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Original poster

(Remortgage) Mortgage company valued house lower???

29 replies

Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 11:48

We’ve recently had a 40sq metre extension added to our home. We are one of 2 homes on the road that are the exact same inside. My neighbour remortgaged and they said they said it was worth 235 so I said ok ours is bigger so we’ll say 250 they’ve only come back and said 225 not sure how they actually work out this. He came in with another guy and I think was measuring or checking for damp idk they kept using a tool against walls 😂 We
Had one done last year before extension and the guy said yep that’s fine no problems in remortgaging with that value so we thought oh we undervalued it ourselves. Last year a guy came and looked round and said he goes by how he thinks we’ll decorate it basically potential of the home. We’re still renovating so I’m wondering has this guy done it on the pool of the property but he can see the high spec of the rest of the house that we have done so far. So now this time they’ve said it’s not worth what we think. I def think it is especially if next doors was worth more as like I say we’ve doubled our floor space downstairs, and we have 2 bathrooms next door only has one? We were hoping to get our ltv down. Any ideas? Thanks

OP posts:
Sissynova · 04/05/2023 11:52

An extension doesn’t always add the value people think it does and if your building work isn’t finished why have you had it revalued? The bank aren’t going to value it as though it’s finished to a high spec if it isn’t.

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 11:57

The extension is finished we’re redoing rest of house. We had one round last year and he said he does it by the potential not how it looks. So I’m wondering if its guy has done it by how it looks and not potential I’m not quite sure.

OP posts:
Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 11:58

We’ve also had it revalued cos we’ve had to for remortgaging as rate comes to end in July.

OP posts:
Sissynova · 04/05/2023 12:00

Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 11:57

The extension is finished we’re redoing rest of house. We had one round last year and he said he does it by the potential not how it looks. So I’m wondering if its guy has done it by how it looks and not potential I’m not quite sure.

It’s not. A bank would ever value the property based on potential! That’s utterly ridiculous.
A banks valuation is incase you suddenly default on your mortgage and they quickly need to sell the property to recoup their costs. They are valuing conservatively not pie in the sky ‘if X Y and Z was finished what could you get?’
If you’re only remortgaging now was it not an estate agent who came out last year?

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 12:07

No we borrowed 10k more last year to help with the extension. So they came out to value it for borrowing more and the guy then took photos of house and at time we had bathroom upstairs out and he said I look at the potential now how it looks. So idk what he was on about then 😂 that’s what confused me about this one. My neighbour had hers renovated last year inside and didn’t extend but she knocked a wall out to have her kitchen and diner together and she got 235

then we’ve added huge family diner kitchen onto ours. So we expected ours to be more than hers I suppose when it’s all redecorated it maybe but we’re redoing our hallway and our bedroom at minute so all been replastered but not painted or wood work yet. Our house and neighbours are mirror of each other but she only has one bathroom as she extended her lounge into her bathroom. When it’s all redone I’ll get it revalued.

OP posts:
Thesharkradar · 04/05/2023 12:13

My neighbour had hers renovated last year inside and didn’t extend but she knocked a wall out to have her kitchen and diner together and she got 235
Sounds like your neighbour sold at the top of the market but prices are now falling.
A neighbour of mine put their house up for 450 last summer, they had barely any viewings and no offers, they reduced to 425 and still nothing.
They put it up again in the last week of this April and were advised by the estate agents to advertise it for 360, it sold within a few days

Neverquitehappy · 04/05/2023 12:22

Can you get an estate agent round to value it to compare?

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 12:24

No she’s not sold it hers was for the same remortgaging. So company valued it at 235. But she did say in past she’s had some whose measured every wall and come back lower I think cos we live rural desires location, and the houses are semi but it’s only two on street that are sake they used to mirror each other until we extended and she moved her bathroom into lounge etc.

they’re old farm cottages.
ours was 3 bed, 2 baths, lounge, dining, kitchen and conservatory. We’ve removed conservatory and added 40sq metre extension for family room, dining room lounge etc. kept dining room and lounge as seperate rooms. And still got 2 baths etc

Neighbours was 2 bed, Storage room 1 bath lounge, dining kitchen and conservatory. She changed hers to conservatory to a proper brick room (kitchen and dining) then removed bathroom and made lounge bigger and changed storage upstairs into 3rd bedroom and bathroom.

not sure why I explained all that 😂 but I think some come and just see them as semis and and be like yeah that’s this and then some come thinking they’re worth more cos of character and the location aswell I’m not sure. Just was trying to get ltv down for better rate.

