What to expect from a "valuation"?

Cuilean

Tomorrow evening, the local estate agent is sending over a valuer to see how much my house is worth. Having never had the luxury of a "voluntary" sale in my life (Work has moved me around a bit prior this, forcing me to take a quick sale price, pack up and go, whereas this time we're moving because after much saving, we can afford the family home at last) I'm a bit nervous about what to expect, especially since my husband is stuck at work, and is definitely the more confident speaker.

I'm guessing they're going to be all nicey-nicey because they want my business, but I'm not sure if it'll compromise their honesty. I'm not sure what they'll ask, what they'll want to see, if they'll have a timescale for us, whether they'll take any photographs or want us to sign a contract.

It's a nice little house, and we've tidied and put loads into storage to declutter, and the agent we're inviting over tomorrow sold an identical house across the street for about £50k more than we paid for ours, so we know they have people on their books willing to pay asking price for houses around here.

Can anyone share any stories/experiences/advice?

Annie1960

I had my valuations a couple of months ago.

1. Make sure you get three different EAs.

2. Don't sign anything on the first visit (they probably won't ask you).

3.Don't let them take photos until after you have signed a contract. They should send a professional photographer after you have signed with one of them.

4. They will probably want to go through their script, which can take up to an hour.

Questions you should ask them:

What sort of contract do they use? (Hint: mostly, you will only want a Sole Agency contract, never sign a Sole Selling Rights or Ready Willing and Able contract).

Ask them about their contract length (you want a short contract, no more than 6 weeks + notice)

Ask about their fees - depending on what area you are in, you may be able to negotiate. If they start talking about your area being 'hot' this is an indicator that you should negotiate a lower fee than they offer.

Make it clear you will not be signing anything until you've had 3 valuations - they will expect you to do this.

Don't listen to any nonsense if they start talking about their 'database'. This is misleading, don't let it sway your judgement.

Have a look at how they present their properties on Rightmove. Do they look good? Do they do a floor plan?

Don't let them press you into using their in-house solicitor/mortgate adviser/surveyor etc.

Others may be along soon with more advice.

Good luck.

cattie

With luck you'll get decent ea's like I had when I sold about 18 months or so ago. Each brought print outs of the houses most similar to mine that had been the most recent sales in the area. I was told how much the acceptance price had been compared to asking price & how long the property had been on the market.

I had no hard sell at all. All told me what their commission would be, but that it could be negotiable if another ea had matched it & their terms where fully explained to me & documents left for me to look at which detailed their selling process/service & instructions to ring them if I decided to go ahead.

Each ea wanted to know how long I'd owned the house & how much I'd paid & any improvement works I'd had carried out since buying the property.

The ea I actually used, an independent who I had used before as they offer such an excellent & personal service & very reasonable fees, did offer a reduced price survey on my next property as I was listing with them & a previous customer, but as it turned out I was also buying my next property via them too, I couldn't take advantage of this as it would have been a conflict of interest.

I note what Annie said about a 6 week contract, but in all my years of selling property I have yet to come across an ea that offers such a short contract, so this might well not be available. I think anywhere from 8-12 weeks is the norm.

There are lots of decent ea's out there, they are not all scallywags, but most of the decent ones seem to work for independents rather than High St chains I find.

Annie1960

cattie wrote: »

I note what Annie said about a 6 week contract, but in all my years of selling property I have yet to come across an ea that offers such a short contract, so this might well not be available. I think anywhere from 8-12 weeks is the norm.

There are lots of decent ea's out there, they are not all scallywags, but most of the decent ones seem to work for independents rather than High St chains I find.

Perhaps the length of contract depends on your area. Around here they tend to be short contracts, as properties sell so quickly.

So find out what is normal in your area and try to get the shortest one you can.

I agree about independents.