When planning to sell, one of the primary questions you’ll be asking yourself is “what is the real value of my house?”.
Although there are plenty of online property valuation tools, many sellers invite estate agents and/or Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) professionals to get a more accurate idea of how to achieve the best price.
In this article, we’ll explore these 2 approaches alongside some of the important details you should be aware of…
I Have an Estate Agent Coming Around to Value My House…
It’s common for home sellers to request 2 to 3 estate agents to come around for free open market valuations.
The general idea is then to decide on an asking price that represents a “happy medium” between the estimates.
A typical estate agent’s house valuation can take up to an hour. This depends on the size, layout and overall complexity of the property in addition to its attached land, as well as any discussions you and the visiting agent need to have.
Good agents will also feedback on areas for improvement that will enable you to make a greater profit from the property sale.
To give them a clear impression of any change in house value since the previous sale, you should point out any changes or adjustments you have made to the structure or décor during your time there.
You should also discuss any thoughts you have had about the property’s value. You could perhaps base this on the amounts that any neighbours have recently received for their own houses (by checking HM Land Registry sold data).
Once the valuation is complete, you’ll receive a report, email or verbal estimation. This will usually arrive with you fairly quickly.
This report will explain in some detail the potential value of the house and the reasons behind this conclusion.
Some things to note with estate agent valuations…
Many estate agents often tend to be unrealistically generous in order to “sweeten the pot” and win your business (i.e. the listing). It’s also common to see an upward “suggested asking price war”, particularly when they discover their competition is coming around too.
When selling, of course, we all want to get the best possible price and outcome. However, it’s important to be realistic and avoid the embarrassing situation of having a property lingering on the market for longer than it needs to.
Be sure to question their motives remember, do your own research and pay close attention to the dynamics of your local sales market.
I Have a Professional RICS Property Valuer Coming Around…
Unless it’s for a remortgage, most home sellers will have a professional valuer from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) come around to the property after a sale has been agreed. As a seller, you will not have to pay anything here as any survey / professional valuation is usually the buyer’s responsibility.
However, some vendors choose to instruct a valuation / survey at their own expense in order to ensure the asking price is accurate. Other times – where a property is in a rural location or needs work – a professional valuer can point you in the right direction and make sure you’re not pricing too low or high.
Costs for a RICS survey can be anything between £300 and £1,500 depending on the survey “level”, location and size of the property.
These surveys will be more in-depth than an estate agency valuation. Professional valuers have a fiduciary responsibility to provide a figure that’s based on the real facts. In fact, many will be over-cautious as inaccuracy could result in a financial claim against their public liability insurance or, worse, formal dismissal from the RICS.
It’s for this reason that so many down valuations happen every day across the UK property sector.
What Will Happen When a RICS Valuer Comes Around?
Surveyors generally conduct several surveys on any given day. In our experience, most are keen to get things done quickly and move on to the next job.
Nonetheless, compared to an estate agent, the valuer/surveyor will take a much closer look at the property.
Photos will be taken of any signs of damp, cracks, invasive weeds, structural or other potentially serious issues. With the Level 2 and Level 3 Surveys, detailed inspections and various measurement / testing tools may be used.
You may be asked a few questions about work you may have done, what you initially paid for the property and any price(s) you’ve been offered. Most of the time, however, you can leave the valuer alone.
You should also have a direct line of communication with the surveyor after receiving the report to ask any questions.
Is An Online House Valuation Enough?
More sellers are completely comfortable relying on an online valuation only.
Indeed, as mentioned above, with estate agents largely making speculative estimates – there often is not much of a difference.
Much here depends on what tool you use. We generally recommend steering clear of the online tools that generate a valuation in “under a minute” or even “seconds”. These often use very broad-based methods and are arguably a tool for estate agents to get their proverbial foot in the door.
Ultimately, the best data is what comes from HM Land Registry and the Office of National Statistics (ONS). This is a historical database of what properties across England and Wales have actually sold for and not what estate agents think they will achieve. Note that Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registries where sold property prices are recorded.
This information should then be combined with looking at the comparable sizes of nearby properties, garden / land space, location, condition amongst a wide range of other factors.
Property Solvers House Valuation Reports
At Property Solvers, our FREE house valuation reports do all the hard work. Due to huge demand, we’re currently only able to produce reports for active home sellers.
The report – sent to your email address and only aimed at sellers – includes:
- Your property’s last recorded sales price and estimated current open market value (on the back of a “fact find” phone call);
- Your current equity level, price per square metre / foot and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating;
- A list of comparable properties within a quarter of a mile using HM Land Registry / ONS data;
- Local house market insights (speed of sale + asking vs. sold house prices);
- Details of county/regional house price trends;
- Average prices of recently sold local residential properties;
- Property types in your area and sold prices;
- Percentage of sales within various price brackets of your property type;
- Freehold / leasehold property prices;
- A table of recent nearby property sales;
- Number of recent estate agent instructions / agreed home sales / price drops;
- Most and least expensive streets.
Maximising the Fair Valuation of Your Property
Regardless of how it’s done, a valuation can also reveal aspects that you might wish to change in order to add value to your property.
You can even make tweaks beforehand in order to influence a better outcome, including:
- Tidying and deep cleaning the property
- Neatening your garden
- Adding a fresh lick of paint. This can include repainting your front door, fence and other “public facing” aspects of the property for increasing the kerb appeal
- Fixing any slight damage
- Decluttering your rooms
- Clearing outbuildings
You can discuss other potential improvements with the visiting estate agent / surveyor to find out the value they may add. They may suggest:
- Replacing elements such as hardware, kitchen cabinet doors and sanitaryware
- Changing your carpet
- Landscaping your outdoor space
- Repurposing a room to become an additional bedroom or office
- Installing clever storage solutions
Putting in a little extra time, money or effort to undertake these changes can make a huge difference to the final value of your property.
…and plenty more.