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?

Can you cut the garden back so that it’s overlooked? People hate that.
Pull all the furtniture away from the walls slightly so it looks smaller. Please things in the hall that have to walked around.
Don’t make the beds. Keep the windows dirty and curtains semi drawn. Very low wattage bulbs everywhere.

@Toanewstart22

Deprivation of assists is rightfully looked up VERY unfavourable by the courts

I don't intend to deprive anyone of assets. No need to make a villain out of me.

@prh47bridge thank you. can the OP argue the order or the wording? do they have an expiry timescale, then have to be redone? or are they set in stone?

The kids could lose their home, the OP's home just so the exH can walk away with a lump sum despite not contributing to their lives financially and only being married for a couple of years. It sucks.

@Blossomtoes - Please explain why @Viviennemary should be behind the OP? In what way is anyone trying to diddle her out of her rights?

[quote prh47bridge]**@Blossomtoes* - Please explain why @Viviennemary* should be behind the OP? In what way is anyone trying to diddle her out of her rights?[/quote]
My comment was from a moral rather than a legal point of view. I should have clarified that.

@nicelyneurotic

Have you spoke to your solicitor?

I've been in your position.
The estate agent - a lovely woman of a similar age to me - was very happy to value it low to help me out.

And the courts will only expect you to offer what you can afford.

In my case I said I can afford to give you £x now (not quite the full amount but all I had), or you can wait until the kids have grown up/left home for x%.

He took the money now.

No, the courts will expect her to pay whet she agreed to pay 7 years ago. They could force the sale of the house in order to or pay him off. The fact that the house has so much equity in it now would go against her, as she would have enough equity left to buy another property.

So its your house - I assume this because you’re saying things like ‘when I bought it’ rather than ‘when we bought it’ ? If he’s never contributed and his name isn’t on the deeds, why is he entitled to a share ? A friend had this a few years ago - short marriage and ex husband tried to claim a share in the house she owned outright well before they got together. She rejected the settlement proposals and went to court. She could prove he had never contributed anything towards the property and she paid the majority of the bills. He lost. Sorry - slightly derailing but to answer your question I don’t think there’s much you can do to lower the valuation other than talk to the estate agent and see what they are prepared to do.

Thank you for all the suggestions. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not trying to do anything illegal or defraud anyone. Any valuation will be an expert opinion, and it is obviously a range rather than a precise scientific estimate. My question was how to get towards the lower end of that range.

From the moral perspective, obviously you hear only one side of the story, so can only trust my word that it is a complete windfall to my ex, effectively infinite return as he has invested zero into it - and there have been no other assets I took share of during the divorce.

If you know a gas man friend genuinely get him to mark it off as condemned even though it’s not.

Get any appliances out that could cook a dinner because cookers condemned/broken too sad face. Turn off the water to the taps yeah broken too.

Just cannot afford to fix it sad face.

Don’t tidy up at all or take rubbish out before a viewing. Borrow a wet smelly dog.

@Rosscameasdoody

So its your house - I assume this because you’re saying things like ‘when I bought it’ rather than ‘when we bought it’ ? If he’s never contributed and his name isn’t on the deeds, why is he entitled to a share ? A friend had this a few years ago - short marriage and ex husband tried to claim a share in the house she owned outright well before they got together. She rejected the settlement proposals and went to court. She could prove he had never contributed anything towards the property and she paid the majority of the bills. He lost. Sorry - slightly derailing but to answer your question I don’t think there’s much you can do to lower the valuation other than talk to the estate agent and see what they are prepared to do.

I already answered earlier on the thread, it was a consent order (i.e. by agreement) as the amount at that time has been not extraordinarily high, and the legal fees to go all the way to the final hearing were significantly in excess of it. There was a risk that the court would have made some award in his favour anyway, as there were two children of the marriage, so wasn't worth it.

Anyone suggesting this is not morally right what about the lack of money this man has paid for his children? I have zero sympathy for him at all

seal off one of the rooms and paper over it and say it only has 2 nor 3 bedrooms like the surrounding houses? joking!

Just let it look extremely uncared for with curtains falling down and the rooms so cluttered they look small than they are. tbh estate agents are good at looking past these things when valuing properties.

@Tulipomania

Paint the kitchen purple.

Add lots of clutter.

Install low power light bulbs so it looks dark.

My kitchen is purple so at least that is ticked off!

[quote Cockwomblingfree]@prh47bridge thank you. can the OP argue the order or the wording? do they have an expiry timescale, then have to be redone? or are they set in stone?

The kids could lose their home, the OP's home just so the exH can walk away with a lump sum despite not contributing to their lives financially and only being married for a couple of years. It sucks. [/quote]
As the order was made years ago, it is far too late to challenge it now unless she can show that her ex failed to make a full disclosure. The OP appears to have agreed to give her ex a percentage of the house. That being the case, a challenge was unlikely to succeed even if she had done so at the time unless there was a Barder event, or he failed to make a full disclosure.

Put some mouse or rat traps round the place. Dig up some weeds and place in gutter. Before valuer come round splash some water under a windowsill so it looks like it leaks or is damp.

I can bring my horse round if you want. Can guarantee he'll make a mess and the fact he is difficult to load means he'll have to be included in the sale of the property. Given how much he eats and how much destruction he causes, if that doesn't lower the value nothing will.

@Toanewstart22

Eh, I wasn't giving divorce advice?

The thread was asking about how to undervalue a house to give an ex a smaller percentage. I was suggesting to value it at the price it was 7 years ago, when the arrangement was made.

Not living in the UK means I have no knowledge of English divorce laws.

However, if a definite figure wasn't agreed at the time, I reasonably suggested that she sought to discover one. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's pretty obvious that no-one should assume any comments on any thread constitutes actual legal advice, I'd have thought? Wouldn't you?

Make absolutely sure it is you that shows the valued round, and that you explain some of why you'd like a low valuation (house at risk if can't afford to move out, kids home etc etc).

I only have one experience of this. The wife showed round two of the three agents, the husband the other (as agreed). The one shown round by the husband was 15% higher

If you're friendly with neighbours, get them to make a load of noise when the valuer comes. Any old shit they can have sitting about in the garden and curtains drawn all the better.
Don't hoover / dust / clean etc. have it smelling stale and unkempt.
Don't wash the windows
Make sure the house is properly cold on the valuation day

I’m going to assume you aren’t a property valuer because none of those things make a difference to a valuation.

They will look at the area, what other prices are in the area and whether the property is in a decent state of repair. That’s it.

Make absolutely sure it is you that shows the valued round, and that you explain some of why you'd like a low valuation (house at risk if can't afford to move out, kids home etc etc).
You can’t ask surveyor to low ball a survey. They can be kicked out of the RICS for knowingly low balling a valuation.

I only have one experience of this. The wife showed round two of the three agents, the husband the other (as agreed). The one shown round by the husband was 15% higher

Coincidence.

Pull all the furtniture away from the walls slightly so it looks smaller. Please things in the hall that have to walked around

Oh FGS. The electronic measurement they do isn’t fooled by furniture. Neither is a standard tape measure.

Do people really thing valuation surveyors are that stupid?

@HappyAsASandboy

Make absolutely sure it is you that shows the valued round, and that you explain some of why you'd like a low valuation (house at risk if can't afford to move out, kids home etc etc).

I only have one experience of this. The wife showed round two of the three agents, the husband the other (as agreed). The one shown round by the husband was 15% higher

Yes, it will be only me, there's no one else in the house.

Get your neighbours to put an old sofa in their front garden and dress like Onslow and Daisy from Keeping Up Appearances

Also get more than three valuations and then share the lowest three as the only ones.