Mortgage Lender Survey

HouseMartin567

eddddy said:

HouseMartin567 said:

I think different lenders have different criteria. I applied for a mortgage on a property and the lender did an in-person visit before the mortgage was approved. Due to circumstances, that mortgage offer ran out before we could complete so I applied with a different lender (who then had a more competitive rate) - but same property - and they did a desktop valuation and approved without an in-person visit. So same property, but two different approaches for two different lenders.

FWIW, many different mortgage lenders will use the same company for valuations.

So even though it was a different mortgage lender, they might have instructed the same valuation company to do a valuation - and having visited a few months before, they decided they didn't need another visit.

Were both valuations the same? (If they were different, that would suggest different valuation companies.)

Good point and one I hadn’t considered. I’m not sure I actually saw a valuation but both mortgages were approved so obviously no issues (admittedly, only borrowing about 20% of the purchase price so not particularly risky).

MyRealNameToo

BiancaCastafoire said:

I'm selling my house. The buyer's mortgage lender have asked for a lender survey to be done to see if the house is worth the price. I’ve never heard of this but am probably not up to date as I bought it 10 years ago. The company coming have some recent 1 star reviews for down valuing houses. My friend said when she sold last year they just did a drive by. I read online they come out if they think there is an issue. Is this true? Is there anything I should do in advance? Thanks- any advice much appreciated!

Think it was 1939 when surveys became obligatory for mortgages from building societies, which was the majority of mortgages back then. 

Depending on your lender you can potentially just roll it up into your own survey on the property you are going to buy but traditionally you had to use one of the BS' panel of surveyors else you'd have to pay them a survey fee (rolled into the mortgage normally) to confirm the house was worth what you said and to validate the LTV ration. 

As it wasnt your house being visited you probably just dont remember from 10 years ago. If they do it in person, remotely, a drive by or visit will vary by lender, potentially workload etc. Our last landlord wanted to increase their mortgage so we had to field a valuation with them mainly measuring to check the square footage was what was claimed. 

BiancaCastafoire

ReadySteadyPop said:

BiancaCastafoire said:

I'm selling my house. The buyer's mortgage lender have asked for a lender survey to be done to see if the house is worth the price. I’ve never heard of this but am probably not up to date as I bought it 10 years ago. The company coming have some recent 1 star reviews for down valuing houses. My friend said when she sold last year they just did a drive by. I read online they come out if they think there is an issue. Is this true? Is there anything I should do in advance? Thanks- any advice much appreciated!

Would have been standard practice ten years ago as well? Did you buy for cash?

No but I had a very small mortgage so that might be why.

BiancaCastafoire

ReadySteadyPop said:

BiancaCastafoire said:

Thanks. I just wondered if the fact they are coming to the Property and not doing it as a drive by meant anything. 

Are there any special or unique characteristics to the property?

It's been extended downstairs and has a conservatory.  They were both done before I moved here. I also back onto fields. 

Bigphil1474

The lenders tend to do a physical survey where the LTV is high. When we bought our house, the lender's computer approved our mortgage within 2 minutes as our LTV was around 15%. If your buyer is nearer 90% then they will want to make sure they can get their money back should it need to be sold. 

kingstreet

Sorry to be pedantic, but it's a mortgage report & valuation. A survey is commissioned by an applicant/purchaser, not by the lender.

ReadySteadyPop

BiancaCastafoire said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

BiancaCastafoire said:

Thanks. I just wondered if the fact they are coming to the Property and not doing it as a drive by meant anything. 

Are there any special or unique characteristics to the property?

It's been extended downstairs and has a conservatory.  They were both done before I moved here. I also back onto fields. 

Maybe that is why they want a look?