A lot of big changes in the mortgage processing world have happened within the last few months but we were all quite taken aback when Halifax announced last week that they would reducing their standard valuation fee across the board. Something that even experienced mortgage professionals did not see coming.
A press release statement from Halifax has said “On Monday 8 November we will be reducing the mortgage valuation fee for purchase applications to £100 for all property values (no restrictions on property size or value). We will also be reducing the revaluation fee payable on further advance applications to £100. A mortgage valuation is a basic property valuation for our underwriting purposes only. We may ask a surveyor to carry out an internal inspection, remote valuation or we may use an Automated Valuation (AVM).
A report will only be available if a surveyor visits the property. If a physical inspection takes place this will be based on a limited inspection and defects that could affect your customer’s decision to buy may not be identified. It should not be relied on for their buying decision. It is extremely important that the customer is aware of the different valuation types and limitations of each.
On further advances, a revaluation is required where the existing loan plus further advance is over 80% loan to value based on our indexed valuation. For remortgage applications where there is no valuation or survey, we carry out an assessment of the property at no charge to the customer.”
Senior mortgage and protection advisor at Oportfolio Jade Pinkerton is very enthusiastic about the changes being brought in: “This is quite significant to us and our clients. For years Halifax (And BM solutions for buy to lets) basic mortgage valuation has been set at £200. The fact that this has now been reduced to £100 means that many of their products are potentially more cost effective for our clients and the upfront costs to them when buying a property are less. Although, it is also important to note that other lenders charge £0 for a valuation on a property – while some have a tiered system that depends on the value of the property and their fees can range from £300 – £700.”
If you would like to see what this change to valuation fees might mean to you, please call our friendly team on 02088771169 today and we will be more than happy to look through your options with you.
