undervalued by e.surv

Stockers

We are remortgaging to raise capital to extend our property. We value our home at £620K. E.Surv valued it at £560K. This reduces our capital by £20K, with a significant knock on affect to our plans.

To date we have provided E.Surv with 6 comparables and other information regarding neighbours house prices, one which sold 13 months ago and another which is sold STC. We have a Local RICS Surveyor who valued our property prior to our purchase agreeing with our valuation and 3 local Senior Managers of Maidenhead Estate agents agreeing with our valuation, taking into account current local market.

The E.Surv Surveyor was not local to our area, which has high price increases mainly due to crossrail.

We have yet to receive the last a final rebuke to our claim but expect that shortly. The feeling that this is about saving face for them, professional arrogance etc.

If we proceed through the small claims court are there any precedents or advice?

Stockers

Should have said that we plan to continue with the remortgage application, once all avenues of appeal are exhausted. Good deal re our current age/income etc. However I want to raise a claim to refund to cost of the survey as it is defective(?).

kingstreet

Comparables are the recent (last four months) sold prices of similar property in the vicinity (0.5 miles or less).

They aren't EA marketing appraisals.

Your local RICS surveyor's written report may be helpful

Did you contract ESurv to do a survey at your expense, or are we talking about your lender's mortgage report & valuation?

If it's the latter, you have no right of redress as the contract is between the lender and the surveyor. You also need to bear in mind different lenders set different parameters on the surveyor as they may require a valuation based on a shorter sale period post-repossession. For example, a 90 day forced-sale valuation.

You may wish to consider an alternative lender for your remortgage where a different surveyor is used. Many lenders offer remortgage products with no valuation fee, so this might be a relatively cost-free option to investigate.

dunstonh

To date we have provided E.Surv with 6 comparables and other information regarding neighbours house prices, one which sold 13 months ago and another which is sold STC.

Property took a hit in some areas following the brexit referendum. Brexit has introduced some concerns over future property prices. So, pre vote prices dont really offer any useful info.

We have a Local RICS Surveyor who valued our property prior to our purchase agreeing with our valuation and 3 local Senior Managers of Maidenhead Estate agents agreeing with our valuation, taking into account current local market.

Forget the estate agents. They price on sale and aim for that to be as high as possible. The lender will be asking for a valuation on a different criteria. i.e. Property value based on a sale price achievable within 60 days.

The E.Surv Surveyor was not local to our area, which has high price increases mainly due to crossrail.

Pricing for lending is not about future potential for growth but more about risks and downsides.

If we proceed through the small claims court are there any precedents or advice?

If this is the lenders valuation and not one that you have employed then you cant take them to the small claims court. Their contract is with the lender. Not with you.

House prices do not have a price tag on them. Every valuation is an interpretation by an individual. So, you are always going to get variations. Chances are you are going by estate agent pricing and they are going by lender pricing. You tend to see around 15% difference. In your case, its a little under that. So, within the typical range.

Stockers

Thanks for your responses.

Frustrating on so many levels! Still think surveyor incompetence with a huge impact and no redress. Surveyor protected by variables. No accountability.

Mrs36

You aren't seriously going to consider the opinion of EAs over a qualified surveyor?

Stockers

Mrs36 - I'm using the local insight of EAs for houses they have sold (not their list prices), which include 2 in my street. One sold 13 months ago, and another sold STC. Their views and intimate knowledge of these sales are valuable. The surveyor claimed the one sold 13 months ago could have been an anomaly in the market, someone paying over the odds because they liked the house. The EA was able to tell me that there were 2 offers and both had surveys carried out (The first sale fell through). Both valuations had the same price, which it was sold for. The house sold STC, had 3 offers but they accepted a slightly lower one due to the higher offer not being procedurable.

This information would not be available to the surveyor. I do have the word of the local RICS surveyor, but he is not the one appointed by the mortgage provider.

Qualified does not mean infallible.