Any ideas how to ensure the house valuation is on the low side?

[Iliveinahovel]

I need a valuation to be on the low side for the house I now live in. Not out-of-this-world low, but somewhere realistic, i.e. 10% to 15% lower than an "average" similar house would be valued at. Currently the house is probably "average" with respect to the overall appeal and condition.

Have around 6 months until the valuation will be done. Any ideas? Let the garden overgrow?

You've probably received lots of similar responses but when I was going through something similar, I just explained why I needed the valuation to the agents (I had to have three) and they were understanding. They were still valid and accurate valuations, just conservative, and I didn't need to do anything destructive to my home! Doesn't sound like your ex should be entitled to anything anyhow. Good luck!

@timeisnotaline

I’d go back to a lawyer and ask about offering 20% of the value at the time, minus an estimate of child maintenance in the 7 years since (take a reasonable upper and lower bound for his income, pick the middle to start with as your offer) and offer that with the alternative being going back to court, highlighting marriage length, his total financial contribution including failure to pay maintenance and his non existent contact or parenting.

Why would her ex even consider this? There is a final order in place. OP cannot go back to court to challenge the order at this time unless she has evidence that he did not make a full disclosure. She would be wasting her money if she tried. That is the legal position.

@JMKid

Doing this could devalue the houses in the local area if sold at the lower valuation price, a little selfish to do!!!

How is it going to devalue neighbours' houses? I am not selling it for the valuation, if it has to be put on the open market, it will go for whatever the actual offer is.

@BlissfullyIgnorant

If it's been such a long time since the consent order was sealed, can you not go back to the court and ask for a variation on the order? Especially if he hasn't contributed to any of the upkeep of the home

No, she cannot. Final orders are intended to be just that - final. After 7 years, the only basis on which the OP could challenge the order would be if she could show that her ex failed to make a full financial disclosure.

Japanese Knotweed! Plant some in a metal bucket so it can't get loose. Once all is done, dig it up, dry it & burn it.

Surely it should be 20% of the value when the agreement was drawn up. Definitely overgrown garden. Clutter to make rooms look smaller. Are there any estate agents who could help with advice. Good luck!!

@Pinkfluff76

Surely it should be 20% of the value when the agreement was drawn up. Definitely overgrown garden. Clutter to make rooms look smaller. Are there any estate agents who could help with advice. Good luck!!

RTFT!

I've just read that knotweed has been downgraded as a threat now.

@MondayYogurt

I've just read that knotweed has been downgraded as a threat now.

The legal position hasn't changed and it still affects property valuations. However, research suggested it is no more of a threat than other disruptive plants and trees that don't have the same effect on house prices. The main problem is that it is very difficult to get rid of Japanese knotweed.

A friend has lost her husband and the house is going through probate which the deceased father is contesting . The friend asked the surveyor to give a lowish valuation and he did .

When I did mine, I told the agents the reason for the valuation and asked them to give a lower estimate for that reason, rather than what they would market it at if I was selling.

When I did mine, I told the agents the reason for the valuation and asked them to give a lower estimate for that reason, rather than what they would market it at if I was selling.

The legal position hasn't changed and it still affects property valuations. However, research suggested it is no more of a threat than other disruptive plants and trees that don't have the same effect on house prices. The main problem is that it is very difficult to get rid of Japanese knotweed.

Sure. RICs guidance update:

www.mortgagefinancegazette.com/lending-news/rics-scraps-japanese-knotweed-7-meter-rule-27-01-2022/

He says: “The blunt ‘seven-metre rule’ has rightly been scrapped in favour of a more nuanced approach that allows surveyors to use their own professional judgement in determining the potential impact of Japanese knotweed.

Put it on the market with a crappy on line estate agent for a bit. When it doesn’t sell, claim all the estimates from proper estate agents were too high.

Or that’s what shit head exh did.

No a court didn’t find in his favour but I had to agree a lower sum that I should have got jsut to get out - he was EA, refusing to leave the property or pay a realistic amount, and the court dates for a final hearing were a year away.

Get up in the loft with a couple of water bottles with the lids not quite closed, you want it to take days to drip out, avoid the drips going onto wood position so then hit the celing beneath. Then refill every week or so. Take the bottles away before valuation, should give you some nice ceiling marks that'll look like you're roofs on it's way out. You can paint over with damp seal once valuations done.

Mess with the doors on your kitchen cabinets, there are vids on youtube showing you how to straighten misalligned doors. Do the opposite. Should make you kitchen look shabby and you can easily put right.

@Iliveinahovel

I sometimes think that I must be really bad at explaining my position.

I know that the order is final, nowhere had I said that I want to overturn it now, that I received bad legal advice, that I want to avoid paying, take personal revenge for non-payment of maintenance, or intend to be dishonest in any way. I actually said the exact opposite, that I think I was represented fairly and it is my own fault and general cowardice that led to not acting on this earlier.

I just absolutely do not want to fall over myself to ensure that my ex's financial gain from this is maximised at my (and the children's) expense. I do not think that I have any duty of care now towards his financial interests - neither implicit, nor explicit, neither legal nor moral. If rewilding the garden, being more relaxed about cleaning and choosing some cheerful colours for the walls can be to my and the children's benefit, why not? It is nowhere near causing intentional damage.

@Iliveinahovel - you explain things very clearly and I admire your level headedness.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but, yes, life can and does get in the way.

As other posters have indicated, short of trashing your property, you’re not going to significantly lower the valuation.

Best of luck