How Do Valuations Work And What Is My Property Worth?

Getting a valuation of your property is often the first step on the road finding your next dream home. To gain an understanding of what your current property is worth there are a few ways you can go about this.

There are some online resources which attempt to predict the price of your property based off a variety of factors and algorithms. Alternatively, you can look on internet portals as to what other properties nearby are either on the market or under offer.

The challenge with those approaches is that algorithms can vary wildly in their accuracy and other properties you are trying to compare with yours nearby can be quite different inside. Bushey is a great example of a town where a ‘3-bedroom house’ could easily range in price from £400,000 to £1,200,000! So sometimes your own research doesn’t always take you in the right direction.

Often the best approach is to invite a local estate agent to give you an appraisal of both your property and its likely reaction in the current marketplace. The ‘current marketplace’ element is particularly important as a valuation is a moving number depending on the market conditions.

How is a valuation carried out?
When booking your valuation appointment, you will likely be asked questions about both your property and also your circumstances.

If the agent is better able to understand your motivations they can tailor their guidance to you. For example, if you are looking to release funds from an investment property or looking to upsize thus buying another property at the same time, an agent’s guidance can be different. The more the agent understands your motivations the better they can help you achieve those goals.

Once booked in, your agent will need around 45 minutes at the property.

During that time, they will look at the inside and outside of your home and then sit down with you and take you through both recommended pricing and advise you if there are any tweaks you might consider making ahead of selling.

The local estate agent will be a property expert on those conditions and can give you insights on what else is being sold and how your property compares to those.
When conducting your own research online it might look like there are lots of properties on your road available for sale at a high price. What really matters though is what those properties are actually selling for. There can be difference between a marketing price and a ‘sold’ price. Your local property expert can give you these detailed insights to help work out what amount a buyer is likely going to pay for your home.

From there, when you feel the time is right to bring the property to market, you and the agent can work out the best strategy and approach personalised for you. Sometimes those timescales are quite quick – a valuation on a Friday becomes an instruction to move things forwards on a Monday. Other times it can be months or years before the time is right for your move.

If some time has passed since your original valuation often you can inform the agent what (if any) changes you have made since their previous visit and they can automatically guide you as to what changes have happened in the market since.

Can you increase the value of your property?
During the valuation your agent will give you some straight forward ‘quick wins’ to help present your property in the best way for selling.

Sometimes this doesn’t strictly ‘increase’ the marketing price of your property, however it can make your selling price more resilient to negotiation. For example, if people are likely to offer a lower amount because of an untidy garden or chipped paint in the house, remedying these issues can help prevent someone reducing their offer level.

If you would like a valuation you can either phone Benjamin Stevens in Bushey on 0208 950 7777 and we will be in touch to help hold your hand through the process.