Will you tell me what the estate agents valued my home at?

Short Answer:

Yes, we'll also share our assessment of the reports we've received (we may pay more or less attention to some valuations depending on the depth, detail and quality of the report we've received. This can mean our offer may go up or down)

Long Answer:

We share the full valuation with you

Yes, we're happy to share the reports we receive. It's also important to share our assessment of the reports as well though.

This is because we consider some valuations to be a higher or lower quality than others - so they'll have more or less of a bearing on our eventual offer.

Why might we take more or less notice of a particular valuation? 

Not all valuations are equal. The estate agents we use are all busy, they're back-to-back with appointments, and this can lead to problems. For example, sometimes a report needs to be rushed to get it out in time so things may be missed, or sometimes a lot of time's been spent on the valuation but a couple of critical things have been overlooked.

Once we receive the reports we spend a lot of time assessing them so we can formulate our offer. During this process we may decide to take more or less notice of a certain valuation - which can mean our offer goes higher or lower.

So what specifically may affect our assessment of a valuation, and how much weight we give it?

Examples

A valuation may be up-weighted or down-weighted in our final assessment for a number of reasons.

First of all, it's not about trying to make the valuation lower. It's important for our business that we value property accurately, and that we do not undervalue your home. (If we do, we end up worse-off in the long run)

So why might a valuation be down-weighted? 

  • Less relevant comparables - Sometimes an agent will justify a valuation by using similar properties that are several streets away, or using properties on the same street that are not similar at all (perhaps 2-beds instead of 4-beds, or terraces instead of bungalows). If there are similar properties on the same street these will usually give a better indication of value - and sometimes they're missed.
  • Missing important comparables - sometimes an agent may list a number of fairly similar properties nearby that each sold around £140,000-£150,000, and use that to justify a valuation of £145,000. But they may have missed that two very similar houses on the same street sold for £160,000 in the last few months! (This would mean the value would likely be higher than the figure they came up with)
  • Missing the marketing history - sometimes an agent will research comparable sales and put a valuation of, say, £100,000 on a property. But they might have missed that the property has been on the market for 4 months at £95,000 and hasn't sold! If a property hasn't sold it £95,000 in 4 months, it can't be worth £100,000.
  • Using unsold comparables - sometimes an agent will look at property that is on the market for £200,000 (for example), and use that to say that the subject property is also worth £200,000. However, that property could have been on the market for several months and not sold. Maybe the best offerit had while it was on the market was £180,000. Using unsold properties as comparables can often result in a misleading valuation.
  • Underestimating or overestimating repairs - sometimes an agent may visit a property and think it needs around £5,000 of work doing, and base their valuation on that. On a closer inspection though, it may need much much more (or much less) doing. This would affect the valuation we'd eventually reach.

There's no doubt that valuing properties is complicated and inaccuracies can easily emerge. Estate agents do a fantastic job in general. But ultimately, this is why we do a lot of our own research as well, and instruct two local estate agents to complete a valuation for us, rather than just asking one agent to do a valuation and making our offer based on that.

Will this make your offer higher or lower? 

It can go either way. If an agent has over-estimated the cost of repairs needed, or if they've missed comparable sales that sold for a much higher price, we may end up being able to offer more for your home by paying less attention to one of the valuations. It can go either way.

The important part to know is that we're trying our best to establish the true value of your property: We don't want to undervalue it, or overvalue it.

And at the end of the process we can share the valuations with you, and will always share our assessment of the valuations too - along with other bits of evidence we've found.

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Related FAQs

How do you value my home?

Short answer:

There are 3 main steps: 

  1. First we gather information from you about your home.
  2. Next we complete thorough online research using sophisticated valuation tools.
  3. Finally, we instruct two local estate agents to visit your home and give their feedback.

Once we have all the feedback we can make our offer. This usually all takes place within as little as a couple of days.

Once we've gathered all this information we spend time assessing it to establish our valuation. We can then determine our offer.

See full answer
Is the valuation free?

Short answer:

Yes, the valuation is free. At Yes Homebuyers there are no fees whatsoever. You should never pay for a valuation.

See full answer
Is there any obligation?

Short answer:

No. There's no contract or any tie-in or any kind. We're just a buyer making you an offer. If you aren't happy with it, simply reject it.

See full answer
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Selling your home to Yes Homebuyers

  • We buy your home directly from you so you can sell your house fast and avoid waiting around to find a buyer on the regular market. 
  • You can get a "ballpark" offer from us within 5 minutes, a formal offer within 24 hours, and we can complete on the purchase of your home in as little as 2 weeks.
  • Our quickest purchase was made within six days.
  • We guarantee the price we will pay, unlike some buying platforms who reduce their offer shortly before completion.
  • There are no fees or costs involved and we cover all legal fees involved.
  • There are no contracts or tie-ins even if you accept an offer, and no viewings to take care of.
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