Who arranges mortgage valuation? (First time buyer)

varfor

I'm buying a house and have got an agreement in principle for mortgage. I'm not selling anything as this will be the first place I've bought.

The next step is a valuation. They left me a message yesterday saying that I need to get in touch to arrange the valuation on 'your property'.

I'm a bit confused. As a buyer would I arrange the valuation or have they just made a mistake? I thought it was down to the lender to get that sorted.

SG27

Have you made the full application? Once this is done your mortgage lender/broker will need the estate agents/vendors details and they will make all the arrangements for access.

varfor

Full application has been made by my mortgage broker. They have all of the info about the property, estate agent etc, so I'm guessing it's just a mistake.

Thrugelmir

Surveyor has been given the wrong details. Needs to be contacting the vendor through the EA.

datlex

For me the mortgage company arranged the survey. With Halifax they had an option to get a level 2 survey alongside the mortgage valuation. The surveyor though contacted me about the survey in advance to advise me about the process what he would be looking for etc. He then discussed it with me afterwards

Smodlet

Are you in Scotland, OP? Because it is all different up there. Assuming you are in England or Wales, your lender will arrange access for the mortgage valuation with the EA but you will have to pay for it. This might be why you need to contact them; you may have to sign something agreeing to this.

The other explanation is that the lender has got things around its neck and think you are the vendor rather than the buyer. Sounds incompetent of them but far from impossible, I'm sure.

In case you are unaware, a mortgage valuation is not a survey. It pretty much covers the "is it about to fall down" scenario and little more. It is entirely for the lender's benefit. Its purpose is to determine whether the property is worth the risk to them of lending £x, not to alert you to any but the most obvious defects.

buggy_boy

Im just in the process of buying a property via a company but am getting some of the money via a remortgage on my own property and have gone via the Nationwide, once the application was put in they arranged the valuation very quickly.

Just a warning the valuation I got was very low didnt really effect me apart from pushing me into a different LTV group but the interest rate was not massively different but could make a difference if you are a FTB as you would need a bigger deposit.... Nothing to worry about now and I have heard remortgage valuations are being much more conservative than new purchasers.

Good luck on your new house.

kingstreet

Nationwide's update text says;-

"Applicant Surname: XXXX
Case Number: M59XXXXXX.

Good news, a valuation for the above case has been booked for XXXXXX.

There's no need for your client to be present unless we've already arranged this with them.

Once we've received the valuation report we'll be in touch if we need any more information."
This is standard. Countrywide, or the firm they 'panel' the business to, will know who to contact for access.