OP posts:
Greengold123 · 04/05/2023 12:24

Sounds about right given the drop in house prices since your neighbours valuation

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 12:24

Might do this. And then go back to company if they say more. One round corner which is semi cottage but tiny compared to ours and no garden has been listed at 210 last week.

OP posts:
Thesharkradar · 04/05/2023 12:34

I guess with remortging the incentives are different and so you might get a result that's different from the price it would sell at?

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 12:35

Both were to remortgage hers was remortgaging too. So both same principal like others said it may be down to market price gone lower I’m not sure. We’ll suck it up and revalue it at a later date 😂

OP posts:
BillyNoM8s · 04/05/2023 12:36

The market is weaker. I imagine it's a direct consequence of that.

Heyahun · 04/05/2023 12:37

i've never had someone actually come in to value the place - i've had a drive by at most from the mortgage company

GeraltsBathtub · 04/05/2023 12:39

You’ve doubled your floor space - so you’ve massively decreased your garden? It’s possible that that has devalued the house. I think you’ll have to suck it up unless you want to go to another lender.

NeedToChangeName · 04/05/2023 12:48

Perhaps your neighbour's previous valuation was too high? It's not a very exact science

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 13:01

No we haven’t really as where we extended it was load of decking and canopies so we didn’t class it as garden space 😂 Our garden is still big.

OP posts:
Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 13:02

Heyahun · 04/05/2023 12:37

i've never had someone actually come in to value the place - i've had a drive by at most from the mortgage company

Oh really everytime we’ve had one they’ve come inside and looked round. Taken photos etc

OP posts:
Deadpalm · 04/05/2023 13:04

So how unfinished is the rest of the house?

NotDavidTennant · 04/05/2023 13:08

There is an element of subjectivity to house valuations. Different valuers can come up with different numbers for similar properties.

blankittyblank · 04/05/2023 13:09

Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 12:24

Might do this. And then go back to company if they say more. One round corner which is semi cottage but tiny compared to ours and no garden has been listed at 210 last week.

This will make no difference.

Basically, the mortgage company's estimate will always be low, and won't consider decor or interiors or anything like that. They will simply see it as a house in a road, and will estimate based on similar sales in the area.

An estate agent will look at how sellable it is - so will consider decor, liveability etc. The mortgage company won't change anything based on their prediction.

And don't be offended by what they're suggesting, it's simply a numbers game for them.

you could go with a different mortgage company who might use a different conveyancer if it's causing issues.

Original poster
Anxiousmummy1187 · 04/05/2023 13:15

Deadpalm · 04/05/2023 13:04

So how unfinished is the rest of the house?

It’s just not decorated to our standards. So it’s not like there’s no kitchen etc. we have floorboards in our bedroom old carpet in hallway and no skirting boards as we’re doing those. But other than that is only cosmetic but my partner did say the guy said he was valuing it based on how it is and will include the size. Be interesting to see the report but idk if they show us but we did pay for it so idk how it works. When the guy came in he did say wow this is huge.

we have a kitchen. Bathroom, ultilty, extension which is diner lounge, I have two other rooms which I use for childminding so it was an old dining room and old Lounge. Then 3 beds upstairs and bathroom.

the 2 bedrooms are done, extension and we’ve had one of childminding rooms tiled plastered and new wood work. Rest of house is all mahogany 😂 we’ve not touched it as we’re redoing it all to our standards

OP posts:
Alittlenonsensenowandthen · 04/05/2023 13:22

We just had a similar thing. We got an estate agent to write an email regarding the area, buoyancy of the market in our town and their valuation. We argued that the mortgage valuer got it wrong and they eventually agreed to change valuation. Worth fighting over!

Tulipsemerging · 04/05/2023 13:27

Property prices are falling and yours is not finished yet so ......

Whatabouteverything · 04/05/2023 13:35

Sissynova · 04/05/2023 12:00

It’s not. A bank would ever value the property based on potential! That’s utterly ridiculous.
A banks valuation is incase you suddenly default on your mortgage and they quickly need to sell the property to recoup their costs. They are valuing conservatively not pie in the sky ‘if X Y and Z was finished what could you get?’
If you’re only remortgaging now was it not an estate agent who came out last year?

Show quote history

Haha they absolutely do!!! For context I'm a previous building society mortgage advisor and was for 20 years. They do take into account potential value when the home is finished.

However OP - values have already started reducing due to interest rates and the economy so the 250k might have been right even a few months ago. But not anymore.

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