Getting house valuations

FixitM

I went bankrupt on Thursday, and the OR wants me to get 2 house valuations from estate agents, as says the online one I did is no good. How quickly do I need to get them, as 2 of my kids have had a sickness bug and despite quite a few cleaning products, we have a nasty orange stain on our cream lounge carpet? And will I just tell her what they say, or do I need to get something from the in writing? I assume I need to pretend we're thinking of selling, as she said not to get a valuation for a quick sale.


Also, she's requested details of my earnings the last time I was self employed & employed, which are 2008 & 2006 respectively. I don't have my self employment tax return any more & will take 3 weeks for the Inland Revenue to send me a copy. Why would she want this from so long ago?


Thanks in advance.

Cobalt77

Re the house price question, my first port of call would be ACTUAL historic sale prices from the Land Registry.

Unlike estate agents' sale prices (i.e. the price an agent or seller thinks their house may be worth) Land Registry data is completely factual and cast in stone. If the Land Registry states the property next to yours sold last week for (say) £250K, then that is exactly what it's worth.

You can check actual Land Registry sale prices via sites like RightMove for free: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

Just put your postcode into the search box at the top of the page. You may find a property close to yours of the same age, type and number of bedrooms has sold recently. If this is the case, use that figure if it helps your case - as it's virtually impossible for the OR to argue with Government facts.

Remember to adjust for estate agent's & legal fees too. So if a property next to yours sold last week for £250K, you can easily knock £5K off that for costs - meaning the "net" sale value of the property is £245K.

As with everything, there may be a little variance in prices. If your property is in a worse condition than one which recently sold in tip-top condition, it's reasonable to reduce the "guestimate" of your property's value accordingly. This is why it can be useful to get some estate agents to come in.

One final tip. When you get the agents in, tell them you are going through a divorce/separation and so need as low a "valuation" as possible. This may make them a bit more sympathetic to your case.

HTH

FixitM

Thank you, and thanks for that link. Not many houses sell on my street very often as some are old council houses, so are housing association. There were 2 at £155,000 and £139,000 a few doors down last year, but they aren't sandstone & ours is, would that make a difference? Thank you for your other tips. Am hoping next week will suffice, once I've dealt with the aftermath of the sickness bugs.

Cobalt77

FixitM,

I'm not sure if you know how all the bits of the jigsaw fit together, so I'll give you a quick overview which may be helpful.

The reason the OR wants a "valuation" of your property is to work out whether there is likely to be any equity in it which can be grabbed to help repay your creditors (and if there is any equity, the OR needs to know roughly how much).

If there is reasonable equity in your property (i.e. the difference between your property's value and any secured loans - like your mortgage), then I believe the OR has up to 3 years from the date of BR to order a sale of your property to release this equity. This means the OR could effectively sit on his/her hands for 2.5 years to see if your property goes up in value before forcing a sale.

However, if your property has very little equity in it (or is in negative equity), then the OR may well be prepared to let your partner or a family member "buy out" the OR's interest in your property for a nominal "token" amount of money. This is a good position to be in, as it means you'll be able to keep your house.

So, your mission is to make sure your valuations are as low as possible - the less equity in your property, then the less chance the OR will be bothered going after it.

So, when agents "value" your place, be sure to point out every single problem with it. Instead of tidying it up, make sure that it's looking like a ferc.king pig-sty - the more rough it looks, the lower your "valuation" will be and the greater the chance of you keeping it.

This is exactly why I mentioned about telling the agent you are going through a divorce/separation and so need as low a "valuation" as possible - it explains why the place looks a mess, and it plays on the sympathy of many agents who will often give you a "low ball" valuation to help you out (if you use this approach, be sure to send your other half out while the agent is doing the "valuation", lol)

Hope that makes sense

KeepOnKnitting

I was just thinking that Cobalt, and wondered why OP didn't see the orange stain and vomit smell as a complete bonus!? I would go so far as to recommend the OP not clean or tidy, and maybe borrow some extra furniture to give the place that cramped, stuffy feel that makes it harder to sell.

FixitM

Thank you for all the information. Luckily (I suppose), the place is a tip, and nursery full of bags that I need to get rid of, as everything has gone to pot with husband working away a lot the last 7 months or so. Turns out I couldn't live with the stain though, so have tackled it and it's better.

When rang the agent they ask questions, and when I mentioned needing it for divorce purposes, said they were too busy at the moment to be able to provide a free valuation for divorce purposes. 2 different agents said the same! So I had to change tack, and have said that I'm costing moving somewhere bigger VS having an extension. I will ask for the price after people would knock us down for the fact it needs rewiring, damp coursing, and also mention that only half the garden is on the deeds.

I have the prices that the houses 4 and 8 doors away sold for last year. Have house prices gone up since last year? Also what price difference would the fact that ours is sandstone and those aren't, and that we have an extension off the lounge make?

I've been an emotional wreck this morning at the thought of them coming round. I don't know if it's that it's really hit me about the implications of this. Just absolutely dreading it, and the farce of showing them around to value it pretending I may want to sell.

FixitM

Just an update. The 2 valuations we had came in at between £10,000 and £22,000 below what we currently owe on the mortgage. I know it will all depend on what property prices do in the next 3 years as to whether they will want to sell the house, but positive outcome (so far) do you think?

Cobalt77

Absolutely! So, given the negative equity, there are two ways this can now go FixitM.

The first is the OR will wait until the 30 ish month mark, and then get it revalued. If the property then has reasonable equity, the OR will try to sell your property.

The second option is for you to see if the OR will allow you to "buy out" their interest in the property for a nominal amount of money. This is usually around the £1,000 mark. If you are able to get this money from family/friends/partner/anyone not BR, then it may be worth considering IF the OR will allow it.

If you think this may apply to you, add a note here and someone like Fermi or DebtDoctor will be able to give you some practical advice based on their experiences.

HTH

National_Debtline

Hi FixitM

FixitM wrote: »

Just an update. The 2 valuations we had came in at between £10,000 and £22,000 below what we currently owe on the mortgage. I know it will all depend on what property prices do in the next 3 years as to whether they will want to sell the house, but positive outcome (so far) do you think?

Well, this would at least indicate that the OR will have no basis for seeking to sell the property in the immediate future. It should also mean that the value of your beneficial interest in the property is reviewed after two years and three months, and could be handed back to you at that point if you remain in negative equity.


Dennis
@natdebtline


EDIT - cross-posted with Cobalt.

FixitM

Thank you so much. A reprieve, for now at least. So it'll be at OR discretion as to whether we will have the option to ask someone to buy the beneficial interest in 2 years & 3 months time? Think we will have to hope that house prices don't rise too much (& make sure there are still toys everywhere at the next valuation!)

Cobalt77

FixitM,

I seem to recall you can immediately make an offer to "buy out" the OR's interest if you are in negative equity, although it's totally at the OR's discretion.

Hopefully, Fermi or DD will be able to confirm whether this is the case.