and calculate the premium on that. In this case getting an accurate amount ismore important.

grifferz

curedham wrote: »

We're buying a house for the first time in London, one of the item to sort out is the building & content insurance for the new house for the exchange.

Now how do we know what the rebuild value of the house? There's the purchase price but is that the rebuild value of the house?

If you had a homebuyer's report or full structural survey then it often says on there. If not then it may not matter anyway as it is quite common for buildings insurance to say things like "up to £500,000" with no option for lower.

The purchase price is not the rebuild value. The rebuild value will often be much less than the purchase price.

If you haven't got it in a survey and you want to be more exact for a quote you'll have t use a calculator. Search for one on line; you'll find plenty.

withabix

grifferz wrote: »

The rebuild value will often be much less than the purchase price.

...but could also be more.

gettingbetter

i am in scotland
in a semi - detached
cost according to my house insurance
for rebuild is £100000
i take it this includes next door

kas x

Stratus

Home Building and Renovating magazine carry a build cost calculator quoting rates per square metre depending on size, location and build quality. A typical 2 storey house with total area of between 131 and 220 sq metres has a cost of £1047 per sq metre in Greater London when built to a "standard" level of construction by a main contractor.
The table is probably available on their website.

Stratus

You may also need to factor in £10 - 20K to clear the site before rebuilding.

kingstreet

Use flat-rate bedroom rated cover, or use the ABI calculator. Make sure you get it right and compare products accurately;-

http://abi.bcis.co.uk/

abankerbutnotafatcat

In London the rebuild cost is likely to be a lot less than the purchase price/value due to the land value. I live in the Surrey commuter belt and the two are roughly the same. If you get a full valuation it will tell you the figure, referring to it as the reinstatement value. You should then adjust that (upwards only) each year for the effect of inflation.

kingstreet

A mortgage report & valuation done for a lender also includes the rebuild cost.