Does a valuer pay attention to the small details?

[hobo-jo]

I'm getting a valuation done on my PPOR within the next couple of weeks and want to know what sort of things they check. Obviously they will be checking land size, bathroom/kitchen, number of bedrooms, etc and we plan to get the inside as tidy as possible. Do they pay attention to dead patches of grass or weeds, etc? I've been cleaning up the garden the last couple of days (40cm grass is a nightmare ) and want to know how much effort to put into the cleanup outside...? Would they pay much attention to the garden?

 

[GoAnna!]

They tend to give it an overall rating.

So might be excellent presentation meaning landscaped designed and municured within an inch of its life.

Good presentation might be nice garden and well kept but wouldn't win any awards

Average might well just be average.

Poor might suggest a rusting car and head high seeding grass.

So you might ask is yours a consistant presentation? Would extra time take it to a whole new level or not really make much difference?

 

[RumpledElf]

I got two properties valued recently and they just drove past them and rubberstamped the value I said they were probably worth. Or I assume they did since they gave me a loan, I actually have no idea what they've got down as the valuations.

I was expecting them to want to come inside and then they'd be scared by my unrenovated bathroom ...

 

[Dazz]

The last set of residential vals done with us, they never even got out of their car. They are way too busy grinding out re-vals for every Keith, Rixter and Redwing to bother about the fluffy bits.

Location / land size and zoning. It's the dirt they value. The box ain't worth $ 10.

 

[wylie]

We had the opposite. Valuer ran a tape measure over the whole house. Very much did get out of the car, and very much did take on board the local research I handed him on recent comparable sales.

Depends on the market, the valuer, the bank they are working for just what they are looking for.

I would guess it also depends on your LVR how precise they are.

 

[s_t]

I imagine how new they are to the job makes a big difference too!

Can't see the first timer doing a driveby, and can't see someone who's been doing it for 20 yrs get out a tapemeasure!

 

[tcocaro]

they are people in the end of the day

Valuers dont put a value on "length of grass" per se however if valuers where to value two comparably equal properties and one was untidy and the other well maintained I am sure the value for the well maintained one would be slightly higher (on average).

Like most things in life impressions count especially if a valuer comes in at 10k under what you want a well maintained house may together with your pleads (and own comparable findings) push the price up if its that close.

If it looks like hells kitchen a valuer would stick to his guns.

 

[kissfan]

The last set of residential vals done with us, they never even got out of their car.

We had the opposite. Valuer ran a tape measure over the whole house.

In the past, have had both these type of valuations done.

Depending on circumstances (and probably amount borrowing), I'm pretty sure some valuations are done by a comparable sale over the internet.

If you believe you property is worth more than the average in the area, it wouldn't hurt pointing a few of the niceties out to the valuer. Thats if he/she gets out of the car

Regards
Marty

 

[RumpledElf]

If you believe you property is worth more than the average in the area, it wouldn't hurt pointing a few of the niceties out to the valuer. Thats if he/she gets out of the car

This is what I'll need to do when I sell my PPoR, although with setting the sale price not valuing. Its exceptional for the area (bit scruffy for, say, inner eastern Adelaide but y'know) so I'll probably need to write the freakin for-sale ad myself, make sure the yard gives a good impression and get a professional photographer in to get a decent price. Agents out here tend to take horrible photos with a phone or something and write some barely accurate drivel full of spelling mistakes and if they put your house on the internet you're lucky. The house we bought earlier this year was described as 'Bargin Buying' and I saw one for sale with 'polished Java floors'.

Sale price is just a 100% accurate valuation, after all

 

[rogue]

I used to work for property valuers so i might be able to help.

We gave three types of valuation - kerbside, full valuation and formal valuation.

Kerbside was the drive by and used normally with properties where the purchaser had a high LVR and if the bank was confident that the price was justified without having to look inside. The valuer will still check the Title and look at the surrounding area/location and take the basic data from real estate records (RPData) for number of bed/bathrooms/land size etc.

Full Valuation was the internal sort. Most times we just looked at land size, house size and number of bed/bathrooms, building materials (brick/timber, tiled/corrugated iron roof), type and quality of internal finishings/finishes (ie. floorboards or carpet etc), car parking, any additional features (shed/pool etc) and also looked at the surrounding area. The valuer will also check the Title for any easements on the land/caveats etc

Landscaping and tidyness of the house were of little concern for both of the above types of vals so don't bother cleaning. Most finishes/finishes are described as average, obviously unless in poor condition or unless specifically very high quality.

The only properties that received a formal valuation were high end (over one million dollars). This was the most extensive as you needed to justify the price by specifying such things as underfloor heating, high-quality fittings and finishes, landscaping etc.

They will take photos, but the photos are used for the banks purposes only. You are not entitled to a copy of the report unless the bank authorises it. Valuations are negotiable to a certain extent. If you need an extra $10k on the value of your $300k property in order to obtain another loan for the purchase of another property, then this can possibly be negotiated on your behalf by your lender if the valuer feels that $310k is still a reasonable valuation.

Hope this helps.

 

[hobo-jo]

Appreciate all the replies

Fingers crossed it comes in at the figure I want.

 

[hobo-jo]

Valuation came back at $390k. $100k over the purchase price 2 years ago

Drawing out a LOC to top up to 80% and will wait for the right opportunity to come my way.

Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[jingo]

Valuation came back at $390k. $100k over the purchase price 2 years ago

Drawing out a LOC to top up to 80% and will wait for the right opportunity to come my way.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Congratulations Hobo-jo. Great to see you moving forward.

Regards Jason.

 

[RumpledElf]

See, *this* was the best place to post that bit of news

I won't be getting any valuations done till nearer Christmas and I'll be expecting about a 100% rise in 6 months, give or take. Why Christmas? I figure I might get a plumber by then to get the water on, or maybe Easter. Can't rent a house out without water. Grr.

 

[hobo-jo]

See, *this* was the best place to post that bit of news

Doesn't hurt to stir the pot elsewhere

 

[Pogi]

We had the opposite. Valuer ran a tape measure over the whole house. Very much did get out of the car, and very much did take on board the local research I handed him on recent comparable sales.

Depends on the market, the valuer, the bank they are working for just what they are looking for.

I've had the same, but most recently, a valuer just Google Earth'ed our property and made their own valuation.

-_-

 

[depreciator]

I had a val 6 months ago and the guy spent close to an hour on-site. He was in no hurry at all. Took heaps of notes. If I hadn't given him a plan, he would have been there for longer.
Scott