Can a mortgaged buyer not have a survey/valuation?

Roy1234

AskAsk said:

"a few months into the paper work" - by this time, they should really have had an offer of the mortgage, so ask the estate agent to find out if they have the mortgage offer now.

banks can do desktop valuations if the property is lower than a certain threshold and it is not an old building and the loan is small as the buyers are putting in a high percentage in cash.

having said that, most banks will send the surveyor round so i would advise you to contact the EA and ask for an update on whether the buyers have got their mortgage and if not, why not.

Yes I agree, this is quite far in to the conveyance re legal paperwork, if they didn't have the loan offer by now.  Back in my day, the survey going in, which you knew about because the valuer/surveyor needed access, was the first strong sign of good faith from the buyer.  That their mortgage had progressed to the point the house was being inspected at least basically.  But if the other posters are correct, we no longer necessarily get the man in a suit with a clipboard wanting to look in your loft and run his damp meter along your walls.  Great news for sellers, not so great for inexperienced buyers.

Yes I will ask the Estate Agent what stage they're at.

AskAsk

Roy1234 said:

AskAsk said:

"a few months into the paper work" - by this time, they should really have had an offer of the mortgage, so ask the estate agent to find out if they have the mortgage offer now.

banks can do desktop valuations if the property is lower than a certain threshold and it is not an old building and the loan is small as the buyers are putting in a high percentage in cash.

having said that, most banks will send the surveyor round so i would advise you to contact the EA and ask for an update on whether the buyers have got their mortgage and if not, why not.

Yes I agree, this is quite far in to the conveyance re legal paperwork, if they didn't have the loan offer by now.  Back in my day, the survey going in, which you knew about because the valuer/surveyor needed access, was the first strong sign of good faith from the buyer.  That their mortgage had progressed to the point the house was being inspected at least basically.  But if the other posters are correct, we no longer necessarily get the man in a suit with a clipboard wanting to look in your loft and run his damp meter along your walls.  Great news for sellers, not so great for inexperienced buyers.

Yes I will ask the Estate Agent what stage they're at.

we sold a house to FTB recently and within a couple of weeks, the surveyor had been round and at the end of a month, they had already had requests from their mortgage lender to get specialist reports on timber and damp.

they decided to get their broker to find another lender as the one they had was being too pedantic, asking for too many reports.  within another month, they had already got a mortgage agreed from another lender, so you can see that within 2 months, they had already been through 2 mortgage lenders and got the mortgage approved, so really your buyer should have the mortgage approved by now!

Roy1234

AskAsk said:

Roy1234 said:

AskAsk said:

"a few months into the paper work" - by this time, they should really have had an offer of the mortgage, so ask the estate agent to find out if they have the mortgage offer now.

banks can do desktop valuations if the property is lower than a certain threshold and it is not an old building and the loan is small as the buyers are putting in a high percentage in cash.

having said that, most banks will send the surveyor round so i would advise you to contact the EA and ask for an update on whether the buyers have got their mortgage and if not, why not.

Yes I agree, this is quite far in to the conveyance re legal paperwork, if they didn't have the loan offer by now.  Back in my day, the survey going in, which you knew about because the valuer/surveyor needed access, was the first strong sign of good faith from the buyer.  That their mortgage had progressed to the point the house was being inspected at least basically.  But if the other posters are correct, we no longer necessarily get the man in a suit with a clipboard wanting to look in your loft and run his damp meter along your walls.  Great news for sellers, not so great for inexperienced buyers.

Yes I will ask the Estate Agent what stage they're at.

we sold a house to FTB recently and within a couple of weeks, the surveyor had been round and at the end of a month, they had already had requests from their mortgage lender to get specialist reports on timber and damp.

they decided to get their broker to find another lender as the one they had was being too pedantic, asking for too many reports.  within another month, they had already got a mortgage agreed from another lender, so you can see that within 2 months, they had already been through 2 mortgage lenders and got the mortgage approved, so really your buyer should have the mortgage approved by now!

