What happens when a surveyor visits the property? Regardless of the way the valuation is conducted, the lender will use the surveyor's professional opinion on the value of the property to make its final decision on what size of loan it will offer you. High street lenders in particular have a wealth of information available to them online, which can help them assess the suitability of a property for mortgage purposes - and this helps keep costs down. With more lenders now offering free valuations, it's increasingly likely you won't get a surveyor visit. The decision to do a physical visit could also be because a lender hasn't lent in the area before, or if it can't find enough information about the property online. This might be based on the type and construction of the property and whether there's anything that may cause an issue with lending.įor example, if the property you're planning to buy is made of a non-standard material such as concrete, the lender is more likely to instruct a surveyor to go and visit it. It's hard to predict which type of survey your property will be subject to.Īccording to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the type of survey you get is driven by the lender's risk appetite.
However, these days surveyors are increasingly opting to value properties using recent sales data online and, if required, will drive past the property. Traditionally, a surveyor would usually have visited your property to compile a short report. Lenders conduct property valuations in a number of ways. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. If you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. Mortgage broking service provided by L&C Mortgages