The Online Property Valuation; Benefits And Limitations

The property valuation is one of the most emotive and important elements of the property selling process. This can be even more emotive when the homeowner has lived in a properly for a number of years and they have built up a considerable emotional attachment. If an estate agent is asked what the hardest part of their job is the most common response is making a valuation of a property, this is not purely due to the fact they must take into account many different factors but also because they then must deliver their findings to the homeowner; at times, this can be extremely difficult.

The property valuation process however is increasingly being converted into the private sphere mainly due to the encroachment of free online services that will perform a valuation of a property without the need to invite an agent round or enter into the ‘bartering and sales’ process. Fundamentally an online valuation will produce a figure free from the biases or hidden agendas of agents. This is why they can be useful for homeowners who simply want a rough idea of what their property is worth.

Free online services are the ideal way to find an objective asking price for those people who are either buying or selling a home. Typically they use the comparative valuing method that operates thus. The system will need the details of the property such as the number of rooms, its location, the size of the plot and how many bathrooms it has.

Then using this information the online tool is able to compare the details with other properties in the UK that have the same features. These comparisons are usually drawn from the Land Registry, a resource that contains all of the prices that properties have sold for throughout the country.

However it should be remembered that there are serious limitations to these free online valuing tools. Fundamentally their accuracy is questionable; this is due to two main factors. Firstly the information on the Land Registry database is around three months old and hence if any changes have occurred in the properly market the data is likely to be inaccurate.

The second factor that creates inaccuracy is that if a property has any unique features the online tool’s results will not reflect this. If a home is extremely generic and like every other house on the street the valuation will be fine, if however it has an extension or a feature such as an open fireplace the valuation is likely to be skewed.

The result of this inaccuracy is that if homeowners have a property that is highly unique, particularly in the case of older properties, it is likely that a free online valuation will be inaccurate. Hence for those homeowners who have such a property the use of an estate agent is typically more advisable, they will be able to supply a far more accurate and legitimate value. If legitimacy is a major issue then neither online tools nor agents should be used, forking out for a qualified surveyor is the only option.

Hopefully this article has made it clear that for homeowners to find an accurate valuation of their property it is essential to combine the efforts of agents and surveyors as well as online services. It only by gaining as many valuations as possible and then finding an average that the most realistic asking price will be found. That said, for those just wanting to find a ballpark figure for their home, the use of internet tools can be beneficial.

Real estate expert Thomas Pretty looks at the benefits of using free online property valuation tools when finding an objective asking price. To find out more please visit www.haart.co.uk/sell-house/house-valuation-online.aspx