Why does my lender need a mortgage valuation?

A mortgage valuation will confirm to your lender whether your chosen property is worth the amount you have offered to pay.

If you are applying for a mortgage, your lender will want to get a mortgage valuation of the property you wish to purchase. This is for the benefit of your lender, not you as the purchaser.

The mortgage valuation is usually carried out by a surveyor chosen by your mortgage lender. The valuation generated by the surveyor will confirm to your lender whether your chosen property is worth the amount you have offered to pay.

How will the mortgage valuation affect me?

If the valuation is lower than the price you have offered for the property, your mortgage lender may wish to lend you less money. This is because the amount they agree to lend you is usually based on a percentage of the property value.

This would mean you would have to pay a larger deposit, renegotiate the amount you have offered on the property or pull out of the purchase. Therefore, you should bear this in mind when making offers on properties.

Your lender also needs to check that it is a property they will lend against. Some lenders will not lend on properties above shops, in high risk flood areas or where Japanese Knotweed is present, for example.

A valuation is not a survey

A mortgage valuation is not a detailed survey and will not tell you about repairs and maintenance that you will need to do. If this is what you require, we would suggest you get a more in-depth survey e.g. a HomeBuyer Report or a Building Survey. More information about which survey is right for you can be found here: www.www.esurv.co.uk/which-survey