Agents valuations.

Artyboo

If you are an estate agent please could you help. We need advice from someone who is qualified, who is impartial, has no axe to grind and has nothing to gain whatever the outcome.

My daughter and her partner bought a house together last March. Unfortunately they split up seven months later and she moved out of the house where he has continued to live. Since then she has been paying half of the mortgage and, at his insistence, 50% of the household bills. Now she has told him she cannot afford to continue to do this and he has told her he wants to buy her share of the property. He is also saying that the furniture they bought new together at a value of some £10,000, is now only worth half of what they paid.

He has had valuations carried out and has given his valuers the brief that the couple are looking for a 'realistic price' to reflect the property being sold within 28 days. He says he will base his offer to my daughter on these valuations. My daughter, an estate agent herself, is objecting to his use of these terms, which she feels are biased towards a lower valuation, and which he says he's using following advice from his solicitor. She is refusing to accept the valuations as reflective of the true market value since there is no 28 day time limit and she wants a true, rather than a 'realistic' valuation. He refuses to accept that he is being anything but transparent by copying her in on the emails he sent (to re-book agents he used for the same purpose just a few months ago and who were also given the 'realistic' 28 day brief) and is getting angry with her because he feels she is blocking progress. My daughter had told him, prior to his re-booking these valuations, that she wouldn't accept the outcome. She insists on doing things only in a way which is fair to them both.

On one occasion they met together to arrange a valuation, to ensure that no biased language was used on either side. They both agreed at the time that this was a fair way of doing things. The valuer on that occasion came up with a market value of some £25 - 30,000 more than those which have given a 'realistic' valuation. My daughter would like to have more valuations done in like manner but her ex refuses to meet up with her again on the grounds that he finds it upsetting and has been advised by his therapist that he should not see her. She has instead offered to have someone of his choosing, a family member or friend, to witness that she is not using language which would influence an agent to give a valuation other than one which truly reflects the market value. He replied that he didn't want his family or friends to see her either because she has hurt him so much. (I've seen my daughter go to bed in tears most nights for the last 11 months).

Most recently her ex has told her that she is being awkward, that all this is affecting his mental health and that she should 'get your own valuations done and we'll work out an average'.  My daughter, however, is sticking to her guns and is unwilling to do this because she is aware ~ and this is a very likely scenario ~  that she could then be accused of doing exactly the reverse of what he has done, ie. influencing a valuer to estimate at a higher value than is fair. In any case her fair valuation, averaged out against his biased ones, would still result in a lower value then one which is truly representative. 

My question is in two parts. I realise there are lots of 'it depends on the circumstances' but using a situation such as that above would be great.
As an estate agent would you give a lower value than the true market value if you were asked to give a 'realistic' valuation based on selling the property within 28 days?
If the answer is 'yes' , what sort of percentage difference would you suggest?

I thank you for reading this and for your assistance.

dimbo61

A property will sell for whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.
The relationship has broken down so what did they agree before they bought the property ! 
How long is the mortgage deal they both took out 18 months ago and early repayment charges ?
He has a solicitor and a therapist ? 
He wants to remain in the property 
Where is your daughter now living ? Is her EX paying half the bills for that ?
Is she paying rent now herself ?
Time to get tough I think.
Maybe the property should be put on the market and see if it sells for £XXX

Angela_D_3

She needs to pay for an independant valuation, all this to sell in 28 days is nonsense.  £255 I paid and it stood up in court when it came to that.   It'll sell for the price that both owners agree to and not a penny less.  That may however mean she pays the 50% share of the mortgage until that happens - not bills - stuff that, he's got a cheek. 
Has she got a solicitor ?

Angela_D_3

If he doesn't get a bloody grip she should move back in and see how he likes those apples 

Comms69

Artyboo said:

If you are an estate agent please could you help. We need advice from someone who is qualified, who is impartial, has no axe to grind and has nothing to gain whatever the outcome.

My daughter and her partner bought a house together last March. Unfortunately they split up seven months later and she moved out of the house where he has continued to live. Since then she has been paying half of the mortgage and, at his insistence, 50% of the household bills. Now she has told him she cannot afford to continue to do this and he has told her he wants to buy her share of the property. He is also saying that the furniture they bought new together at a value of some £10,000, is now only worth half of what they paid. - If that tbh

He has had valuations carried out and has given his valuers the brief that the couple are looking for a 'realistic price' to reflect the property being sold within 28 days. He says he will base his offer to my daughter on these valuations. My daughter, an estate agent herself, is objecting to his use of these terms, which she feels are biased towards a lower valuation, and which he says he's using following advice from his solicitor. She is refusing to accept the valuations as reflective of the true market value since there is no 28 day time limit and she wants a true, rather than a 'realistic' valuation. He refuses to accept that he is being anything but transparent by copying her in on the emails he sent (to re-book agents he used for the same purpose just a few months ago and who were also given the 'realistic' 28 day brief) and is getting angry with her because he feels she is blocking progress. My daughter had told him, prior to his re-booking these valuations, that she wouldn't accept the outcome. She insists on doing things only in a way which is fair to them both.- So get a survey done

