Down Valuation on House
Discussion
So we are on the process of buying a new house. We initially made the offer on our next house back in January! we very quickly (within 2 days) took an offer on our current home and put ourselves into a chain situation.
So we have a small chain with 3 houses, ours at the bottom.
So the people buying our house raised there mortgage and a valuation was promptly done. Guy turns up in his late 50's, absolutely awful bloke, no manners or even basic communication skills. Was in the house for 15 minutes maximum. Valuation came back with a down valuation of £3000. Bearing in mind we had knocked £12000 of the price for a quick sale. He is stating that..
The house has damp - it does not. It had a full damp proof course installed when I moved in. I have a 20 year guarantee Certificate and the work was completed by hacking every bit of plaster off the walls, drill and inject, tank and cement and then a layer of water proof plaster over the top.
No Parking - We have parking for 4-5 cars at the side of the house and a double garage.
Sex as female. The chap clearly doesn't know if he is a man or a woman, looked male to me but who knows as he has ticked he is female on his own form.
This had caused an absolute nightmare for us, people up the chain getting the hump, me having to organise a damp survey not required (no damp found other than a tiny bit of condensation on a chimney breast with an open fire). The people buying from us have held out on paying for searches as they didn't want to waste money if the place was sodden and they couldn't raise the mortgage causing more delays.
This has caused me considerable stress, delayed our moving days, ruined a holiday we were planning, upset people we are buying from and the messing about with change of prices with solicitors up the chain etc.
The estate agents compiled a load of similar properties nearby that SOLD for more than we are asking. The whole lot was sent over to the Surveyor for an appeal but he simply rejected it all (taking him a week to reply). On viewing reviews of the company in question they have an horrendous reputation.
The agent seemed to think after this it was my problem and to move things forward I should pull my pants down for £3000. I simply told them NO and why should I have to **lose £3000 based on someone else's incompetence and he should speak to the bank and tell them they need to use a more professional company to go and check the assets they are lending against for a more accurate and fair report. I threatened to pull on the whole thing which got the agent to come round to my thinking a bit more.
So basically to get things moving the poor sod at the top of the chain has had to drop by £1000. The people buying from us have had to add £1000 (although they are still £2000 better off!) and I am £1000 down with a few weeks lost in stress and aggro. That's the best outcome that could be achieved.
Has anyone else had to deal with this before and if so did you have any recourse with a bad and unfair Valuation/surveyor? Or do I just put it down to experience and hopefully in a few weeks sat in our new home with a glass of something nice laughing about the whole thing.
So we have a small chain with 3 houses, ours at the bottom.
So the people buying our house raised there mortgage and a valuation was promptly done. Guy turns up in his late 50's, absolutely awful bloke, no manners or even basic communication skills. Was in the house for 15 minutes maximum. Valuation came back with a down valuation of £3000. Bearing in mind we had knocked £12000 of the price for a quick sale. He is stating that..
The house has damp - it does not. It had a full damp proof course installed when I moved in. I have a 20 year guarantee Certificate and the work was completed by hacking every bit of plaster off the walls, drill and inject, tank and cement and then a layer of water proof plaster over the top.
No Parking - We have parking for 4-5 cars at the side of the house and a double garage.
Sex as female. The chap clearly doesn't know if he is a man or a woman, looked male to me but who knows as he has ticked he is female on his own form.
This had caused an absolute nightmare for us, people up the chain getting the hump, me having to organise a damp survey not required (no damp found other than a tiny bit of condensation on a chimney breast with an open fire). The people buying from us have held out on paying for searches as they didn't want to waste money if the place was sodden and they couldn't raise the mortgage causing more delays.
This has caused me considerable stress, delayed our moving days, ruined a holiday we were planning, upset people we are buying from and the messing about with change of prices with solicitors up the chain etc.
The estate agents compiled a load of similar properties nearby that SOLD for more than we are asking. The whole lot was sent over to the Surveyor for an appeal but he simply rejected it all (taking him a week to reply). On viewing reviews of the company in question they have an horrendous reputation.
The agent seemed to think after this it was my problem and to move things forward I should pull my pants down for £3000. I simply told them NO and why should I have to **lose £3000 based on someone else's incompetence and he should speak to the bank and tell them they need to use a more professional company to go and check the assets they are lending against for a more accurate and fair report. I threatened to pull on the whole thing which got the agent to come round to my thinking a bit more.
So basically to get things moving the poor sod at the top of the chain has had to drop by £1000. The people buying from us have had to add £1000 (although they are still £2000 better off!) and I am £1000 down with a few weeks lost in stress and aggro. That's the best outcome that could be achieved.
