Confused over Estate Agents and RICS valuations for Probate

Large_Daisy

Please can the forum help me. My mum died last week and I am one of her executors, I want to get on and sort out the probate on the bungalow she left but I'm not sure who to use to get a valuation on it? Do I have to have a RICS valuation or will an estate agent work just as well?
Thank you

Yorkshireman99

Large_Daisy wrote: »

Please can the forum help me. My mum died last week and I am one of her executors, I want to get on and sort out the probate on the bungalow she left but I'm not sure who to use to get a valuation on it? Do I have to have a RICS valuation or will an estate agent work just as well?
Thank you

If the estate is close to the IHT limit you need an RICS valuation. Otherwise it depends on what is to happen to the property.

Brynsam

If there are a reasonable number of fairly similar properties in the area, a couple of valuations from estate agents will do just fine (take the average), whatever the value of the estate.

PasturesNew

An estate agent did ours, we got two prices. Just tell them you want a Probate Valuation and in writing... and they'll pop round, give it a price and send you a letter.

The purpose of that is to set the value of the house now ... as a fixed price/point in time for any inheritance tax now - and any future form filling/capital gains tax/similar.

Yorkshireman99

Brynsam wrote: »

If there are a reasonable number of fairly similar properties in the area, a couple of valuations from estate agents will do just fine (take the average), whatever the value of the estate.

Simply incorrect. HMR&C will not accept estate agent guesses if IHT is due.

Tom99

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Simply incorrect. HMR&C will not accept estate agent guesses if IHT is due.

You do not need to attach any 'valuation' to your IHT forms, you can just submit your own estimate if you like.
I think what you mean is that if you are in the IHT range then you RICS valuation is more likely to be accepted by the IHT Office/Valuation Office without query.
That's not to say an EA valuation will be queried, mine at £800,000 was not.

eddyinfreehold

I completely agree with 'Yorkshireman' based upon my own experience. If you are close to or over the IHT threshold and you provide estimates of DoD value, or an Estate Agent's valuation then you are much more likely to have everything sent to the IHT/Valuation Office for approval. Although we had to pay IHT on my late father's estate, the value of his small under-maintained cottage was low at £120,000. We submitted one RICS valuation and were sent to the HMRC Valuation Office. The referral added about 14 months to the process and nothing happened in the meantime. Eventually the Valuation Office agreed with our submission. Two RICS valuations might have avoided this problem.

Tom99

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

I completely agree with 'Yorkshireman' based upon my own experience. If you are close to or over the IHT threshold and you provide estimates of DoD value, or an Estate Agent's valuation then you are much more likely to have everything sent to the IHT/Valuation Office for approval. Although we had to pay IHT on my late father's estate, the value of his small under-maintained cottage was low at £120,000. We submitted one RICS valuation and were sent to the HMRC Valuation Office. The referral added about 14 months to the process and nothing happened in the meantime. Eventually the Valuation Office agreed with our submission. Two RICS valuations might have avoided this problem.

Apart from doubling your cost I cannot see how two RICS valuations would avoid the problem. If they just happened to be at exactly the same figure would the VO wonder why you had submitted both and whether there was something suspicious to look further at.
If they were different figures would you average them? In which case you have supplied the VO with one professional's opinion that the figure you would like them to agree to is too low.

eddyinfreehold

Tom99 , I can't argue with your logic. All I can say is that 'two surveys' was a comment passed to me by a case officer at HMRC during one of many phone calls we made to find out what was going on. The case officer couldn't do anything to speed the process up either. Apparently once it goes 'to Valuation' you just have to wait for the file to re-emerge. Ironically it occurred to me later that where the property was located in West Wales, and with so few RICS in the area with local knowledge, it might well have been the same surveyor who valued for the Revenue. I will never know for certain though.

Tom99

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

Tom99 , I can't argue with your logic. All I can say is that 'two surveys' was a comment passed to me by a case officer at HMRC during one of many phone calls we made to find out what was going on. The case officer couldn't do anything to speed the process up either. Apparently once it goes 'to Valuation' you just have to wait for the file to re-emerge. Ironically it occurred to me later that where the property was located in West Wales, and with so few RICS in the area with local knowledge, it might well have been the same surveyor who valued for the Revenue. I will never know for certain though.

As far as I am aware, the VO don't outsource IHT valuations the have probably the largest in-house team of RICS surveyors in the country.

Dymphna60

Wonder if it’s a matter of luck if HMRC want their own valuation. Especially now they are trying to speed up , giving a date you should have heard by if they are questioning your figures .
I got and submitted a RICS valuation by the only qualified surveyor for many miles around and wondered if that also makes a difference. Would seem little point in HMRC using same one wouldn’t she /he use the same report?