Shostra Bank mortgages are available to over 18s. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The content on this webpage is guidance only and does not constitute advice.
Once you have applied for a mortgage, your lender will usually arrange for a mortgage valuation (also known as ‘valuation survey’) to ensure that the property you’re purchasing is valued at the price you are planning to pay for it.
This is not a condition survey, so it won't flag up details of any structural problems or maintenance work that the property needs.
A mortgage valuation is used by the lender for the following:
Mortgage valuation fees can vary depending on the lender. Our standard mortgage valuation can cost from £250-£1,500 depending on the value of the property.
We may be able to offer you a free standard valuation when you move home and take a mortgage with us. The offer is only available on selected mortgages marked with 'Free standard valuation'. Exclusions apply. Start an AIP.
There can be several ways that lenders carry out property valuations.
The valuation is carried out by a surveyor, who would usually visit the property you’re buying and complete a short report.
However, there are some scenarios where the surveyor will use online data such as recent sales data, Land Registry details as well as local knowledge to make a valuation.
The surveyor may take around 15-30mins to look around the property and conduct the survey, looking for any damage that might affect its value and provide initial feedback to the lender.
Once the visit is complete, the surveyor will make an evaluation of what the market value of the property is. They’ll look at historical sales of similar property transactions in the area and use their own knowledge of the current market.
They may also provide information on what the ‘minimum reinstatement value’ is. This is the amount it would cost to rebuild the property from scratch, which can be useful to have when looking for buildings insurance cover during the home buying process.
When the valuation has been completed this will lead to the mortgage offer which can take around one week (but can vary based on individual circumstances), if there aren’t any issues when the valuation has been received by the lender.
A valuation being completed doesn’t mean the mortgage is approved, the valuation report can flag issues. For example:
There can also be other requirements that may not be met, such as:
This is also known as a ‘down valuation’ and can happen when the surveyor values the property lower than the agreed price.
This may mean that the lender will only be prepared to lend based on a percentage of the purchase price or valuation (Loan to Value), whichever is lower.
If this happens, consider re-negotiating the purchase price or increasing your deposit to cover any shortfall.
