Countrywide surveying services-under valuing

expressyourself

Has anyone used them recently by any chance?

Crashy_Time

kath_d wrote: »

We are selling our house for £235k, had loads of interest, 4 bidders n offers ranging £225k-£233k, we accepted £233k
Countrywide has de valued our house at £217,500 which is same as next door house sold for in 2015 however our house is a larger more private plot, large detached garage and conservatory (next door hasn't got either.
Our buyer has pulled out as can't fund the £15,500 difference, we put our house back on the market yesterday for £235k and have 6 viewings booked already, my worry is will we come up with the same problem with any new buyer ? can we challenge the valuation ?
Is countrywide known for devaluing properties ?
We feel really helpless, any advice please ?

Take what you can get now, before the market deteriorates (or gets better, depending on where you stand on property bubbles) any more, or find a cash buyer willing to pay your price.

amateur_house

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Take what you can get now, before the market deteriorates (or gets better, depending on where you stand on property bubbles) any more, or find a cash buyer willing to pay your price.

The OP is over a year old, I imagine they've reached a decision by now

MaddLizzy

Awful. We live in an old property that we've looked after and renovated over 17 years and we have duly seen to roof, damp, insulation, etc etc. The surveyor had obviously decided before he'd even seen the whole property that we were going to be put in the 'in depth survey' bracket. He recommended a damp survey (we've already had a damp proof course), a timber survey (it's already been treated as a precaution despite showing no signs) and mysteriously diagnosed 'movement' in a 45 year old extension that a previous surveyor said had settled. He also let it slip less than half way round the survey that another surveyor would need to give details of the problems. At the time I thought he'd made a mistake so didn't comment; then surprise surprise, after leaving he recommended that a mortgage wasn't allowed to our buyers and that instead, an in-depth expensive survey was recommended. He'd clearly decided this before seeing the property. He never got out his damp meter to test the walls - I'm incredibly proud of the treatments I've done to my house and the fact I know I have no damp. I have had five separate surveys on this house during my time here, for various reasons both business and personal. All of these have been passed, and each time the surveyors have got their damp meters out and performed the the checks in front of me. Not this time. It is absolutely incomprehensible that our buyers have been refused a mortgage on grounds of damp, movement and timber when previous surveyors have passed all of this. This man had clearly already been told by his employers that he had to recommend all sorts of tests in order to bring Countrywide more money for an enhanced survey that costs a lot more. Disgusted. Our buyers are booking another survey with another lender. Your loss, Countrywide.

kingstreet

Presumably you are selling and this inspection was done for your purchaser's mortgage lender? If this surveyor was carrying out a mortgage report & valuation, it wasn't a survey.

Chartered surveyors are not specialists in property defects. If they suspect something, they will recommend a specialist report, which is what seems to have happened in your case. They do not carry out these inspections/reports, so they have nothing to gain from them financially.

On the basis of all the things you've done, all these reports will yield no defects needing attention and your value will be set accordingly.

These things follow a set and logical progression.

BTW I have known chartered building surveys costing hundreds of pounds result in requests for timber & damp, electrical and roofing reports as, as mentioned earlier, a chartered surveyor is not a specialist in these issues regardless of how long the inspection actually takes.

Finally, Countrywide, Connells, E-Surv, L&G Surveyors all have downvaluations and requests for specialist reports from time to time. None are better nor worse than any other, based on experience of about thirty mortgage cases a month for too many years to remember...

02346631

Countrywide downvalued properties I was trying to buy twice resulting in them falling through, I don't have the best experience with them at all! One of them I was expecting but the owner wouldn't lower their price and the second one I thought was incredibly harsh, it's fairly pointless appealing their decisions though unfortunately.

Natbag

We have just fallen victim to Countrywide.
Our buyers were mortgaging with Tesco, who sent Countrywide to do the valuation/survey. Their surveyor was in and out within 10 minutes then down-valued our property by £10k, putting it at the same price we paid for it 10 years ago. This is despite us spending thousands on a new kitchen and bathroom recently and it being immaculate, also despite two identical properties next door and next-door-but-one selling for the same price we had agreed a sale for within the last year. Neither us or our buyer could bridge the gap so our buyers pulled out and we had to find another buyer within two weeks or our vendors would relist their property for sale. We had to reduce the price by £5k to generate interest and offers before the deadline and also in the hope of it passing the valuation/survey next time. Our new buyers are mortgaging with Halifax, I'm not sure what surveyor they use but I certainly won't be letting Countrywide through the door again, that's for sure.
Their reviews online are appalling: http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews239734.html#Reviews

solardove

e_surv just undervalued my house by 35k they said my house was in excess of the limit of radon gas I have a radon sump installed and passed by building regs also road noise if they had checked the area we are a diversion at the moment due to road works and stated a damming report about my single skinned lean to which i use for my horse tack and has no value I actually seen the report they sent to the Halifax and their client I have put formal complaints to e-serv and the Halifax for the damming report on my property as it is lies about the radon gas which i had never heard of and when I read up on it said it can cause cancer of which i am being screened for as i speak anyway for peace of mind I got the builders in who found the report lies and amusing

hazyjo

Just read more than half that thread before realising it was over 3 years old!!!


Can you start a new thread please, solardove?


Thanks

kingstreet

solardove wrote: »

I actually seen the report they sent to the Halifax and their client I have put formal complaints to e-serv and the Halifax for the damming report on my property

Holy thread hijack Batman? You have no contract with the surveyor so your complaint is pointless.