Private House Valuation vs Free Valuation?

kesilapan

Hi there,
We have been living in the same rented house for a few years. We are now seriously considering buying the house we are renting as our landlord is keen to sell. We will be having a survey done very soon. This will be a private sale with no commission paid to any EAs. Of course the most crucial factor would be the price agreed and our landlord has asked that we get a professional valuation done on the property. I made an enquiry with a local EA and was quoted in excess of £350+VAT. My question is this: how is a professional valuation different from a free one that is given by an EA? I understand that the professional valuations would be conducted by the same Estate Agencies. We have asked our surveyor and he says he does not do valuations. Also, we can't look at historical sale prices online as the houses in our area are all different and it would be difficult to get a like-for-like comparison. I look forward to your thoughts and advice. Many thanks!

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

EAs will do a free valuation because they hope to get your business. If you have told them you are not going to sell the house, they are not going to do it for nothing. That's pretty much the only difference.

Surrey_EA

EAs cannot provide a valuation, in the legal sense of the term, they can provide a market appraisal, only a qualified surveyor can provide a valuation. Of course it is possible for an EA to be a qualified surveyor, but it's rare.

I would ask for clarification on what you are getting for your £350+VAT. Will it be a 'red book' valuation?

http://www.williamsellis.co.uk/blog/2015/9/10/what-is-a-red-book-valuation

G_M

Go to 3 other EAs and tell them you are thinking of selling your property?

Invite them round and ask them to send you 2 values:

* what they suggest marketing the property for and
* what they realistically expect to be able to sell it for.

kesilapan

That's very helpful about getting a 'red book' valuation. Many thanks, I will look into it.