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Surveyor's working from home have been accused of trapping sellers into unmortgageable homes.

Updated: Sep 20



Surveyor
Surveyor

Is this an industry that shouldn't allow for surveyors to work from home?


Banks that are using property surveyors who are working from home have risked leaving homeowners trapped in properties they cannot sell.


Valuations done from a computer rely on pictures, making it difficult for surveyors to see how properties are constructed and as a result, some bank surveyors are signing off on properties without realising they are unmortgageable.


But why are banks using remote surveyors? It helps keep up with the volume of mortgage applications they receive – one surveyor told The Telegraph six valuations a day is standard practice.


Steve Savage, of Connells Survey and Valuation, said to the Telegraph “I had a case recently, a two-storey terrace house from 1900 with single skin brickwork spanning four inches. I carried out a Rics [Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors] Level 2 homebuyer survey for the customer and found the property was unmortgageable.

“This was after a desktop valuation had been undertaken for the lender, giving the property the green light for a mortgage. Had the lender known the correct type of property construction, they would not have accepted the mortgage application.”

Mr Savage said the buyer may also have thought twice about buying the property, or tried to negotiate a better sale price earlier.

Mr Savage added: “Desktop and mortgage valuations are for the lenders’ benefit and will be limited in scope.


The rise of desktop valuations has come about since Covid but the mortgaging industry has also seen a decline in surveyors in general. Michelle Lawson, director of mortgage broker, Lawson Financial told the Telegraph that there are shortages of surveyors in the Portsmouth area, meaning that "out of area firms are going out to properties and locations that they are unfamiliar with".


Is it fair to say that the surveying industry is one that shouldn't be working from home?

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