Remortgage coming up...Zoopla value estimates...

GinG · 27 Jun 2017 at 12:43

Hi All,

Quick question re. the values mortgage lenders use when you come to remortgage.

I was speaking to a neighbor yesterday who mentioned when they remortgaged they managed to get a better rate due to the house value change and the fact they are slowly paying off the mortgage.

They didn't have to do anything as the lenders computers calculated the value of the house, my question is do they use similar systems to the likes of Zoopla?

Only reason I ask is according to Zoopla our house price has increased by around £17k since purchasing which will help drop into a better LTV%.

More curious than anything else, due to contact my lender to see what they have to offer in the next month or so.

Thanks

LiE · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:03

When I remortgaged the broker said as long as the value is sensible they will just accept it. If you're pushing for the top price for your house in your area, they may look into it more. I'm not sure how they do valuations.

I used right move to look at houses in my area that had sold that were the same as mine and went for £5k under that to get into the right LTV.

GinG · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:16

Thanks for that, this is what I was thinking of doing as friends who bought the same housetype (new build) on a site just down the road paid £10k more than we did a year on, so another year on say £10k the £20k figure Zoopla estimate isn't far off.

The main thing was my neighbor said they didn't even have to mention anything as their lenders computer showed an increase in price hence why I wondered if the systems work of similar algorithms as Zoopla?

chroniclard · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:24

Check the comparison sites and see if the price difference going to make any difference to your quotes?

Adam · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:29

Zoopla is a waste of time, you can manipulate the values very easily.

You'll need a valuation when you remortgage. Some mortgage providers offer this free of charge but others you may pay. My valuation came in around 15% less than what I valued it but my lender still leant me the money I required. The valuations tend to be very conservative.

mattyg · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:32

Get a couple of estate agents round to value. That'll give you a ball park figure to start from.

They don't need to know your not going to sell.

ci_newman · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:55

mattyg said:
Get a couple of estate agents round to value. That'll give you a ball park figure to start from.

They don't need to know your not going to sell.

Most offer free valuations anyway on the hope of building a relationship to win future sales with you.

kinobestew123 · 27 Jun 2017 at 14:44

I'm in the middle of remortgaging at the moment.

We bought our house two years ago and we've done a lot of work since then. The zoopla valuation shows our initial purchase price plus a bit of an increase for general houseprice increases but it's way out of line with what I believe the actual value of the house to be. It should be a lot more given the work we've done. Our street has maybe 10 houses the same as ours but none of them have sold recently. All other houses in the area are totally different and so not really comparable.

The mortgage provider have said they'll do a drive-by valuation. Not sure how this is going to go down because we've done a whole lot of work on the inside (replastered, kitchen, bathroom, flooring, doors, windows, log burner, central heating, fully rewired, etc). But not much of this will be visible from the street. I'll just have to wait and see.

Adam · 27 Jun 2017 at 15:15

mattyg said:
Get a couple of estate agents round to value. That'll give you a ball park figure to start from.

They don't need to know your not going to sell.

They won't stop hounding you, I'd think carefully before doing this.

LiE · 27 Jun 2017 at 15:26

Unless you are very close to a LTV bracket then just be conservative to secure the better rate.

Maccy · 27 Jun 2017 at 15:52

We remortgaged with Natwest at the end of last year and they sent somebody round to value it at no expense to us. I provided an rough estimate based on similar property values and sale prices on our road and also used Zoopla but took the 'lower-end' of their estimate range just to be safe. Turns out that my estimate was the same as the chap that came round to do the estimate!

mattyg · 27 Jun 2017 at 16:34

Adam said:
They won't stop hounding you, I'd think carefully before doing this.

I've sold 5 houses in the last 3 years and not once have I been hounded. Maybe its our area but even if they did "Start" to hound you would just tell them you've signed with another agent

HangTime · 27 Jun 2017 at 17:03

GinG said:
friends who bought the same housetype (new build) on a site just down the road paid £10k more than we did a year on, so another year on say £10k the £20k figure Zoopla estimate isn't far off.

£10k variance on the same house type isn't much though, especially if on a different site so I woudn't read too much into it. Even on the same street prices can vary more than that in a shorter timeframe, a new build could cost £10k extra compared to another one just down to the finish even if the base price was the same. Then you need to factor in that (supposedly although I'm not convinced) new builds depreciate in their early life so the most important statistic to get your hands on is resale prices for homes of that type.

Either way I wouldn't worry about it too much based on your neighbours experience, just calculate what valuation you need for different 5% LTV increments and aim for the most appropriate one to get the best mortgage (this doesn't necessarily translate as lowest LTV for example you might find that a 75% LTV product is better value than 70% due to the scarcity of the latter).

kinobestew123 · 27 Jun 2017 at 17:07

Maccy said:
Turns out that my estimate was the same as the chap that came round to do the estimate!

Had he been told your estimate before he did his own valuation?

Maccy · 27 Jun 2017 at 17:07

Nope, I checked with him when he first turned up.

theone8181 · 27 Jun 2017 at 19:07

kinobestew123 said:
I'm in the middle of remortgaging at the moment.

We bought our house two years ago and we've done a lot of work since then. The zoopla valuation shows our initial purchase price plus a bit of an increase for general houseprice increases but it's way out of line with what I believe the actual value of the house to be. It should be a lot more given the work we've done. Our street has maybe 10 houses the same as ours but none of them have sold recently. All other houses in the area are totally different and so not really comparable.

The mortgage provider have said they'll do a drive-by valuation. Not sure how this is going to go down because we've done a whole lot of work on the inside (replastered, kitchen, bathroom, flooring, doors, windows, log burner, central heating, fully rewired, etc). But not much of this will be visible from the street. I'll just have to wait and see.

In my limited experience, a drive by seems to mean google street view (the company who did ours was based in Derby and we live in Beverley so 1.5 hours each way). No way did they drive that distance to value a house and as said earlier, it excludes any internal improvements you've made.

itsallaboutyou · 27 Jun 2017 at 22:57

Just ring up and ask for the current House Price Index value. If you want more for it - a valuer will come out.

Bought ours for £200k in November 2013. Just remortgaged for £245k.

eviled · 27 Jun 2017 at 23:54

I remortgaged mine just.
I bought for 250k 3 years agon
Spoke to a young girl on the phone, who told me market value was now 275k
I needed it to be 300k for a better LTV, she asked me to list improvements I had made while looking on zoopla!
She then agreed and that was that! I was quite surprised

Rotty · 28 Jun 2017 at 00:15

Zoopla estimates totally pointless, just uses sold averages for 3 bed semi in area for example, combined with a index based on last sale price and growth in area

Just checked value of mine and if someone offers me what zoopla says it's worth I'm off tomorrow

it list the house next door at more than 10% above what it is up for (and not selling)

Mortgage lenders often do a "drive by" valuation and as long as it look in ball park then ok

kinobestew123 · 28 Jun 2017 at 10:31

theone8181 said:
In my limited experience, a drive by seems to mean google street view (the company who did ours was based in Derby and we live in Beverley so 1.5 hours each way). No way did they drive that distance to value a house and as said earlier, it excludes any internal improvements you've made.

It's going to be interesting then. The value that I've put down is 35% more than what we paid for the house and so if they use any kind of purchase price + index, its going to be miles out. The value that I've put down is about in line with what I think other houses on the street are worth though despite ours being a lot more modern inside.