What is a Mortgage Valuation?
Once you have selected what type of mortgage you want, as a part of the mortgage process, before the lender will offer you money to buy a property, they’ll arrange a mortgage valuation. The valuation process is often carried out by a surveyor.
Valuations are required by lenders to check that the property is worth what is being paid (or current value for remortgages). Valuation is not to be confused with a homebuyer’s report or full structural survey, which are much more detailed inspections of a property.
The valuation allows the lender to confirm the property’s value and suitability for lending purposes, ensuring that it reflects the current value and the state of the property. The valuer will want to look at all aspects of the property, including any loft space.
Lenders will confirm the price when comparing the property to similarly sized properties that have recently sold in the locale.
Mortgage Valuation vs Homebuyer’s Reports and Structural Surveys
A mortgage valuation isn’t a full survey. The mortgage valuation will not give you a detailed report on the property but it will highlight any areas of genuine concern e.g. damp, rot or subsidence. Should such areas of concern be raised we would usually recommend that you arrange for the specialist report to be carried out on the property yourself should you still wish to proceed.
A homebuyer’s report is often carried out by a qualified property surveyor and often done at the same time as the valuation. In this case, the surveyor will do the valuation for the lender and also a detailed report as to the state of the property with any recommendations for future work that might be required. We usually recommend that anyone buying a property older than 10 years should consider a homebuyer’s report.
A full structural survey is usually instructed separately to anything a lender may request and is carried out by a structural surveyor. It will go into extensive detail about the structural integrity of the property and any possible work it may need.
The Cost
The price of the valuation depends on the price (or value) of the property and the type of mortgage and can cost anything between £150 to £2,000. Although some mortgage lenders offer the valuation for free as part of a package deal, especially for remortgages.
 who are going to lend you the funds for your mortgage. This valuation gives the lender a rough guide as to whether the property's value correctly reflects the purchase price.When you apply for a mortgage, the lender may send a representative to the property. The representative will want to see all aspects of it including the loft space.){kind=link}