Sonny Walia

One of the most challenging scenarios that we at “Meet The Surveyor” come across for our clients is how to deal with Estate agents.

Estate agents – or “EA” are notorious for following protocol, especially as there maybe several types of people working in the EA office from the very Savvy but very busy veteran who is willing to be flexible to the 17 year old newby who is told to follow protocol by the book or be sacked!

A few facts for you:

Fact 1: The EA is frightened that the deal maybe stolen from them by buyers who may go direct to the seller and cut out their commission so they are very cautious when giving out vendors details until the deal is done. So the protocol normally followed by the EA is that they take control and speak to surveyor to book the valuation. This is obviously unacceptable to us because invariably the surveyor will ask “How much is the property being sold for” and one of the agents will tell them!

Fact 2: When speaking with a surveyor recently I was surprised to hear that their protocol when valuing properties was this:

The surveyor’s position (when working for the lending company) is to value the property at the market value or the selling price, which ever is the lower!

This is why if the surveyor gets to hear the BMV price of the property being sold for they will automatically put forward that price to the lender as the true market value!

Well there are several ways that we can get past this challenge of which I will share with you one today!

Simply Do Not allow the EA to organise the Valuation! They will invariably throw ALL their toys out of their pram and tell you that “that is not how they work!” but you must insist that “As you are paying for the surveyor, that you will organise the appointment with the surveyor and the vendor” if they EA dig their heals in and chances are they probably will, then there is a stale mate where neither party can make a move. They will not give you the number of the vendor and you will not give them access to the surveyor. This is where the principle “There is always a way” comes into play J

We need to firstly ask for the Savvy EA in the company, if we are lucky we will get the owner or manager, and explain to them that “we” are both on the same side and that you understand that they want to sell and earn their commission and that you definitely want to buy the property. At this point it is worth explaining to the savvy EA the reason why you don’t want the surveyor to be looked after by anyone but you. Remind them that both of you share a common goal “The Sale of the property”

Hopefully now a compromise can be reached where the vendor is organised by the EA and they organise a time a date for the valuer to visit and the surveyor is organised by youJ. This way the surveyor does not get to speak to the EA and goes to the property direct.

Now, as we bask in the after glow of probably saving our deal please remember to “attend the valuation” to insure there is no EA board out side of the property or the surveyor WILL take down the number and call the EA to check the sale price and the 17 year old will answer the phone, god forbid!

We at Meet The Surveyor handle this scenario almost every single day and I must admit I do realise that for most people it takes a strong stomach and a resilient attitude to stand your ground with an EA especially if you are emotionally attached to the deal!

Our clients realise this which is why they ask us to do that for them J we are emotionally detached while getting the result we require.

If you want a fighting chance to get the right Market valuation then you must be in total control of the valuation process as there are one hundred and one things that could and generally Do go wrong. And if for any reason you can not or chose not to do that then ask a professional to do that for you! i.e. Someone that has a vested interest in your success. After all this is your livelihood and your future, we understand how important each deal is to you.

Don’t leave things to chance. Don’t lose that deal!

Happy hunting and speak soon

Sonny Walia

P.S. I will be writing regularly giving advice on your challenges with the valuation process. Please feel free to write in with your most pressing questions.

The Valuation can be a minefield which needs to tread very lightly and with grace. Times have changed from when the Market values were going up regardless of whether the purchase was made at Below Market Value or not, and the surveyors did not ask the question “how much is the property being sold for?”

With this in mind here are my top three common mistakes made by Purchasers at the valuation:

The figures being asked for are way off the real MV

In my experience the surveyors are very qualified and they really do know their own area inside out!

Some purchasers believe in the philosophy of “if I ask for a valuation way above the real MV, the surveyor will down value anyway and hopefully ill still get the price I need when they do”. Although I do understand that logic, I believe in a different philosophy:

Once the Due Diligence is done thoroughly, we should have a good idea on how much the Market Value should be and the price asked for should be around that figure or maybe slightly lower. I find that the surveyors are quite lenient as long as our figures almost match the figures they already had in their minds before they arrived at the property. If the figures are way off their initial idea of the MV then they tend to react in extremes and down value with a vengeance because in their opinion our figures are not worth taking into consideration.

The Estate Agent and or vendor is given permission to speak with the Surveyor

The Fact is that the surveyors are looking to value the property at the lowest price possible as they work for the lender and not you!

Most purchasers still allow the surveyor to take control and talk with the vendor direct or the Estate Agent. This must not be allowed to happen in any circumstances, even if the vendor has been primed to say the right thing prior to the surveyors visit. We find that so many things can go wrong and especially right now the surveyors are extremely insistent on getting the sale price from an outside source.

Remember that it is your hard earned money that is paying for the survey so you are within your rights to organise the valuation. We at Meet The Surveyor take charge of the whole process and make sure that no one is allowed to speak with the surveyor unless we allow them to and only then with the information we want the surveyor to have.

Lack of Preparation

Normally enough work is not done in advance to prepare for the valuation:

Here is a list of things that in my experience, are a must before the surveyor arrives at the property:

· Due diligence to be carried out in detail (no guesswork)

· Recent Sold comparables to be collated and casually offered to the surveyor

· Make sure the property is taken off the internet e.g. Right Move

· Make sure the For Sale board is taken down from outside the property

· Build rapport with the vendor so they are on your side throughout the survey

· Make sure the property is tidy or at least free of clutter so the surveyor can get access to each room including the loft and garden

· All pets to be under control

· Be present at the property at least an hour before the surveyor arrives incase of any problems that need to be taken care of, in my experience there always are! J

· If at all possible try not to bring your emotions into the valuation.

· Make sure that you actually go and Meet The Surveyor and if of course you can not for any reason then send someone that has your interest at heart!

Until next time…Happy Buying

Sonny Walia

If there is anything you would like for me to talk about in detail, please feel free to write in and leave a comment or request.

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Welcome to Sonny Walia’s blog.

In this blog, I share my views on Property Investment and Service property investors.

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For more information contact me:
Sonny Walia
Email: sonny@sonnywalia.com
07886 303 405