'Help to Buy' Valuations
Summary
‘Help to Buy’ is a Government scheme that allows purchasers meeting certain criteria to share ownership of their new home with the Government. If you have purchased a home using this scheme, you will need to get an independent valuation when you come to sell the house or repay the Government loan.
Unlike mortgages from banks, the 'Help to Buy' scheme loans you a proportion of the property’s value, rather than a set amount of money. The amount that needs to be repaid depends on the value of the property at that moment in time.
If the property increases in value, the amount you owe increases too. If the value falls, so does the outstanding loan amount. It is therefore important to get an Independent Valuation when you make any changes to your loan, so that you and the loan provider (the Government, in this case) can be sure that the settlement of the loan is fair and accurate.
What does a ‘Help to Buy’ Valuation include?
– Inspection of the property by our Surveyor
– Overview of the property, its construction, locations, and accommodation
– Overview of the property’s general condition, with photographs
– Details of three comparable properties nearby that have been sold in the past 12 months
– Valuation of the property, with a description of the evidence and assumptions used
‘Help to Buy’ surveyors must use
strict valuation criteria
‘Help to Buy’ loans are managed on behalf of the Government by a company called Target. Chris Hodgson Surveyors meet all of the Target ‘Help to Buy’ Valuation criteria:
– We are RICS Certified Surveyors and Valuers
– Valuations are carried out in accordance with RICS Valuation Standards (Red Book)
– We are completely independent from any Estate Agency
– Our report will be on headed paper, will be signed by a professional member of the RICS and addressed to the client
– We will provide at least three comparable sales (matching property type, size, and age and, where available, within a 2 mile radius of the property in question)
– We carry out a full conflict of interest check upon inspection to ensure no conflicts exist
– We will inspect the interior and exterior of the building and provide a full report
– The inspection date will be shown on the report
How long are ‘Help to Buy’ Valuations valid?
In accordance with the RICS Valuation standards, ‘Help to Buy’ Valuations are valid for 3 months. If the Valuation date has expired and it is less than 4 weeks since the expiration date, we will need to carry out a re-inspection to provide a new, up to date Valuation but would do this for a 50% reduced fee. We can then provide a new Valuation which would be valid for a further 3 months.
Understanding your ‘Help to Buy’ Valuation Report
The first page of the report provides an overview of the property, with information on its location, size, and tenure. This is where you can find out when the property was built and whether or not it is standard construction. Available data on the sales history will also be included here.
Next, you will see a list of the comparables used to help determine your home’s market value. Comparables are similar properties nearby. These are assessed against your property for things like size, condition, fittings, and location. This helps our Surveyor decide whether the comparables would be expected to have a higher, lower, or similar value to your property.
At the end of the Report, you will find our Surveyor’s assessment of the current housing market in the area – they will note whether it is rising, static or falling. Finally, you will find the estimated market value, along with any pertinent notes and evidence on how that value was determined.
