Valuations
It’s true to say that a property is only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it.
From the start of the selling process, the valuation given by the estate agent will set the tone for the relationship between the vendor and the prospective buyer. It will put your property in a bracket that will relate to a particular buyer, either too high for some who will perhaps view it with a mind to chancing their arm and knocking a large amount off the price or simply to be nosey, too low for people moving up who wouldn’t waste your time or the relevant bracket which will usually mean the buyer has decided it falls within £5,000 - £15,000 of their upper limit. Stamp duty implications are always something to bear in mind. It is always tricky if the price of your property falls just outside the 1% or 3%. If your property is valued at £255,000 it is highly likely your buyer will try to knock at least £5,000 from the price to remain within the 1% bracket.
Most vendors would ask at least three estate agents to value their property and pick the one they feel is most accurate. Location and condition as well as the amount of bedrooms and more recently, number of bathrooms, are the deciding factors to most homes. Location to transport links, schools, shops and leisure facilities if you are selling to the working family market. Always base the value on other properties that have recently appeared on the market. It is not a good sign if a property is over priced and then has to be reduced. Most buyers will have looked at all the properties on the estate agents books in their price bracket right at the start of their search and then look at any new properties as they come on the market. If your property has not sold and you have exhausted all the buyers on your agent’s books, the first thing to question is the price. Listen to the agent’s comments, if the price is the problem then a reduction may be what sells it.
If you are looking to re mortgage your home, then you will still need to have a valuation carried out to prove its current worth to your lender.
