Our ultimate offer to buy your property will be based upon the open market value of the property. As we are committed to total fairness in arriving at this valuation we have gone to great lengths in devising a reliable valuation process. The following steps show our diligence in arriving at the correct figure:
We always appoint a valuer who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). He will also be selected for his knowledge of your area and local market conditions.
He will be briefed to provide an open market value for the property. The RICS provide a standard definition of open market value as follows:
"The estimated amount for which a property should exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arms-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion"
In order to arrive at this figure the valuer will require access to the property to make a full internal as well as external inspection. Once appointed by us he will of course telephone you to make an appropriate appointment.
The valuer will, in addition to making a full inspection, carry out desk research before placing a value on the property. This will include researching comparable properties and accessing land registry sale details to establish true local market conditions. For this reason he will not be able to provide you with a figure at his inspection, however, you will receive a full copy of his report once produced.
The valuer, as a member of the Royal Institution, is bound by a professional code of practice. Amongst other things, this binds him to total confidentiality in reporting on the value and condition of your property. Data protection legislation also acts to further protect the confidentiality of the valuation report produced. The report will be copied only to us, you and our bankers.
Often, we are given an estate agents valuation of a property as it's estimated value and we are very happy to use this to make a guidline offer. Sometimes, when the full valuation is to hand, there is a discrepancy between the estate agents valuation and that provided by the valuer. Usually, the valuer places the value a little lower.
The reason why this can happen is not because one "gets it wrong"Rather it is because the purpose of the valuation is different. Whilst the valuer will produce a figure which is true present value the estate agent will, quite rightly, factor in a degree of optimism about the property. It is very difficult for an estate agent to raise the price of a property once on the market, much simpler to reduce it. Also, estate agents need to factor in possible value growth whilst a property is being marketed. Finally, most buyers expect to haggle and offer under the asking price, usually agreeing a figure less than the asking price. For all these reasons an estate agents asking price will usually be greater than open market value.
When trying to estimate the value of your property it is tempting to take a look at similar properties locally on the market and form an estimate based on estate agents asking prices. Please bear in mind that asking prices and actual prices achieved can be two different things.
The best way to get a feel for the value of your house is to find out the actual selling prices of properties similar to yours in your area. We will always be happy to help you arrive at a "best guess" value before a valuer is appointed