Down valuation - can we switch mortgage providers?

AbbieP

Myself and my partner have had an offer accepted on a house - I am a first time buyer and he is selling his first property.


The house was on the market at £250k and we had an offer accepted at £245k. We currently have a joint deposit of £37k.


Nationwide has down valued the property to £235k citing damp in the single brick garage (detached from house) and requesting information on the wall ties. The wall ties have all been replaced with a 25 year warranty as part of the renovation of the property which has been renovated to sell - so that's not an issue to provide.


We are hoping to challenge the down valuation based on a report from the EA of properties sold with a 0.5 mile radius and information on the renovation. We have organised a home buyers survey with valuation that will take place today (hopefully will receive report tomorrow).


We very much want the house and believe it is worth £245k based on others sold in the last year in the area, but will obviously have to wait to see the independent valuation to confirm this. I am doubtful the vendor would budge on price and I understand we could put in an extra £8000+ to make up the difference.


My question is: as we have started the process with Nationwide (not signed anything with them) are we able to then switch mortgage providers at this point or will our credit scores have been impacted?


I am a first time buyer and finding the whole process a little confusing so would love some advice!


Thanks

amnblog

Yes, you can switch mortgage providers but you may still:

Be allocated the same valuer
End up with a valuation no higher than originally

If you decide you want to pay more than the Professional says the property is worth that is a matter for you if you can make up any shortfall on the mortgage offer in cash.

ACG

I would not waste your time trying to appeal the decision. I have done 5-6 over the years and never had a decision oveturned.

I had a similar issue with Nationwide ealrier this year, applied to a new lender and all was ok. But as amn says, you need to be careful about ended up with the same surveyor.

AbbieP

Thanks for your help both - good to know we can still potentially look elsewhere for a mortgage!
We could pull together the extra cash if needs be and would intend to stay in the house for a long time due to the size/location but obviously we would rather not have to.


Is there anyway to know which surveyors a mortgage provider uses?

kingstreet

Is the valuation figure before or after any essential repairs are done?

Often, reports & estimates which confirm there are no repairs needed will see the surveyor adopt the post-repair value.

amnblog

You can know which valuer the Lender tends to use but not which they will use.

Depending on workload they can use a number of firms.

Perhaps you should:

Decide if you really want to pay more than a local valuer says the property is worth?

If you do, a valuation appeal is probably a less than 1 in 100 chance of success - you may be better not wasting your time.

Don't pay for a new valuation if you try another lender, use one offering free valuation.

AbbieP

We had really vague information from London & Country saying that they had a short email from Nationwide saying that they had identified damp in the garage and wanted information on the wall ties and that they had valued the property at £235k. So I'm not sure if they would increase the value knowing that the wall ties have all been recently replaced and if the damp in the garage was addressed.


I think we would still be keen on the house as we would intend to stay there for a long time and based on the sold prices of other houses in the area I can't see how the down valuation is justified. We want to appeal (knowing it will probably be ignored) as we can't see how the surveyor has decided to knock £10k off the value.


Thanks all for your help - I am finding the whole process a bit daunting so really appreciate all advice

kingstreet

You need to get hold a of a copy of the valuation report, via your broker. They can ask Sales Support for a copy.

You then need to get the information (report & estimates) on the damp issue and the wall ties (they will probably not accept your vendor's word for it) and provide it to the surveyor for him to then decide if the valuation remains as it was, or should change.

In Section 11, a Nationwide valuation report has a 'valuation in present condition' figure and a 'valuation on completion of any works in section 7 or 10' figure. If the reports yield no repairs necessary, it is usual for the surveyor to replace the current condition valuation with the post-repair valuation.

Until you have the valuation figures in front of you, I don't see how you can possibly move forward?

Thrugelmir

AbbieP wrote: »

We are hoping to challenge the down valuation based on a report from the EA of properties sold with a 0.5 mile radius and information on the renovation.


We very much want the house and believe it is worth £245k based on others sold in the last year in the area, but will obviously have to wait to see the independent valuation to confirm this.

The surveyor performing the valuation on behalf of the lender will have used data from several local sources to come to their conclusion. The valuation is being conducted on behalf of the lender. In accordance with the instructions given. Internal condition of the property comes into play as well when making comparisons between properties. Even EA's differ in outlook.

An independent valuation therefore confirms little. As pricing is subjective. With it being performed on your behalf by the surveyor they may well ask if you want a pessimistic or optimistic value.

rickkelsey

Hi Everyone I'm making a programme for the BBC on Down Valuations and what happens when you experience one. Feel free to drop me a line on rick.kelsey@bbc.co.uk if it's happened to you eiither on a mortgage or re-mortgage.

AbbieP wrote: »

Myself and my partner have had an offer accepted on a house - I am a first time buyer and he is selling his first property.


The house was on the market at £250k and we had an offer accepted at £245k. We currently have a joint deposit of £37k.


Nationwide has down valued the property to £235k citing damp in the single brick garage (detached from house) and requesting information on the wall ties. The wall ties have all been replaced with a 25 year warranty as part of the renovation of the property which has been renovated to sell - so that's not an issue to provide.


We are hoping to challenge the down valuation based on a report from the EA of properties sold with a 0.5 mile radius and information on the renovation. We have organised a home buyers survey with valuation that will take place today (hopefully will receive report tomorrow).


We very much want the house and believe it is worth £245k based on others sold in the last year in the area, but will obviously have to wait to see the independent valuation to confirm this. I am doubtful the vendor would budge on price and I understand we could put in an extra £8000+ to make up the difference.


My question is: as we have started the process with Nationwide (not signed anything with them) are we able to then switch mortgage providers at this point or will our credit scores have been impacted?


I am a first time buyer and finding the whole process a little confusing so would love some advice!


Thanks