If you’re wondering ‘how to value a house’ you are probably selling your home, transferring ownership or switching your mortgage provider. Valuing your house is a necessary first step, normally completed by an estate agent, valuations are pretty straightforward.
In this article, we will be covering when you should get your house valued, how to prepare for a house valuation, what happens during a house valuation & how to do it yourself. We would like to state that if you do a house valuation yourself or use an online tool — take it with a grain of salt as an inaccurate house valuation may affect the speed of your house sale or any process you are involved in.
Looking for something specific? Look at our drop-down menu:
- When should I get my house valued?
- Why is a house valuation important?
- How to get your house valued
- How to value a house, myself?
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When Should I Get My House Valued?
Getting your house valued is a necessary stage for many different reasons. It’s an easy first step that can seem daunting at first.
Selling Your Home
One of the first things that comes to someone’s mind is when they are considering when to sell their house. Finding out an accurate valuation of your home could double the chance of finding a potential buyer – which is incredibly vital, especially in a crowded market. Sell too high and you won’t attract any buyers, sell too low and you’re missing out on money for your pocket.
Transferring Ownership
There are numerous reasons why you would change the ownership of your home, like if you’re wanting to cohabit a property with a partner, you’re going through a divorce, or you’re in a house share and want to replace someone. You will need to get a house valuation as part of your ‘Transfer of Whole of Registered Title’ which needs to be handed to the HM Land Registry.
Switching Mortgage Provider Or Insurance Policy
If you wish to get a reduction in your rate based on the Loan-To-Value, you will need to get a home valuation. This home valuation will inform your mortgage provider of any major renovations of your property if it is in poor condition or has seen an increase/decrease in value – which would affect your overall mortgage. This also applies to adding or changing an insurance policy, as you need an accurate house valuation for full coverage.
Raising Funds By Equity Release
If you are aged 55 or over, you will be able to raise funds by equity release. This is where you can access the value of your home and turn it into cash. In order for you to know how much your house is worth, you must get an accurate house valuation so you are able to release the most accurate value for your home.
Why Is A House Valuation Important?
Wondering how to value a house can often seem like a daunting task but getting your house valued in selling your house situation is vital. It will allow you to make informed decisions about the value of your property, how much to put the asking price at, and if there are any improvements that could be made.
By valuing your house, and setting your asking price at the average of your valuations — you could double the chances of receiving a purchase on your home.
How To Get Your House Valued?
If you are wondering ‘how to get your house valued’ then this section is for you. We would recommend that preparation is key in the run-up to your house valuation as a clean and tidy house can do a lot for a valuation. It does not need to have a professional clean, but giving your property a little spruce up here and there will go a long way.
How To Prepare For A House Valuation?
The best way to prepare for a house valuation is to treat your property as if you were an interested buyer. Ensuring that the house is as if you were looking around it for the first time – making sure it is clean and accessible and the best features of the house are highlighted. Here are some house valuation tips to help you:
- Declutter, clean, tidy – Creating space is the most important thing to keep in mind when preparing your home.
- You need to ensure that a potential buyer or estate agent can imagine what the space would look like with their own mark. You can do this by removing excessive decorative objects or plants, tidying & ‘minimising’ the space in terms of excessive items that clutter the room.
- You will also need to make sure that all hallways, staircases and steps to your property are accessible, so remove any blocking furniture.
- Another thing to do is to neaten up your outside area, cut the lawn and put away anything that doesn’t add to the homely narrative.
- Gather documents – Preparing your documentation will save you much headache later down the road, but it will also help with your house valuation. Having your Electrical Installation Certificate in hand will help the estate agent get a bearing on the standard of your electrical systems.
What happens during a house valuation?
Getting your house valued by a traditional or online estate agent is a pretty uncomplicated process. An online estate agent will recommend a local estate agent to carry it out.
- Step 1 – The agent will schedule an appointment with you to visit your home.
- Step 2 – The agent will need to view all interior and exterior spaces in your home, including the garden.
- You will need to be as honest as possible about pointing out any negative aspects of your home like areas of dampness, the pigeon in the attic or any dry rot in the basement.
- If you don’t provide the valuator with this information then it will lead to an inaccurate valuation which can affect the speed of your sale and might even drop the selling price later in the process.
- Step 3 – The valuator will ask you some important questions, so it can speed up the process if you already have the answers:
- Step 1 – How much did you pay for the house?
- Step 2 – How long have you lived in the property?
- Step 2 – Have you undertaken any major renovations?
- Step 2 – Are there any problems with the home?
Once the valuation has been completed, the estate agent may give you their valuation there, or they may give it to you by email within 24 hours. We recommend that you get at least 3 different estate agents to value your home, and then create an average of all three valuations. This will give you a more general price to follow as some of the estate agents will overvalue your property to win you over.
How to value a house, myself?
You can value your own house — but be prepared to spend a lot of time and effort to get the most accurate valuation possible. It’s important to note here, that we would always recommend doing your own research alongside the house valuations anyway but if you want to do it solely by yourself here is a checklist of things to do:
Online home valuation tools
Using an online house valuation tool should always be your first port of call as it can give you a first look at the value of your home. Using the Rightmove or Zoopla house valuation tool is a great first step. These can show you the local estimate of your property as well as any other houses which have sold recently in your area. Property heat maps are a great tool for looking at property values in a local area.
Price Calculators
Another viable option would be to use the Nationwide House Price Calculator which will give you an overview of changes and market trends of a particular area in the UK. In addition to using Home.co.uk to view location-based current market analysis. If you use HomePriceCash.co.uk you will be able to view predictions on price trends and statistics to help you create informed decisions on the location and type of property.
And that’s all folks, this is everything you need to know about how to value your house. If you have any questions or want to know any more house valuation tips, please feel free to contact us.
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Tom is a Digital Content Writer passionate about sustainable property & property trends. Regardless of the subject, he will always write blogs of the best calibre. Read more about Tom here.
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