Has anyone else had to deal with this before and if so did you have any recourse with a bad and unfair Valuation/surveyor? Or do I just put it down to experience and hopefully in a few weeks sat in our new home with a glass of something nice laughing about the whole thing.
- edited to keep the pendants happy whom have nothing better to do
Edited by M3333 on Saturday 8th April 13:57
I had this recently, but for the house I was buying. Both the mortgage company and my appointed surveyor down valued it.
We in turn reduced our offer, the estate agent did a bit of negotiation and we agreed on a price. While we may be better off in the long run, we are £5k worse off now.
The reason for the down valuation by the lender is the lack of data for sold houses in the area. At least now with us buying this house there is at least a starting point if we ever decide to sell.
We in turn reduced our offer, the estate agent did a bit of negotiation and we agreed on a price. While we may be better off in the long run, we are £5k worse off now.
The reason for the down valuation by the lender is the lack of data for sold houses in the area. At least now with us buying this house there is at least a starting point if we ever decide to sell.
TheAngryDog said:
Douglas Quaid said:
It's lose not loose.
Ph at its best. 
king grammar Nazi.Douglas Quaid said:
For what it's worth I think the place looks awesome. Yes you will spend some time and money getting it how you like it but it's massive and the garden is amazing. Once you've sorted it out it will be amazing. I'd feel happy as Larry if I had the place. There are lots of big houses around but not many with gardens like that.
We had similar although I was in the buyers shoes.
Offer accepted, mortgage agreed, surveyor went round, carried out the survey and came back with a scrappy, tick-box form riddled with errors.
Wrong number of bathrooms, wrong number of bedrooms! Claimed it was a shared driveway (it isn't), claimed the garden belonged to the estate management company, not the property (it doesn't) then valued it £5k less than we'd offered.
When i called him upon receiving this to enquire, he was rude, dismissive and told us that there were channels to go through to have a survey re-done.
Long story short we complained to his company, I said I'd walk him through the house and we can count rooms together - the fact he got the basics so wrong led his company to investigate and amend the survey FOC.
Stressful indeed, last thing you need when buying or selling a house is incompetent people doing necessary work.
Offer accepted, mortgage agreed, surveyor went round, carried out the survey and came back with a scrappy, tick-box form riddled with errors.
Wrong number of bathrooms, wrong number of bedrooms! Claimed it was a shared driveway (it isn't), claimed the garden belonged to the estate management company, not the property (it doesn't) then valued it £5k less than we'd offered.
When i called him upon receiving this to enquire, he was rude, dismissive and told us that there were channels to go through to have a survey re-done.
Long story short we complained to his company, I said I'd walk him through the house and we can count rooms together - the fact he got the basics so wrong led his company to investigate and amend the survey FOC.
Stressful indeed, last thing you need when buying or selling a house is incompetent people doing necessary work.
Thanks to the sensible replies.
Here is some impartial reviews of the company who we sadly had come and under value our house. I would assume I am pissing in the wind trying to get any kind of sense from them, quite unreal how they manage to get away with being so called trained professionals.
http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(e-surv-chartere...
http://esurvchartersurveyors.blogspot.co.uk/
Here is some impartial reviews of the company who we sadly had come and under value our house. I would assume I am pissing in the wind trying to get any kind of sense from them, quite unreal how they manage to get away with being so called trained professionals.
http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(e-surv-chartere...
http://esurvchartersurveyors.blogspot.co.uk/
A bit unfortunate OP but you had the option of holding out for the price you wanted even if that meant losing that sale and getting another buyer with a different valuer.
As the surveyor was acting for the buyer/mortgagor and he got the price reduced you *might* say he did a good job.
Recourse? No - he/she wasn't acting for you so you have no contract with him/her.
As the surveyor was acting for the buyer/mortgagor and he got the price reduced you *might* say he did a good job.
Recourse? No - he/she wasn't acting for you so you have no contract with him/her.
I hate to come to the defence of a valuer who may not deserve it... But....
No-one ever thanks a valuer who values up, whereas everyone complains bitterly when they don't. I'm not surprised that they have negative reviews. They do a lot of valuations, and guess which end bothers to put the reviews up...
Damp - I''ll bet that they did not diagnose damp, but stated that there were elevated moisture content readings and suggested a report. Thing is they are between a rock and a hard place. it might just need a fire or two to dry it out - or it might be something more serious. The buyer would be unhappy if it turns out to be the latter. Belt and braces - report from a specialist. I'd suspect that he could guess the result from that.