On one occasion they met together to arrange a valuation, to ensure that no biased language was used on either side. They both agreed at the time that this was a fair way of doing things. The valuer on that occasion came up with a market value of some £25 - 30,000 more than those which have given a 'realistic' valuation. My daughter would like to have more valuations done in like manner but her ex refuses to meet up with her again on the grounds that he finds it upsetting and has been advised by his therapist that he should not see her. She has instead offered to have someone of his choosing, a family member or friend, to witness that she is not using language which would influence an agent to give a valuation other than one which truly reflects the market value. He replied that he didn't want his family or friends to see her either because she has hurt him so much. (I've seen my daughter go to bed in tears most nights for the last 11 months).

Most recently her ex has told her that she is being awkward, that all this is affecting his mental health and that she should 'get your own valuations done and we'll work out an average'.  My daughter, however, is sticking to her guns and is unwilling to do this because she is aware ~ and this is a very likely scenario ~  that she could then be accused of doing exactly the reverse of what he has done, ie. influencing a valuer to estimate at a higher value than is fair. In any case her fair valuation, averaged out against his biased ones, would still result in a lower value then one which is truly representative. 

My question is in two parts. I realise there are lots of 'it depends on the circumstances' but using a situation such as that above would be great.
As an estate agent would you give a lower value than the true market value if you were asked to give a 'realistic' valuation based on selling the property within 28 days?
If the answer is 'yes' , what sort of percentage difference would you suggest?

I thank you for reading this and for your assistance.

This drama is literally unnecessary. Doesnt matter what the valuation is, she chooses how much she wants to sell her half for. 

She isnt obliged to accept his offer. 

Artyboo

Thankyou for the supportive comments. The trouble is (I see it as a trouble anyway) that she wants to do things straight down the line, so that when this is all over she can say she's been honest and stayed true to herself. It doesn't help in this situation though

FreeBear

Angela_D_3 said: She needs to pay for an independant valuation,

A reputable RICS surveyor would be able to do a valuation. With those letters behind him, it would also stand up in court. A scrap of paper from an estate agent, much less chance of being accepted.

eddddy

Are the estate agents being told the reason for the valuation? Or is the partner pretending that he's intending to put the house on the market?

If the EA is being told the reason, are they charging a fee or doing it on a 'goodwill' basis?

• If they're charging a fee, they're likely to act in their client's best interests - i.e. if the partner is paying them, they'll tend to value at the lower end of the scale, because that's what their client wants.

• Equally, if they're doing it on a 'goodwill' basis, their goal will be to ingratiate themselves and win business in the future. The partner is a potential future customer, so again they'll tend towards saying what the partner wants them to say.

I think I'd be tempted to get both of them to jointly instruct (and pay) an RICS valuer. On one hand, the valuers will adhere to their Institutions professional standards - so they will be fair, but on the other hand they might be less familiar with the nuances of the the market in that area.

Artyboo

dimbo61 said:

A property will sell for whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.
The relationship has broken down so what did they agree before they bought the property ! 
How long is the mortgage deal they both took out 18 months ago and early repayment charges ?
He has a solicitor and a therapist ? 
He wants to remain in the property 
Where is your daughter now living ? Is her EX paying half the bills for that ?
Is she paying rent now herself ?
Time to get tough I think.
Maybe the property should be put on the market and see if it sells for £XXX

I agree it's time to get tough. I know that she's too soft-hearted and even feels guilty (to the point of upset) when he tells her he's had a bad night and that his mental health is suffering. Then funnily enough next day he's okay again and starts demanding and bombarding her with aggressive emails.
She's living back home with Mum & Dad at present ~ fortunately (for her) no bills! They are on the mortgage as joint owners, had government 'help to buy' assistance. Not sure about early repayment charges? Not even sure about the solicitor or the therapist but he says he has them. He's a bit like a certain US politician in that respect. 

Artyboo

Angela_D_3 said:

If he doesn't get a bloody grip she should move back in and see how he likes those apples 

Unfortunately that's just what he wants her to do. Too much damage done for all that though.

Comms69

Artyboo said:

Angela_D_3 said:

If he doesn't get a bloody grip she should move back in and see how he likes those apples 

Unfortunately that's just what he wants her to do. Too much damage done for all that though.

Might not be so happy if she does that and meets someone else though.