What you describe with your buyer's first lender was once almost automatic. The specialist timber & damp report, which almost always found some work needed.  The electrical/gas inspection recommended that would likely find problems too.  Wiley solicitors acting for buyers would sometimes use these as a lever for discounts off the agreed purchase price for work often never completed, unless major and likely to be inspected by the lender, and if major a 'retention' might be made against the mortgage advance thereby forcing the remedial work before completion. 

This was my expectation, on a 50 year old house likely needing rewiring by now.  How times have changed.

newsgroupmonkey_

Roy1234 said:

anselld said:

Some lenders to drive-by surveys, some even do desktop surveys.  They still charge the full survey fee of course but they dont necessarily have to actually show up.

Aren't they worried that major faults could lurk inside, and so the property not be worth what they've lent if they ever had to repossess & sell?  Wasn't the lending market tightened up after the casual lending of the credit crunch 2008?

That survey is only for the lender to make their decision on. Surveyors know whether it's non-traditional or if there are underlying area issues.

As far as the bank is concerned, they look at the big picture and the risk.
If you want to know if the house is going to fall down, you need your own proper survey.

Usually anything relatively modern, 75% or less LTV, will be a desktop or a drive-by.

Albermarle

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

Roy1234 said:

anselld said:

Some lenders to drive-by surveys, some even do desktop surveys.  They still charge the full survey fee of course but they dont necessarily have to actually show up.

Aren't they worried that major faults could lurk inside, and so the property not be worth what they've lent if they ever had to repossess & sell?  Wasn't the lending market tightened up after the casual lending of the credit crunch 2008?

That survey is only for the lender to make their decision on. Surveyors know whether it's non-traditional or if there are underlying area issues.

As far as the bank is concerned, they look at the big picture and the risk.
If you want to know if the house is going to fall down, you need your own proper survey.

Usually anything relatively modern, 75% or less LTV, will be a desktop or a drive-by.

Also it helps if the property is in a normal residential street/location.

Hoenir

The underwriters can view the property on Rightmove themselves and gain a broad indication of well maintained a property is. Providing there's sufficient equity in the event of default the lender has little risk exposure. It's only the buyers tthat are risking their hard earned money. 

newsgroupmonkey_

Albermarle said:

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

Roy1234 said:

anselld said:

Some lenders to drive-by surveys, some even do desktop surveys.  They still charge the full survey fee of course but they dont necessarily have to actually show up.

Aren't they worried that major faults could lurk inside, and so the property not be worth what they've lent if they ever had to repossess & sell?  Wasn't the lending market tightened up after the casual lending of the credit crunch 2008?

That survey is only for the lender to make their decision on. Surveyors know whether it's non-traditional or if there are underlying area issues.

As far as the bank is concerned, they look at the big picture and the risk.
If you want to know if the house is going to fall down, you need your own proper survey.

Usually anything relatively modern, 75% or less LTV, will be a desktop or a drive-by.

Also it helps if the property is in a normal residential street/location.

Fair point. This is assuming that the Google car has popped by.

ic

My mortgage on a 90 year old home was given on a desktop valuation - I presume because the lend-to-value was at 60%, the bank are satisfied they'll get their money back even if the home turned out to be lower than I was paying.  Also tack in knowledge of things you see on Zoopla like the sale values of houses nearby, the council tax band, etc, etc - they can probably figure out the value is "about right" and decide to go ahead based on an algorithm alone.

uralmaid

Your estate Agent needs to be looking into this.  He should be able to find out easily whether they actually have a mortgage offer or whether the procedure has stalled. 

gazfocus

I must admit, I do find it bizarre that lenders will lend potentially hundreds of thousands on a house without seeing it first, however, I guess it’s important to remember that if all goes belly up and the house falls down, it’s ultimately the buyer on the hook and if they don’t have adequate insurance they are still duty bound to make the mortgage payments for a house that no longer exists…now, whether they will or not is anyone’s guess.