Down Value of my property

vicster83

Hi All,

I've been having a read through some threads but none that I've found are upto date so thought I'd see if anything had changed when it comes to my situation.

We are selling our house and had an offer we accepted for £182k. We had 4 estate agents come round and value it and the one we went with (offers over £180k) was actually the lowest valuation of the 4 - the evidence they showed us showed it was around the right figure rather than over pricing it.

So our buyer has had the valuation survey who have come back and valued its £22k less than the agreed sale price!!! This is a ridiculous drop and in the report there was no red flags, just no comparables apparently?!! The house 4 doors down, exactly the same spec (actually no downstairs toilet like ours, new landscaped garden and brand new windows and doors throughout in 2019!) sold for £165k just over 2 years ago?

another recently with our estate agent went for £188 but has only just gone through so registered with the land registry when they did the survey.

What can I do in this situation as the seller as that is just a crazy down valuation.

Also what confuses me is our buyer has a deposit of £52k and are saying the bank won't lend them the money if the offer price of £182k stands but surely the bank wouldn't mind lending as the most they are lending them is £130k regardless of the valuation?

Any advice for me moving forward please? Thanks

[Deleted User]

Your options are to accept a lower offer, come to a compromise, or hold out for the price you want.

The buyer can overpay if they want to, as long as it's their own funds.

vicster83

Thank you. They have a large deposit of £52k and only lending £130k maximum but are saying the bank won't lend them that now?! This is the biggest confusion. Surely they will still lend them £130k and its down the buyer to either put the larger deposit or not down?
Unfortunately, I have an onward chain and all figures/mortgage are based on the sale price so would have to let it fall through or hope for another buyer with another lender?

Brock_and_Roll

Quite possible that the difference in the valuation would put the buying in a different pricing band in terms of their mortgage.

At the end of the day, the choice remain the same as outlined above. Accept, negotiate or hold out for higher offer.

[Deleted User]

vicster83 wrote: »

Thank you. They have a large deposit of £52k and only lending £130k maximum but are saying the bank won't lend them that now?!

It sounds like they may have confused their lending with their borrowing.

jimmyjammy001

If I was the buyer I would not be paying 22k over what it is worth, that is money wasted straight away and for most people saving up 22k takes a very long time. Your either have to compromise or find someone else who is willing to overpay unfortunately.

RelievedSheff

Alternatively can the buyer try a different mortgage company who use a different valuer?

vicster83

I understand that. It's a little frustrating when the surveyor says there's no comparables yet the exact same house as mine 4 doors down, not in as good a nick as mine sold for over £160k in 2017 and getting to the decision because they said there isn;t comparables when there is. Also two others in the area, same as mine, have recently in the last few weeks completed in the £180k mark?

yksi

Realistically a comparable property needs to be within the past 12 months, and you need to take into account the fact that the market has fallen flat on its face in 2019. You might need to look further away to find something comparable, if you can.

You would be best not to stress over wondering about what their bank will lend them etc because that part is not your concern, not your problem and not something you have any control over. What matters is what they are willing & able to pay for your home, and you have three options with that amount, accept, decline or negotiate.

The other disappointing thing is that some things, while undoubtedly expensive for you to get done, don't always represent an uptick in value to other people. Sure, it's nice to have a prettier garden, new doors and windows, and a downstairs loo, but that doesn't always mean people are prepared to pay more for them. That's why 5br homes and 4br homes are often the same price.

See what else you can find on the market that's similar to yours, but be prepared for the fact that the bank might simply be reacting to the dead market out there right now and valuing your home accordingly (a huge number out there are dropping prices dramatically to get a sale).

vicster83

I've just found 7 properties sold within the last year within 1/4 of a mile of my house, all 3 bedroom semi's so I am at a loss as to how they haven't found those?! I've sent them all to the estate agent, think I'm probably wasting my time to be honest but I did my research within the area when putting it on the market in the first place and went with the lowest of 4 estate agents as I felt their price was the most realistic but never did I ever think it was still £20k too high!

Thanks for all your help, its look like we will be holding onto the house as all our figures and mortgage are based on the selling price.

Beeboo23

@vicster83 what happened with your house purchase in the end. I’ve had an offer accepted on a house and I’m worried the lender will down value it.