What does a surveyor take into account when valuing a house?

lilsweetie

Hi all

Sorry new to mortgages etc so please be gentle lol. Currently rent a house which we may be buying, landlord is sending a surveyor round on Friday to value the house, I thought it was an estate agent but upon googling the phone number that rang me it is indeed a surveyor. There’s a few things with the property that need updating and I was wondering if those sorts of things are taken into account or not:

Boiler over 20 years old, makes banging noises, landlord sent someone round twice, scratching their head at what’s wrong so I will be replacing that ASAP.
Kitchen is veryyyyy old, as in bright green cupboards, I have put covers on these so you can’t tell unless you open them, hinges are rusted/falling off.
Same with bathroom, I’ve replaced the bath panel.
All walls/ceilings need replastering, chipping etc, but have done a good job painting these so it’s ok for now.

Basically what I’m asking is of these cosmetics are taken into account when valuing a house or not?

Thanks x

eddddy

lilsweetie wrote: »

Basically what I’m asking is of these cosmetics are taken into account when valuing a house or not?

The surveyor's job is to determine what a house would sell for, if it was put up for sale.

Is the surveyor local?

If not, the thing the surveyor will rely a lot on is 'comparables' - that is the prices that other similar properties sold for recently in the area (perhaps with adjustments for size, if the other properties are larger or smaller).

You should show/tell the surveyor about the boiler and plaster. It may influence them.


Surveyors work in the interests of their clients. So if the LL has hired a surveyor to determine a price to sell to you - it may be on the high side.

If you hired a surveyor to determine a price - it would be likely to be on the low side.

So maybe be prepared to negotiate with the LL on whatever price the LL's surveyor comes back with.

davidmcn

Everything would be taken into account - the boiler just the age really, the surveyor isn't going to test it or diagnose what the problem is. But don't expect the full cost of replastering, new kitchen etc to be deducted from the value.

tacpot12

If you feel the surveyor has not taken something into account, you can always make a lower offer, but the surveyor's valuation will carry some weight, if only in the landlord's mind - he has paid for the valuation after all.

But what really matters is the valuation that your mortgage company puts on the property. If you put in an offer on the house before the mortgage surveyor has been, make sure that your offer is "subject to survey", so that if your mortgage company's surveyor has a lower opinion of the value you can go back to the landlord with a revised offer.

I can't see that there is much point disagreeing with the landlord's surveyor's valuation until you have you a valuation/survey from your mortgage company.

somethingcorporate

You'd be saving the LL estate agent fees if you bought before he contracted with one....that's worth taking into account with your offer.

AdrianC

The surveyor will look at the house condition - cosmetic and structural - and compare it to other similar places on the market in the area.

If one has a new boiler/kitchen, then "yours" will be worth less. Not necessarily the price of a new kitchen and boiler, but less.

Remember, the valuation is a starting point for negotiation.

lilsweetie

Sorry, should have made it clearer, it’s a housing association I’m buying from not just a normal landlord so I don’t think I have much negotiating allowed with their price, thank you to all who have replied so far, I’m very new to all this.

AdrianC

lilsweetie wrote: »

Sorry, should have made it clearer, it’s a housing association I’m buying from not just a normal landlord

Right to Buy?

Or just "We're thinking of selling, are you interested?"

lilsweetie

No not right to buy we don’t qualify for that, I think we qualify for right to acquire as that’s the form we filled in, and they have just sent a letter saying they will get the property valued which is as much as I know at the moment.....

AdrianC

RtB/RtA - same difference. It's not going to be sold to Joe Public if you don't buy it...

So, no, you don't have any room for negotiation. Buy it at that price, or don't buy it.

lilsweetie

Wow, ok.......