In terms of getting basic facts right - it would be a good idea. I'm not sure whether they are using tablets nowadays, or still using paper and dictating over the phone. Should still get it right though.
And in terms of downvaluing.... No-one is ever ever happy.... You would not be the first or the last person to moan at the valuer. However as the vendor, you are the one whom he will not really be bothered about - your by default going to be upset. He has a duty to his client - the lender, and probably the purchaser...
And yes it is bloody annoying. I sold a house at a bloody good price as it was to my brother - and an out of town valuer downvalued it after using comps from the nearby inferior estate. Property then resold for a higher price and the same bloody firm were instructed. They agreed to decline the instruction as a conflict which was good of them...
No-one ever thanks a valuer who values up, whereas everyone complains bitterly when they don't. I'm not surprised that they have negative reviews. They do a lot of valuations, and guess which end bothers to put the reviews up...
Damp - I''ll bet that they did not diagnose damp, but stated that there were elevated moisture content readings and suggested a report. Thing is they are between a rock and a hard place. it might just need a fire or two to dry it out - or it might be something more serious. The buyer would be unhappy if it turns out to be the latter. Belt and braces - report from a specialist. I'd suspect that he could guess the result from that.
In terms of getting basic facts right - it would be a good idea. I'm not sure whether they are using tablets nowadays, or still using paper and dictating over the phone. Should still get it right though.
And in terms of downvaluing.... No-one is ever ever happy.... You would not be the first or the last person to moan at the valuer. However as the vendor, you are the one whom he will not really be bothered about - your by default going to be upset. He has a duty to his client - the lender, and probably the purchaser...
And yes it is bloody annoying. I sold a house at a bloody good price as it was to my brother - and an out of town valuer downvalued it after using comps from the nearby inferior estate. Property then resold for a higher price and the same bloody firm were instructed. They agreed to decline the instruction as a conflict which was good of them...
TheAngryDog said:
The reason for the down valuation by the lender is the lack of data for sold houses in the area. At least now with us buying this house there is at least a starting point if we ever decide to sell.
Makes you wonder how anyone ever managed to buy a house before the age of the internet and what expertise there really is in valuing a house these days doesn't it?When my OHs house sold, we think he issued a survey from a different house... Missed quite a lot of things, but also added quite a few things that didn't exist.
The biggest disappointment though was the footprints on the bed. This would have even given him access to see anything? And her wedding dress (pre wedding, in the wardrobe) being left open in its case... Not sure why he needed to go in there!
The biggest disappointment though was the footprints on the bed. This would have even given him access to see anything? And her wedding dress (pre wedding, in the wardrobe) being left open in its case... Not sure why he needed to go in there!
surveyor said:
I hate to come to the defence of a valuer who may not deserve it... But....
No-one ever thanks a valuer who values up, whereas everyone complains bitterly when they don't. I'm not surprised that they have negative reviews. They do a lot of valuations, and guess which end bothers to put the reviews up...
Damp - I''ll bet that they did not diagnose damp, but stated that there were elevated moisture content readings and suggested a report. Thing is they are between a rock and a hard place. it might just need a fire or two to dry it out - or it might be something more serious. The buyer would be unhappy if it turns out to be the latter. Belt and braces - report from a specialist. I'd suspect that he could guess the result from that.
In terms of getting basic facts right - it would be a good idea. I'm not sure whether they are using tablets nowadays, or still using paper and dictating over the phone. Should still get it right though.
And in terms of downvaluing.... No-one is ever ever happy.... You would not be the first or the last person to moan at the valuer. However as the vendor, you are the one whom he will not really be bothered about - your by default going to be upset. He has a duty to his client - the lender, and probably the purchaser...
And yes it is bloody annoying. I sold a house at a bloody good price as it was to my brother - and an out of town valuer downvalued it after using comps from the nearby inferior estate. Property then resold for a higher price and the same bloody firm were instructed. They agreed to decline the instruction as a conflict which was good of them...
Well I would say I have been impartial and as fair as I could have been with the surveyor. If the down value was fair based on a professional factual job I wouldn't have argued or been bothered. I am not particularly upset by the down value, lets face it, 3k isn't a massive amount in the grand scheme of things. What I am upset about is this person casts a whole negative and sloppy view on your industry and professionalism and has caused 2 weeks of unnecessary stress and aggravation totally not warranted IMHO. Even the agents have admitted 'they are a bad bunch and you had a crap survey' as they can prove without doubt of prices selling much higher in the same area, even smaller houses on busier roads etc. At the end of the day these guys get paid decent money to go and value a property and when the basics are not even right you have to question the integrity and attitude to the job and the lender whom they are representing. I am sorry in this case he very much got it wrong. The electrics in the house for example have not been touched since the 1980's and he did not even mention it. If he had and they wanted to chip me down on price then fair enough. He even thought he was a female, I mean come on!?!No-one ever thanks a valuer who values up, whereas everyone complains bitterly when they don't. I'm not surprised that they have negative reviews. They do a lot of valuations, and guess which end bothers to put the reviews up...
