EA valuation

ReadySteadyPop

lady1964 said:

Hoenir said:

lady1964 said:

TheJP said:

Pay for a surveyor to give you a valuation.

When you say you have done extensive work, what do you mean? Painting the walls and updating wont add much additional value if anything to the property. It will make it more attractive but unless you have increased the sq floor space then i wouldn't bother until you are ready to sell.

We haven’t increased the floor space but so far, we’ve done the following:

Removed a wall to make a large kitchen/diner/family area with new kitchen
Replaced all the windows, French doors and front door
New resin driveway
New en suite
New downstairs toilet
Removed an old, leaking conservatory and landscaped the garden
Replaced the main bedroom fitted wardrobes
New carpets throughout
Decorated throughout

New main bathroom to be done by the end of this year

What was your total outlay on these projects?  I fear that you won't have added that much value to the property with what in the main are cosmetic changes. 

I’d rather not say and I’m fully aware that we won’t have added masses of value, it was a very outdated property and it was all done for us to get the benefit, although were we to sell in the coming months, it would make it much more sellable, particularly as the decor etc is all fairly neutral, 

The only valuations that mean anything are going to come from a lender or on behalf of a cash buyer when you sell, getting stuck on "a price" (EA`s will overvalue to get your business) before you have any offers isn`t really helpful.

Herzlos

lady1964 said:

TheJP said:

Pay for a surveyor to give you a valuation.

When you say you have done extensive work, what do you mean? Painting the walls and updating wont add much additional value if anything to the property. It will make it more attractive but unless you have increased the sq floor space then i wouldn't bother until you are ready to sell.

We haven’t increased the floor space but so far, we’ve done the following:

Removed a wall to make a large kitchen/diner/family area with new kitchen
Replaced all the windows, French doors and front door
New resin driveway
New en suite
New downstairs toilet
Removed an old, leaking conservatory and landscaped the garden
Replaced the main bedroom fitted wardrobes
New carpets throughout
Decorated throughout

New main bathroom to be done by the end of this year

We’re looking into some financial planning and will likely need a valuation to help with that in terms of a potential trust situation.

All that stuff will make it easier to sell, but it's unlikely to have added as much value as you put in. The only things likely to have made a difference to value are the wall removal, conservatory removal and landscaping, and potentially they'll have reduced the value. Merging the rooms for a big open plan is popular at the moment but it means less rooms and some people won't like that. Removing the conservatory reduces the floor space and may result in someone either not being able to build a new one there or knowing they could do. The landscaping probably won't have hurt unless you've slabbed over a beautiful garden.

Plus, there's generally a ceiling on how much certain types of houses go for regardless of the value/quality of the fittings.

(We spent £10k replacing the bathroom, new buyer loves it but realistically it didn't have any impact on the offer amount).

lady1964

Herzlos said:

lady1964 said:

TheJP said:

Pay for a surveyor to give you a valuation.

When you say you have done extensive work, what do you mean? Painting the walls and updating wont add much additional value if anything to the property. It will make it more attractive but unless you have increased the sq floor space then i wouldn't bother until you are ready to sell.

We haven’t increased the floor space but so far, we’ve done the following:

Removed a wall to make a large kitchen/diner/family area with new kitchen
Replaced all the windows, French doors and front door
New resin driveway
New en suite
New downstairs toilet
Removed an old, leaking conservatory and landscaped the garden
Replaced the main bedroom fitted wardrobes
New carpets throughout
Decorated throughout

New main bathroom to be done by the end of this year

We’re looking into some financial planning and will likely need a valuation to help with that in terms of a potential trust situation.

All that stuff will make it easier to sell, but it's unlikely to have added as much value as you put in. The only things likely to have made a difference to value are the wall removal, conservatory removal and landscaping, and potentially they'll have reduced the value. Merging the rooms for a big open plan is popular at the moment but it means less rooms and some people won't like that. Removing the conservatory reduces the floor space and may result in someone either not being able to build a new one there or knowing they could do. The landscaping probably won't have hurt unless you've slabbed over a beautiful garden.

Plus, there's generally a ceiling on how much certain types of houses go for regardless of the value/quality of the fittings.

(We spent £10k replacing the bathroom, new buyer loves it but realistically it didn't have any impact on the offer amount).

Our garden was completely concreted over, we’ve added grass, decking and a porcelain patio along with more flower beds. The conservatory was very old, the wood was rotting and the whole thing leaked, it wasn’t fit to be used as a room, plus our garden is south facing so it was only useable for about 3 months of the year.

We still have a large living room plus a snug so plenty of living space and the house was originally built to have 4 beds but the owner at the time opted to have 3 beds and leave a large landing area that could be made into the 4th bedroom with a stud wall, so there’s still potential.

I’m certain we’ve added no where near what we’ve spent but we didn’t do the work for that reason. 

I’m also aware there will be a ceiling price, but it’s that that we’re not sure of as there aren’t many houses in our little cul de sac that are the same as ours and they rarely go up for sale, at least not since we’ve been here, which is almost 5 years.

We’re not rushing into getting any kind of valuation, my question was just to gauge if asking an EA would be a cheeky thing to do or to just wait it out or re-look at it if we decide to go down the path of some kind of trust, when it’s likely we will need a valuation, in which case, we may go down the surveyor route.

I’m grateful for the advice I’ve been given, thanks to everyone.

pjs493

lady1964 said:

TheJP said:

Pay for a surveyor to give you a valuation.

When you say you have done extensive work, what do you mean? Painting the walls and updating wont add much additional value if anything to the property. It will make it more attractive but unless you have increased the sq floor space then i wouldn't bother until you are ready to sell.

We haven’t increased the floor space but so far, we’ve done the following:

Removed a wall to make a large kitchen/diner/family area with new kitchen
Replaced all the windows, French doors and front door
New resin driveway
New en suite
New downstairs toilet
Removed an old, leaking conservatory and landscaped the garden
Replaced the main bedroom fitted wardrobes
New carpets throughout
Decorated throughout

New main bathroom to be done by the end of this year

We’re looking into some financial planning and will likely need a valuation to help with that in terms of a potential trust situation.

To be fair, this work will have added negligible value to the property. Indeed removing the wall and conservatory may have devalued it. Just because you’ve spent eg £20k on a new kitchen, doesn’t mean your house is worth £20k more. It sounds like you’ve just updated as needed, you’ve not added an extension or renovated a dilapidated property which would see you realise a notable increase in value. It might look nicer in some photographs if you were interested in selling, but you’ve got to remember you’ve decorated to your tastes. 

When I was looking for a house earlier this year I actually discounted some houses that had brand new kitchens and bathrooms because they weren’t to my taste and it would be a waste of money to redo them, instead I went for a house with a dated kitchen and bathrooms so I can update it to my tastes. I’ll spend about £50k on new kitchen, bathrooms, decorating, etc, but I’m not expecting it to increase the value of the property by £50k. I also don’t plan to sell it and view it as my forever home. 

However, if you’re interested in finding out how much an estate agent thinks your house is worth, by all means invite them to value it and say you’re considering selling it depending on what it’s worth, if they chase you up afterwards tell them you’ve changed your mind because it’s not worth as much as you hoped.