Valuation came back significantly lower than agreed price. Need help with negotiating techniques.

maxxpayne

Hi There,

We just got back our RICS Level 2 survey+valuation draft sent to us and the first thing the surveyor insisted on is that we are paying a lot more for the property based on his assessment of sold house prices nearby. 50k to be precise.

Background we agreed to purchase the house for 825k originally. It's a 3 bed semi detached in north London, close to tube and good schools.

The house looked to us in pretty good condition etc. when we viewed but of course that was just us with little knowledge of assessing property condition. The property was on the market originally for a good few months at 900k so despite us going over budget, we thought we were getting a good deal.

The mortgage has also been approved. The lender did a desktop valuation only.

Here's the main headline: the surveyor puts down the value to 775k.

The surveyor also found major issues with windows, roof structure, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flues and recommended remedial work urgently and I assume it'll be another 15-20k extra work needed. Plus some additional recommendation for CCTV drainage inspection, roof inspection etc.

Based on the valuation and the extra work needed it;s clear that we have room for negotiation. We are not in a chain, so we're in a good position to negotiate.

We would love to know how we should approach this matter.

david29dpo

Firstly, the surveyor will be covering his !!!!!! so take it with a pinch of salt. Plus his valuation is only his opinion.
What do you think is a good price?
Take a good builder if poss to have a good look round

Hoenir

david29dpo said:

Firstly, the surveyor will be covering his !!!!!! so take it with a pinch of salt. 

Who wants to overpay for a property with borrowed money......... Surveyor is looking after their client. 

MeteredOut

OP, what was the mortgage valuation (desktop survey)?

Have you checked the RICS surveyors valuation wasn't, for example, rebuild cost?

david29dpo

Hoenir said:

david29dpo said:

Firstly, the surveyor will be covering his !!!!!! so take it with a pinch of salt. 

Who wants to overpay for a property with borrowed money......... Surveyor is looking after their client. 

Surveyors dont look after their clients, they look after themselfs.

grumpy_codger

maxxpayne said:

....
The mortgage has also been approved. The lender did a desktop valuation only.

Here's the main headline: the surveyor puts down the value to 775k.

The surveyor also found major issues with windows, roof structure, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flues and recommended remedial work urgently and I assume it'll be another 15-20k extra work needed. Plus some additional recommendation for CCTV drainage inspection, roof inspection etc.

If it's the 'desktop valuation' it's suspiciously far too detailed.
If it's your own surveyor, valuation isn't his job.

Hoenir

david29dpo said:

Hoenir said:

david29dpo said:

Firstly, the surveyor will be covering his !!!!!! so take it with a pinch of salt. 

Who wants to overpay for a property with borrowed money......... Surveyor is looking after their client. 

Surveyors dont look after their clients, they look after themselfs.

Don't ever employ one then.

david29dpo

Hoenir said:

david29dpo said:

Hoenir said:

david29dpo said:

Firstly, the surveyor will be covering his !!!!!! so take it with a pinch of salt. 

Who wants to overpay for a property with borrowed money......... Surveyor is looking after their client. 

Surveyors dont look after their clients, they look after themselfs.

Don't ever employ one then. 

Who said i have or will?   Bought and sold hundreds of houses over the years and got the t shirt.
I live in the real world

Albermarle

grumpy_codger said:

maxxpayne said:

....
The mortgage has also been approved. The lender did a desktop valuation only.

Here's the main headline: the surveyor puts down the value to 775k.

The surveyor also found major issues with windows, roof structure, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flues and recommended remedial work urgently and I assume it'll be another 15-20k extra work needed. Plus some additional recommendation for CCTV drainage inspection, roof inspection etc.

If it's the 'desktop valuation' it's suspiciously far too detailed.
If it's your own surveyor, valuation isn't his job.

AIUI, this is not connected to the mortgage providers desktop valuation.

It was a Level 2 surveyor commissioned by the OP, and the surveyor has decided to make comment about the valuation. You are right that this is not really what he is employed for, but he has made comment on the valuation anyway. 
You could say it is beyond his remit and he should have kept quiet, or you could say he was trying to do his client a favour. Either way the deed is done.

OP - Valuing property is not an exact science and +/- 5% is not so unusual

The surveyor also found major issues with windows, roof structure, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flues and recommended remedial work urgently and I assume it'll be another 15-20k extra work needed. Plus some additional recommendation for CCTV drainage inspection, roof inspection etc.

Some of this is standard 'cut and paste' stuff about CCTV drain  and roof inspections.
Regarding the other stuff the key point is what is really meant by 'major' .? One persons 'major' is somebody else's a DIY job can that can wait a couple of years. So some detail about these 'major' problems would be useful.

maxxpayne

MeteredOut said:

OP, what was the mortgage valuation (desktop survey)?

Have you checked the RICS surveyors valuation wasn't, for example, rebuild cost?

I don’t know what the desktop valuation was. My bank didn’t tell me. 

The reinstate cost is 325k

maxxpayne

grumpy_codger said:

maxxpayne said:

....
The mortgage has also been approved. The lender did a desktop valuation only.

Here's the main headline: the surveyor puts down the value to 775k.

The surveyor also found major issues with windows, roof structure, fireplaces, chimney breasts and flues and recommended remedial work urgently and I assume it'll be another 15-20k extra work needed. Plus some additional recommendation for CCTV drainage inspection, roof inspection etc.

If it's the 'desktop valuation' it's suspiciously far too detailed.
If it's your own surveyor, valuation isn't his job.

Hi,
This wasn’t desktop valuation. It was a RICS level 2 survey. I paid extra for valuation on top.