Getting an estate agents valuation

swingaloo

Is it possible to get an estate agents valuation on a property you yourself do not own?

My son is soon to move in with his girlfriend and they are looking to buy a house together.
She moved up from the Midlands and has been renting a property which she took for 12 months knowing the house was to be sold at the end of her fixed 12 months but she was happy with that as they have planned for a while to eventually move in together.

They have approached the landlady about the possibility of them buying the property and she has told them what she wants to ask for the house based on the estate agents valuation although to her knowledge no estate agent has been to value the house in the 10 months she has been in it.

The price she has quoted is over £20,000 more than comparable properties (on the same road and also within 1 mile). They have also looked at sold house prices on Rightmove so think the landlady may be chancing her arm as she knows they are very interested so they are thinking of asking for a valuation themselves to get a true idea of what price they should be looking at.

Would an estate agent do a valuation under these circumstances if they paid for it or can it only be requested by the owner?

davidmcn

If they're willing to pay for a valuation, why not just get a proper surveyor in to do it (given they'd need a survey anyway if they're proceeding with the purchase)? But there's nothing to stop them from haggling the price based on their own research of comparable properties.

swingaloo

Thanks for the reply. they would be getting a survey done if they go ahead to put an offer in but they are thinking that a survey would be more expensive to get than a basic valuation.

If the valuation came back similar to the landladies 'valuation' then they would not go ahead with an offer and so not need to pay out for a full survey, if that makes sense.

PasturesNew

Anybody who has not had an estate agent in and had a conversation can only guess an inflated idea of what their house is worth. The LL's opinion is of no use.

If you've looked at what's sold locally that's comparable and they were cheaper, an agent would say the same thing, although there will still be variance of prices suggested + an agent telling somebody what they want to hear just to get it on their books.

Its value is therefore one of two:
1/ The lower value you believe it's worth, based on your research.
2/ Any higher price you're prepared to pay for it, for reasons personal to yourself.

In the main, I'd put forward the notion that very few tenants who consider buying what they are renting ever actually buy it as the asking price turns out to be higher than expected... and so they move out to avoid uncertainty and the LL might lower the price later but the tenant has already made their own arrangements.

In reality, it's probably in part wanted as it's seen as "easy" to just buy where you are... but in the cold light of day people realise they can do better with something else.

swingaloo

Thank you for the replies.

Thy have looked at other houses as well as the one she is currently renting. They love the current house as its ideal for both of their commutes to work and also has a lovely family friendly garden at the back and is not overlooked so they are quite keen but don't want to come across as such.

I think their thinking is along the lines of trying to get a valuation and hoping it shows in their favour that the landlady has overinflated the price hoping they bite because the alternative would be waiting for it to go up for sale and then maybe someone offering more than them and them losing it. They think that if they can come to an agreement on price then they can get in before anyone else but they would like an independent valuation hence the question.

Bossypants

Their best bet would be to go into a local independent EA on a quiet day (i.e. not Saturday), explain the situation and ask if they would be willing to help out. Small EAs know the value of building longterm relationships in their area, so one or two might bite, knowing that it could put them in a favourable light when your son and his girlfriend eventually come to sell whichever house they end up buying.

That said, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. Sellers tend to fix on their prices fairly firmly in my experience, regardless of how unrealistic they may be, and nothing short of several months of languishing on the market will generally change their minds. Given that the house hasn't even gone to market yet, and your son's concern that someone else might offer more than they can (i.e. they are not willing/able to pay the upper end of what they think it's worth), it would probably be best to look at other places as well.

davidmcn

swingaloo wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. they would be getting a survey done if they go ahead to put an offer in but they are thinking that a survey would be more expensive to get than a basic valuation.

They could get a basic valuation from an RICS surveyor, which would be more useful than one from an estate agent. Even if they would want a more indepth survey to proceed (though having lived in the property they're presumably fairly aware of any problems anyway), a mortgage valuation would tell them what anybody else buying with a mortgage is likely to be told about the value.