Lower Valuation

Anonymous95

I'm a second-time buyer. Bought a house with my ex in 2021, now being bought out of that house and purchasing on my own. I have had an offer accepted (about 3 weeks ago) and have started conveyancing/have a mortgage approved. I viewed around 10 houses before I made an offer on this one. The house is cosmetically immaculate - modern bathroom/kitchen, new large driveway, and landscaped garden. Visually, it does not need any work doing to it and has been well looked after. Something that really appealed to me after the renovation dramas I have gone through with my current house!

For this new house, I then paid for an independent level 2 homebuyer's survey + valuation with an RCIS surveyor - did not get one of these with my first house. The report has come back and it looks relatively okay to me. The only problem is that the valuation is £20,000 less than what I am offering (10.5%). I personally feel like the house is worth more than £190,000, and I probably would be willing to pay £5,000 - £10,000 above market value to avoid having to do any expensive renovations in the near future (bathroom, kitchen, windows etc). But £20,000 seems like a lot and I am not sure what to do going forward. I was considering whether I should offer £200,000 to meet in the middle (I offered this originally and it was rejected), but I can't see anything from the survey that warrants a £10,000 reduction. I'm happy to pay £210,000, but also don't want to be kicking myself down the line if I end up in negative equity/losing money - particularly as I am buying alone. So I was just wanting to get some opinions from the people of MSE! Below is some further information: 

-House was marketed, by the estate agents, at £210,000 - £220,000.
-The sellers and I agreed on a purchase price of £210,000. 
-Applied for mortgage with Nationwide. They conducted a valuation. Mortgage approved. 
-My independent surveyor valued the property at £190,000 with a re-instatement value of £151,000. They quoted three similar properties sold in the area - one at £205,000 in June 2024, and two at £180,000 in Summer 2023 + 2024. 

-Survey listed 7 aspects that needed urgent attention. 
1. Has an inner porch (is open, does not have a second wall/door). Highlighted that these can have condensation/damp issues. Advised upgrading the timber facias on it to uPVC (rest of house has uPVC) and general damp proofing (proper ventilation, insulation to single skin walls, airflow through house, etc). States to clean moss from roof. House built on 
2. Has some ground-level decking in the garden. Advised replacing loose floorboards and applying non-slip coating. My plan is to rip this decking up anyway. Then also mentions painting/renewing timber fence lines around property. 
3. Has brick boundary wall. States to replace missing part at front, remove mildew, and repoint some mortar. 
4. White powdery deposits are visible on roof timbers. Achieve cross ventilation by installing roof vents on each elevation. Penetrative dampness noted to roof timbers (not too sure what this means - due to a lack of airflow maybe?).
5.  Consider relocating boiler from loft space for ease of access purposes. But then it also states "upgrade data boiler to loftspace". I know that the boiler has been serviced this year. 
6. Garage (detached) - unblock gutters, low level damp render noted, can't see a dpc, reseal loose wall joints, consider screeding floor, corrosion noted to metal frame, reseal gaps with fire retardant foam. 
7. Joinery - install handrails to staircase, minor movement noted to two bedroom window boards and staircase skirting. 

ChocolateTeapot2024

I think it depends on how much you can risk annoying the seller.

Sounds like they accepted your offer at the lower end of their valuation,

They probably accepted because you were not in a chain, so pretty much a cash buyer. If they have somewhere to be soon (maybe a child that needs to be registered in school) they may be in more of a hurry.

The mortgage company were happy to give you the mortgage of a £210,000 valuation.

As a seller,  I accepted a offer that I consider less than the house value, but the buyer is nice and not in a complicated chian. However, in the time since the offer was accepted, the market has risen, and if they try to knck us down on price, I would simply walk away and either put it back in the market or rent it out for a while.

If these items are "red list" you could maybe take of a couple of thousand.

On the plus side, if you look at Zoopla, you'll see you are buying at the bottom of a market and it looks like prices will slowly rise. It will also give you an idea of the average price of the property.

Hope that helps.

All the best

A

Bigphil1474

The mortgage provider will have approved the mortgage on the basis that they will at least get their money back if things go pear shaped, so depends what the LTV is. If you are borrowing £150k, they won't care whether it's £190k or £210k.

The surveyor will value what they think the house is worth, not what you should pay for it. Appreciate that's a subtle difference, but I suspect the vendor will argue they only sold it to you because you offered a price they were happy with. Reduce your offer and be prepared to lose the purchase, or possibly save some money.