Would be grateful for your thoughts on level 2 versus level 3 survey

badger09

Hebblethwaite said:

badger09 said:

What exactly do you mean by 'my mortgage offer has come through'?

Do you have a formal offer from your lender? If so, then they will have done a valuation for their own purposes, basically to ensure they will be able to get their money back if you default & they have to repossess. They won't tell you what that valuation is, and even the vendor might not know it has taken place, because the valuer doesn't visit. People only usually find out, because the lender will not lend them as much as they'd assumed. 

Yes, I have a formal offer. My broker said it was on the basis of an initial estimated valuation and that the lender reserved the right to withdraw the offer if the formal valuation came back significantly lower. Hence my assumption that there was going to be a separate formal valuation.

That said, they have stated that the minimum amount the property could be worth for me to borrow the same amount would be about 30% less than I'm paying (presumably as I'm putting down a 35% deposit) so maybe that's enough for them? The chances of it being downvalued by that much are essentially nil, unless somebody has done something very ridiculous with it at some point. But, in that case, it will probably just not be mortgageable at all!

Perhaps its semantics, but I've never heard of a formal mortgage offer being made that was subject to a valuation, so could be withdrawn. But I'm happy to be enlightened. Who is the lender?

Hebblethwaite

It's TSB. I would be very happy if they had already put a value on it as it would be one less thing to go wrong down the line! (And I must admit, I don't have 100% confidence in my broker...)

My mortgage illustration includes this phrase: "Value of the property assumed to prepare this information sheet:" and then lists the accepted offer amount, but that seems like odd wording for a formal valuation. It's my first time applying for a mortgage though, so I don't have any prior experience for comparison.

user1977

Hebblethwaite said:

My mortgage illustration includes this phrase: "Value of the property assumed to prepare this information sheet:"

That doesn't sound like a mortgage offer.

MaryNB

Hebblethwaite said:

It's TSB. I would be very happy if they had already put a value on it as it would be one less thing to go wrong down the line! (And I must admit, I don't have 100% confidence in my broker...)

My mortgage illustration includes this phrase: "Value of the property assumed to prepare this information sheet:" and then lists the accepted offer amount, but that seems like odd wording for a formal valuation. It's my first time applying for a mortgage though, so I don't have any prior experience for comparison.

Are you sure that's the formal offer? I received a mortgage illustration after my application to Halifax but it was "subject to valuation". I didn't receive my offer until after their surveyor submitted the valuation. 

TSB's website  says they have the property valued before the offer is issued. 

badger09

Agree with 2 previous posters. That's an illustration, rather than a formal mortgage. Better than a DIP though.
Good luck with the actual offer.

Hebblethwaite

user1977 said:

Hebblethwaite said:

My mortgage illustration includes this phrase: "Value of the property assumed to prepare this information sheet:"

That doesn't sound like a mortgage offer.

The mortgage illustration came along with a mortgage offer letter: "We, TSB Bank Plc, offer [Hebblethwaite] a mortgage loan. The enclosed mortgage illustration also forms part of this offer letter... Our agreement for your mortgage loan is made up of this offer letter (including the enclosed mortgage illustration), mortgage conditions and the mortgage deed."

The same information (and the mortgage deed) has been sent to my solicitor by TSB. Surely it must be an offer? 

It's just that the illustration is the only place where there's a reference to the property value, and that uses the wording I quoted in my previous comment.

Hebblethwaite

badger09 said:

Agree with 2 previous posters. That's an illustration, rather than a formal mortgage. Better than a DIP though.
Good luck with the actual offer.

See my post above. They sent the illustration with a mortgage offer letter stating that they were offering me a mortgage.

user1977

Ok. But does the offer itself say it's conditional on a satisfactory valuation being carried out at some point in the future? As that would be unusual.

Hebblethwaite

user1977 said:

Ok. But does the offer itself say it's conditional on a satisfactory valuation being carried out at some point in the future? As that would be unusual.

No, like I said, that came from my broker when I attempted to clarify why there didn't seem to have been a valuation. As I also said, my faith in my broker is not limitless...   

badger09

We seem to be going round in circles.

If TSB, or any other lender, has issued a formal mortgage offer, then they must have carried out whatever sort of valuation they felt necessary to protect their interests. This could have been as simple as their valuer looking at the description of your proposed purchase, comparing it with similar properties & knowing the local area, ticking the box. If that's the case, neither you, your vendor, nor your broker would know this had happened.