Estate agents - how to get them to give valuations when not intending to sell.

[Willow3131]

Hi. We want estate agents to value our house as it is now and advise what they think it will be worth after knocking down a fully working conservatory (in good condition) & replacing it with an extension. However, as we are not going to sell, I'm wondering why an estate agent would be happy to do this? Any advice? Thank you.

Pretend you are going to sell and ask them what is it's value now and what do they think it would be if a future owner did X - to show it has potential. Can you not just look at sold prices to figure out how much an extension adds to value in % terms?

You might find that getting planning permission and some really wow drawings will add value without you incurring huge costs. The benefit to a future owner is that they don't have to do the leg work and can have the extension done to suit their own tastes and lifestyle.

When people do sell they often get 3/4 local EA to view and price up then pick the higest or the one they like the best. So it's not like 100% of viewings equal a sale. The worse that could happen is the keep chasing you up for a few weeks asking if you want them to put it on market , you can just say you are going with another EA.

I'd be up front with them. Round here EAs are happy to give that kind of opinion as they think you are more likely to use them when you do sell (even if that's several years later).

May not be like that everywhere of course...

Be honest with them. I got 3 valuations for a divorce settlement. I just called three estate agents and explained the situation and they all obliged with no hassle.

Estate agent free valuations are generally unrealistic anyhow and shouldn't be trusted for any decisions. You can pay £100 to a surveyor for an independent valuation which is similar to the valuation that the bank have done for your mortgage and ask them to estimate value changes after specific improvements without having to lie about intention to sell.

I'm with Fish pay an independent surveyor you will get an honest valuation.

Thank you everyone. That is my worry that the valuations won't be realistic. Interesting to know about the surveyer option. Husband wants to know if an extension is a good investment & we'd get the return should we sell. All of the houses in our road are individual with no apparent ceiling limit. Thanks again.

I did this last year, I was honest and said I wasn't ready to move then but would think about it later on. Got 3 x local EAs to view - their estimates were pretty similar. They could also give you an idea of what the extension would add to the value.

For the sake of half an hour of their time, they'll want to do it in the hope that use them when you do sell.

I just had our house valued by two EAs, we're not planning on selling this year though and I did say I just wanted a figure to play with. They were both happy to come out and advise!
I also asked about improvements that would be worth the investment (as in, would actually add value to the house or improve saleability), and one of them had some very helpful tips.
Of course they will also tell you all about their company and why they're the best, but it's handy getting to know a few EAs anyway (assuming you do want to sell at some point?).

One of our local estate agents (Corum) had an advert in the local paper offering free valuations even if you don't plan on selling. They got loads of bookings. Going by the sale price of a very similar house the valuation was pretty good