Yopa - for house valuation during divorce?

AdrianC

seashore22 wrote: »

What we want is a realistic valuation, a value at which the house will sell, although it doesn't need to be a panic sale.

And that's as much guesswork as any other kind of valuation.

There is a possibility that the person concerned may suggest a buy out, so an accurate valuation would be necessary.

But which way?

Are they aiming for a low number, so they have to pay less?
Or are they aiming for a high valuation, so they have to be paid more?

And how much value goes on getting this sorted out easily and quickly, rather than it dragging and having to go on the market because they can't quite raise the money or the two sides haven't agreed on a number?

paddy's_mum

When I divorced many years ago, the court expected an accredited surveyor to give a Valuation for Division, not the inbuilt profit margin for the owners offered by a high street estate agent.

Mutton_Geoff

kingstreet wrote: »

This would be my advice in the same circumstances. Free is not necessarily best when whoever is issuing the instruction has an interest in the end result.

Presumably someone somewhere is going to be mortgaging this property, the ex family member or a buyer. You'd expect the valuation to be close to what the banks are going to come back with.


I'd ask a few local agents who the valuers are and appoint one of them (valuer, not agent).

seashore22

paddy's_mum wrote: »

When I divorced many years ago, the court expected an accredited surveyor to give a Valuation for Division, not the inbuilt profit margin for the owners offered by a high street estate agent.

Thank you. That's what I thought, but none of us have had direct experience of divorce, let alone a situation like this.

TBagpuss

I would suggest in the first instance get 3 local agetns to alue, and ask them to say what they think you will get foe the house as well as what they recommned as an asking price - then take the mid point of the 3 and see whethr you can both agree that igure.

If you can't, then it is appropriate to have a formal valuation from a surveryor,m which should be done on the basis of joint, written instructions making it clear that they are to act as a expert witness and that thair duty is to the cout not to either party, to give an accurate, open market value. (best to get your solicitor todo the letter of instructions)

seashore22

AdrianC wrote: »

And that's as much guesswork as any other kind of valuation.


But which way?

Are they aiming for a low number, so they have to pay less?
Or are they aiming for a high valuation, so they have to be paid more?

And how much value goes on getting this sorted out easily and quickly, rather than it dragging and having to go on the market because they can't quite raise the money or the two sides haven't agreed on a number?

Our relative would benefit from a higher valuation, but only if the house is being sold and the valuation ensures the house can sell without a massive delay. They are not in a position to buy the property themselves and wouldn't want to.

If the person who lives in the house and who organised the valuation wants to buy out our relative then a lower valuation is in their best interests.

Really just interested to know if one valuation and that valuation being from Yopa was a reasonable choice.

seashore22

I might have confused things by using the term family member and relative for two different people.

The soon to be ex family member (in law) is the husband who lives in the property and has organised the valuation. The relative is on our side of the family and is the wife of this man.

G_M

Given the circumstances, there is only one way to go:


Pay an RICS surveyor for a written valuation.

eddddy

seashore22 wrote: »

Really just interested to know if one valuation and that valuation being from Yopa was a reasonable choice.

Estate Agents suggest an initial asking price for marketing a property.

In quite a few cases, that initial asking price will be reduced before a property is sold.

And in most cases, the offer that's accepted will be below the final asking price (which in turn, might be well below the initial asking price suggested by the EA).

So the EA's 'suggested initial asking price' could be very different from what a property would sell for.



Here's an article that discusses the gap between final asking prices and selling prices (but it doesn't seem to take into account that final asking prices might have been lower than initial asking prices.) https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-7081771/Gap-asking-selling-prices-property-widens-strong-buyers-market.html

ethank

Never use an estate agent, always a RICS surveyor