Overvaluing
At the initial meeting or valuation of your property, one of the most common tactics employed by some estate agents is to overvalue your house, working on the basis that you will use the agent who gives you the highest price.This however usually ends in major disappointment for the seller when the Home Report is completed prior to the house going on the market and the surveyor comes back with a price thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds below what you were told by the agent.
Surveyors
Since the launch of Home Reports, the valuation of the property became the responsibility of the surveyor. It doesn’t matter what an agent says they can get for the property, it is what the surveyor dictates. You are usually restricted to selling for surveyor value because the banks will not lend in excess of that.The result is then distrust in the agent and sometime a major rethink of what you can now afford to buy which may have been based on the false figure given by the agent.
As with many purchases in life, it is better to shop around. Ensure you get more than one agent in to value the property, if the value seems too good to be true, it usually is, the conmen will soon become evident.
Patience
It is advised not to commit to these agents before the value is confirmed by the surveyor. If they are genuine, they will allow you that freedom. If not, you are well rid, find a company that are confident in their valuation.