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AIBU?

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Original poster

Unfair house valuation - WWYD?

241 replies

Klaudiagal · 13/04/2021 21:32

We have bought a 4 bed property less than 2 years ago in Teddington for 550k. It was in a very bad state, but since then we insulated the house from outside, insulated the attic, changed roof over extension, rewired, changed Lino flooring into oak wood and porcelain tiles, new bathrooms, new kitchen, replastered walls and ceilings and put a beautiful bifold doors to patio.. according to property price index, the value of property went up to 588k (did not take into account any work we did), but in the meantime we had 3 estate agent valuations between 680k to 735k (this one last week).
As we are planning to remortgage soon, we requested property valuation from our current mortgage providers, for which we were charged over £500, and we estimated the property value at 700k based on previous valuations. They sent a 20-sth year old girl who obviously was very inexperienced (she asked whether the house was built in 1998, when it is built in 70s and previous surveyor even gave us an exact year based on the specific way it was constructed). I can add that the house is in Teddington 5 minutes from Thames and bushy park, so definitely not an area that decreased in value recently. We got valuation updated today to 580k!! Less than what property price index would suggest!!! And after all the extensive renovations we did.
I called the bank and asked whether they can request a reasoning behind going that low, especially that the house next door is on the market for over 700k, but they refused to do anything or provide any details behind this valuation.
AIBU thinking that since I paid £500 for this valuation, I should have a document showing the reasoning behind it?
What do I do now? Can I put a complaint? I think it is just a blatant incompetence OR bank trying to get more expensive mortgage out of me. Anybody can advice ? Mumsnetters, please help, I am just gobsmacked!

OP posts:
Original poster
Klaudiagal · 14/04/2021 12:47

@SwedishK oh, so you admit that it's ok after 6 years of training it's ok for her to make mistakes because she is new to her job, but is not ok to say that she is inexperienced?
How does that work?:)

OP posts:
FuriousCheekyFucker · 14/04/2021 12:52

Am I missing something here?

You already have a mortgage on the property, surely by asking to increase the valuation on the remortgage you will end up owing the bank more?

Is this to free up some cash for another project, and that's why you want a higher valuation?

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 12:52

Plus quite a few of those were around the 500k mark 8 plus yrs ago so yours does look like a big increase.

Original poster
Klaudiagal · 14/04/2021 12:52

@Jangle33 well, she is supposedly an expert who should rely on a bit more the quick google :) otherwise - please give me the job!

Her office found the valuation very surprising. It will be taken higher up to resolve it. So please get down from your high horse and note that this is not about me trying to change the valuation to my liking, but get a valuation that is backed by reasoning like proper market research and not as you said 'a quick google search':)

OP posts:
bathmatty · 14/04/2021 12:54

Good luck!

Original poster
Klaudiagal · 14/04/2021 12:58

@FuriousCheekyFucker

Am I missing something here?

You already have a mortgage on the property, surely by asking to increase the valuation on the remortgage you will end up owing the bank more?

Is this to free up some cash for another project, and that's why you want a higher valuation?

If I owe bank say 500k out of 550 valuation, basically I have 90% debt on it. So the rates they offer will be quite high.

If I remortgage and the house is suddenly worth say 1m , that I only have debt of 50% of the value of the house. Which means the rates are much lower as it is simply safer for the bank to lend me only 50% of property. So the value of property will have huge impact on how expensive the mortgage is as I am still borrowing 500k regardless.

OP posts:
Original poster
Klaudiagal · 14/04/2021 12:59

@bathmatty now, try to find one at 580 please.:)

OP posts:
bathmatty · 14/04/2021 12:59

Yes a lower LTV ratio will give access to better/cheaper rates.

Original poster
Klaudiagal · 14/04/2021 13:02

@Jangle33

Yes OP but the 5 bed house in your estate SOLD for £459k.

There are 2 identical houses in a near where I live. One is on for £800k the other for £1.3m. I really don’t think a surveyor is as interested in what someone decided to persuaded estate agent to list it for Hmm

Yeah, and I can tell you that this house was ruined with broken and opened walls and mould and much smaller with quarter of garden. So one sale in the same road is sometimes not enough to value a property.
OP posts:
FuriousCheekyFucker · 14/04/2021 13:02

Ahh, understood, thanks.

