Help to Buy & Shared Ownership Valuations
Farrow & Gould Chartered Surveyors provides independent RICS valuations for existing Help to Buy equity-loan customers and Shared Ownership leaseholders across London and the Home Counties.
Help to Buy and Shared Ownership are different arrangements with different valuation requirements. We will establish the purpose of your valuation and the applicable requirements before accepting your instruction.
RICS Help to Buy Equity Loan Valuations
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in England is closed to new applicants, but existing equity-loan customers may still require an independent RICS valuation when dealing with their equity loan.
A valuation may be required when you are:
- repaying your equity loan in full;
- making a partial repayment;
- selling your property;
- remortgaging where a valuation is required; or
- completing another transaction for which Homes England requires a current market valuation.
RICS Help to Buy Valuation Requirements
Homes England sets specific requirements for Help to Buy valuations.
The property must be inspected internally and the valuation report must provide an opinion of its current Market Value supported by appropriate comparable sales evidence and market commentary.
The report must include at least three like-for-like comparable properties of a similar type, size and age, sold within the previous 12 months and located within two miles of the property.
The report is prepared on company-headed paper, signed and dated, addressed to Homes England and supplied in a non-editable digital format.
Different Help to Buy schemes have slightly different requirements concerning the qualification of the surveyor. We establish which scheme applies before accepting the instruction and ensure that the valuation is undertaken by a surveyor who meets the applicable requirements.
How long is a Help to Buy valuation valid?
A Help to Buy valuation is normally valid for three months from the date of the report.
If your transaction has not completed within that period, an extension or updated valuation may be possible depending on the circumstances and the applicable Homes England requirements.
Shared Ownership Valuations
Farrow & Gould provides independent RICS valuations for existing Shared Ownership leaseholders, including valuations for:
- staircasing – purchasing additional shares in your property;
- resale – establishing the current Market Value for a proposed sale; and
- other transactions where your housing association, landlord or Shared Ownership provider requires an independent valuation.
Shared Ownership valuation requirements are not identical to Help to Buy requirements.
The precise requirements can depend on your lease, housing association or landlord, the Shared Ownership scheme and the reason for the valuation.
If your housing association, landlord or provider has given you specific valuation instructions, please provide these to us when requesting your quotation.
Shared Ownership Staircasing Valuations
Staircasing is the process of purchasing additional shares in your Shared Ownership property.
A current RICS valuation is normally required to establish the value of the property from which the cost of the additional share can be calculated.
The percentage you can purchase, the minimum amount by which you can increase your ownership and the maximum share you can ultimately acquire can depend on your particular lease and Shared Ownership scheme.
For this reason, we do not assume that the same staircasing rules apply to every Shared Ownership property.
Property improvements
If you have carried out improvements to your property, these can be relevant to a staircasing valuation.
Where required, the valuation may need to state both:
- the property's current Market Value, including the effect of improvements; and
- an unimproved value, disregarding qualifying improvements.
The treatment of improvements can depend on your lease, your provider's requirements and whether the appropriate consent was obtained for the work.
Please provide details of any significant improvements and any relevant correspondence or consent from your housing association or landlord when requesting your valuation.
Shared Ownership Resale Valuations
If you are selling your Shared Ownership property, your housing association or landlord may require a current valuation by an RICS Registered Valuer as part of the resale process.
The valuation establishes the property's current Market Value for the purposes of the relevant resale procedure.
The precise process can vary depending on your lease and provider, including who is responsible for arranging the valuation and how the valuation is used during any nomination period.
If your provider has supplied resale valuation instructions, please send these to us.
For other residential valuation purposes, see our Residential Property Valuations page.
Why Farrow & Gould?
Farrow & Gould Limited is regulated by RICS, and our valuations are undertaken by RICS Registered Valuers.
Our surveyors have extensive experience of residential property across Greater London and the Home Counties and have individually inspected many thousands of properties during their careers.
Our valuations are based on the property inspected, relevant market evidence and appropriate comparable transactions, with the requirements of the particular valuation instruction considered before the report is prepared.
What We Need From You
To provide a quotation, we will normally need:
- the full property address;
- the purpose of the valuation;
- whether the valuation relates to Help to Buy or Shared Ownership;
- details of the relevant housing association, landlord or provider where applicable; and
- any valuation requirements or instructions you have already received.
For Help to Buy enquiries, we may also need information confirming which Help to Buy scheme applies to your property.