Completely off valuation by RICS surveyor (e.surv)

jake_jones99

I have an accepted offer on a house. To bring myself peace of mind, I ordered and paid for a Level 2 Homebuyers survey with valuation from e.surv. The report came and the valuation was to the pound at the price negotiated with the owner.

Upon discussing with the valuator, she gave me a whole price range, and said she didn't want to cause any issues with the owner (which is slightly unusual to me, since I paid £600+). Moreover, gave me two "comparable" houses that she used to arrive at that value. However, it turns out that one house was 30% larger and 5% cheaper, and the other had roughly similar size but an extra garage and a garden twice the size of the house in question (despite these extras, the price per square meter was roughly the same). 

Therefore, I decided to challenge the valuation. According to their own instruction, I found 3 houses within a 2-mile radius of the house in question with similar characteristics sold in the last 12 months according to land registry. They were between 13%-21% cheaper. I used the official EPC reports for the floor areas. Just for my own peace of mind, I thoroughly searched for more expensive houses, in the range of the price of the house in question, and the only ones of similar size had some other massive advantage (e.g. double or more the garden size, garages etc.). I've sent this to e.surv. 

Today, the surveyor calls me and she says she got the appeal request, but not my 3 comparable houses. Which is unusual, because that was the exact way in which I appealed. She said she will look at them, but "stands firmly" with her initial valuation. Would not listen to any of my arguments, including the fact that she is unable to provide a single house sold recently in this price range that doesn't have some massive advantage. Said the valuation is "subjective" and that's what she thinks. 

So my current situation is that I will likely have to withdraw my offer, as the owners are rightfully getting impatient, and I am almost convinced my purchase would be the most expensive in the area. My questions are:

1. Am I going mad for doing this and not going ahead trusting the biggest surveyor in the country?
2. Do I have any ways to make them come up with some rational arguments, or at least have someone else check this survey?
3. If their valuation turns out wrong by some margin (>10%), should they refund me the cost of the valuation? And if yes, would you know how to make this happen?

Thanks a lot everyone!

daveyjp

If you have negotiated a price with the owner and assuming neither of you are 'special purchasers', that is the value.

jake_jones99

daveyjp said:

If you have negotiated a price with the owner and assuming neither of you are 'special purchasers', that is the value.

I am talking about the market value of the house. Surely one negotiation does not decide the market value.

daveyjp

jake_jones99 said:

daveyjp said:

If you have negotiated a price with the owner and assuming neither of you are 'special purchasers', that is the value.

I am talking about the market value of the house. Surely one negotiation does not decide the market value.

How were the market vaiues of the other properties set?  Negotiation, or sale at auction.  Both can set the value

If all valuers did was look at historic sales the price of properties would never increase.

jake_jones99

Increase by 13%-21% from one year to the next?

jake_jones99

daveyjp said:

jake_jones99 said:

daveyjp said:

If you have negotiated a price with the owner and assuming neither of you are 'special purchasers', that is the value.

I am talking about the market value of the house. Surely one negotiation does not decide the market value.

How were the market vaiues of the other properties set?  Negotiation, or sale at auction.  Both can set the value

If all valuers did was look at historic sales the price of properties would never increase.

I would really appreciate an answer to the point, please. I know how the housing market works. But nobody just buys at random prices. 

user1977

Not clear from the OP what you were expecting the surveyor to say - are you convinced the market value isn't actually in the same ballpark as the price you've agreed?

If the surveyors are sticking to their guns then not sure you can do anything else than get a second opinion and deal with any complaints etc afterwards.

GrumpyDil

OP. Can you confirm what you want to achieve here? From what I can tell you have offered X but want the valuation to be lower than X. 

If the surveyor confirms the house value is lower then how does that help you?

jake_jones99

user1977 said:

Not clear from the OP what you were expecting the surveyor to say - are you convinced the market value isn't actually in the same ballpark as the price you've agreed?

If the surveyors are sticking to their guns then not sure you can do anything else than get a second opinion and deal with any complaints etc afterwards.

Yes. I found 3 houses 13%-21% cheaper with similar characteristics (I was only asked to find 3). I found 0 houses in the same price range that didn't have some significant advantage.

jake_jones99

GrumpyDil said:

OP. Can you confirm what you want to achieve here? From what I can tell you have offered X but want the valuation to be lower than X. 

If the surveyor confirms the house value is lower then how does that help you?

I am a first time buyer. I negotiated a price based on what I thought was a fair price. But I was missing lots of details. Since then, I did a much more thorough analysis, and it looks like this house might be the most expensive in all area south of the city centre.

To answer your question, what I want to achieve is to get a fair valuation to allow renegotiating. 

Bookworm225

so it appears that you are annoyed the surveyor set their valuation at the exact price you have already offered on the property because you wanted the valuation to be lower so you could use it to reduce your offer?

the market value is set by whatever the current buyer pays for the property, that may or may not be a % up or down on the surveyor's valuation.

if you want this property then buy it.
In a few years time the price you sell it for will make your annoyance at not getting a few grand off it now look petty. I well remember being aggrieved at failing to get my seller to accept £500 below asking price and had to settle for asking price. I later sold it for a £325,000 profit.