Bluntness100 · 14/04/2021 13:02

I’m not sure I understand, are you trying to increase your mortgage so need the value to be higher?

mixup234 · 14/04/2021 13:06

OP, I suspect it's because it's an ex-local. I've lived in (and thus bought and sold) several ex-locals. Last one I sold was amazing. A truly fab property. Valued by EA at £650k. Went to multiple offers. Mortgage provider for the buyers said £600k. We annoyingly needed to remortgage while selling - our mortgage company said £560k!?!? This was pre-covid in a really hot market. Our mortgage broker said banks are extra cautious with exlocals. Perhaps that's even more true now when no one knows what will happen to prices Eg when stamp duty ends. Sorry. It's really annoying.

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 13:08

now, try to find one at 580 please.:)

well my point was plenty of 4 beds sold for much less than 1.5m

I don't know what your house is like & I said you should query it. These are only 4 beds but look exactly council

549k

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=76365880&sale=11727370&country=england

562k

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=85722400&sale=92243310&country=england

so i'm not sure another bedroom is 150k

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 13:08

only 3 beds

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 13:08

ex not exactly 🤦‍♀️

randomlyLostInWales · 14/04/2021 13:09

Do you have to stay with Natwest - would another lender be more accommodating?

Other than that - complain in writing to both companies - even if one is not on the correct form they'd still have a written complaint and to Natwest about them not providing the form to take the issue further - see that helps move it along.

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 13:09

I also reckon the markets are a little nervous so banks are protecting themselves.

BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln · 14/04/2021 13:10

Whenever I've remortgaged I've never had to have a survey done if staying with the same lender. I've just used my own figure for the house price based on local knowledge/nationwide house price index etc and never had it questioned by the bank. Most of these "remortgages" were just switching products at the end of the initial product fix so didn't need to do a full mortgage application, but I did once remortgage for home improvements which did need a full mortgage application, but again the valuation figure I provided was accepted by the bank and I didn't need to have a survey done. If I was switching lenders obviously I would have to have a survey done, but it's always been financially worthwhile (especially avoiding the survey) to stay with the same lender.

Bluntness100 · 14/04/2021 13:10

The thing is op, you bought it less than two years ago, so possibly it’s less about finish and more about the property itself.

I can see a four bed on for just than 700 but I can’t see anything in thr area that sold for 550 in the last two years.

TatianaBis · 14/04/2021 13:16

First of all the only way to be sure of adding value to a property is to add square footage.

Secondly estate agents upvalue house to get your business.

Thirdly mortgage surveyors always value conservatively but especially now as the as the market is expected to fall by around 9% over the next year. (Whether that will happen is another matter)

CuriousaboutSamphire · 14/04/2021 13:16

@Bythemillpond

The only time I had a young girl do a valuation for a mortgage on a flat I wanted to buy she valued at £0 because it had a tree in the garden no where near the property.

The valuers have professional qualifications to assess your property and they do this for a living, regardless of how high or low the value of the property is

I was selling my previous property, a thatched 16th century stone cottage with huge thick walls. The buyers surveyor was a young lad who said the property didn’t have planning permission so he couldn’t give a valuation on an illegal house

Surely if someone is qualified then they must have known that planning permission wasn’t around in 1576
Sometimes even with their qualifications they haven’t a clue.

Yep! A young valuer and about 5 young people when we were looking for insurance.

Couldn't give me a valuation, or a quote, because I couldn't tell them when the house was built. No, not even within 10 years. No I didn't have the planning permission documents. I did have it's listing and an approximate date of somewhere around 1500, possibly, ish.

Turns out that the insurance I did have wouldn have been useless, for that reason and a few others and the next valuer who came out laughed and dragged out his alternative dwellings book.

The issue with younger profesionals is that they go by the book, the main one, the one they were taught from. They don't always have experience with older properties - ours told me that 'older' meant anything built before "the war"!

So do push back @Klaudiagal NatWest can't take your money and provide you with a service that is not fit for purpose. They will try, but that is NOT acceptable to the ombudsmen

bathmatty · 14/04/2021 13:17

A 5 bed went for 480k in 2019

This 3 bed is on for 529k

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/58181763/?search_identifier=b379bbb6b0d497f7829c84ea2ba1ec71

randomlyLostInWales · 14/04/2021 13:17

Whenever I've remortgaged I've never had to have a survey done if staying with the same lender.

Last time we re-mortaged they told us their figure for the house over the phone - no-one came out that was only a few months ago.

We were surpised by the figure - how much the area had gone up but the advisor thought we were concnerned it was a low figure and said they were always much more conservative than listed selling prices.

The increase in the house value and the overpayments we'd made over mortage term pushed us into just into the best interest rate they offered.