Damp - I''ll bet that they did not diagnose damp, but stated that there were elevated moisture content readings and suggested a report. Thing is they are between a rock and a hard place. it might just need a fire or two to dry it out - or it might be something more serious. The buyer would be unhappy if it turns out to be the latter. Belt and braces - report from a specialist. I'd suspect that he could guess the result from that.
In terms of getting basic facts right - it would be a good idea. I'm not sure whether they are using tablets nowadays, or still using paper and dictating over the phone. Should still get it right though.
And in terms of downvaluing.... No-one is ever ever happy.... You would not be the first or the last person to moan at the valuer. However as the vendor, you are the one whom he will not really be bothered about - your by default going to be upset. He has a duty to his client - the lender, and probably the purchaser...
And yes it is bloody annoying. I sold a house at a bloody good price as it was to my brother - and an out of town valuer downvalued it after using comps from the nearby inferior estate. Property then resold for a higher price and the same bloody firm were instructed. They agreed to decline the instruction as a conflict which was good of them...
Edited by M3333 on Saturday 8th April 22:06
Beetnik said:
A bit unfortunate OP but you had the option of holding out for the price you wanted even if that meant losing that sale and getting another buyer with a different valuer.
As the surveyor was acting for the buyer/mortgagor and he got the price reduced you *might* say he did a good job.
Recourse? No - he/she wasn't acting for you so you have no contract with him/her.
I would have loved to have done but our friend George Osbourne slapped second home stamp duty through the roof. That means I would have been liable to pay a 6500 stamp duty bill. Admittedly this could have been claimed back once our property sold but I would have also had been paying the council tax and mortgage while it stood empty, for 3k it hardly seems worth it, annoying as it is, sadly.As the surveyor was acting for the buyer/mortgagor and he got the price reduced you *might* say he did a good job.
Recourse? No - he/she wasn't acting for you so you have no contract with him/her.
The second home stamp duty does not seem to have been implemented fairly or properly. If I already have a main residence and buy another home it is classed as a second home and paid on completion, no compromise. Even if a few days later my old house sells.
MDMA . said:
Doesn't make good reading
not sure how you get around this? Any recourse?
Sadly not, I think I want to just focus on getting the keys to our new home and focus on the positive and put it all behind us, hopefully Karma will deal with the surveyor sooner or later if he does this a lot. not sure how you get around this? Any recourse?M3333 said:
Well I would say I have been impartial and as fair as I could have been with the surveyor. If the down value was fair based on a professional factual job I wouldn't have argued or been bothered. I am not particularly upset by the down value, lets face it, 3k isn't a massive amount in the grand scheme of things. What I am upset about is this person casts a whole negative and sloppy view on your industry and professionalism. At the end of the day these guys get paid decent money to go and value a property and when the basics are not even right you have to question the integrity and attitude to the job and the lender whom they are representing. I am sorry in this case he very much got it wrong. The electrics in the house for example have not been touched since the 1980's and he did not even mention it. If he had and they wanted to chip me down on price then fair enough. He even thought he was a female, I mean come on!?!
The M/F bit confuses me. Who bloody cares? Never seen a form asking me this....Speaking of forms some of them really are bizarre. I remember one firm (who lost their pants in 2008), which gave the Surveyor no space to enter free text at all. All tick box. I had to value a very run down farm house that was going to auction. It was going to go cheap, because it was decrepit - and I had no real issue with any of the damp, electrics etc. They would all need doing and the valuation took this into account. However with no free text, I either have to value as no work needed, or tick all the report options available - despite the pointlessness. I blamed the broker on that one for putting it to an unsuitable lender (although they would lent 105%!).
popegregory said:
We've just had the valuer completely under value our flat for remortgage purposes, has anyone had this and what did you do?!?
I think the only thing you can do is compare your flat to similar sold properties in the area and anything you feel is not factual on the valuation. Don't hold your breath though as quite frankly the surveyor's don't like to admit they are wrong as it makes them look incompetent which from my experience sadly the one we had is.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff