This article explains shared ownership valuations for buying, selling, staircasing and lease extension. It also looks at what shared owners can do if they’re not happy with a valuation.
What is a home worth? One answer is that any home is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. There’s some truth in that. But, for various reasons, it’s an over-simplification at the best of times. Things get more complicated in the case of shared ownership, where there is likely to be more than one purchase transaction for the same home, whether purchasing additional shares, lease extension and/or simultaneous sale and staircasing.
Shared owners in homes with building safety remediation issues face additional complexities, which are explored in this feature: Shared ownership, the building safety crisis and nil valuations.
Shared ownership valuations
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) regulate surveyors in the UK. In theory, this should ensure both independence and consistency. But property valuation is – arguably – as much of an art as a science. In negligence cases, a valuation margin of 10% may be considered reasonable.
It doesn’t help that property valuations are required by a range of individuals and organisations with sometimes divergent interests.
Housing associations and shared ownership sales prices
Once the sales price of a new-build shared ownership home has been established, the value for every future transaction – staircasing. lease extension or selling – is set by RICS valuers using a standard methodology. But housing associations set the initial sales price.
Pricing new homes is difficult generally. So how do housing associations set sales prices for new-build shared ownership homes? Typically, they would seek advice from one of the larger surveying firms – perhaps Savills or JLL – and from internal sources of expertise at the commencement of a new scheme to establish indicative prices for planning and budgeting purposes. This is the starting point for setting the sales price when those properties eventually come to market.
Of course, the wider economic context and/or property market could have shifted in the meantime. Housing associations would review comparable sales both online and via discussions with local estate agents. The final sales price would take into account a range of factors including construction costs, any white goods or services provided, and mortgage lenders’ requirements
But, as any accountant will tell you, developing pricing strategies and tactics is not just about costs. There are a great many factors which drive pricing decisions. Not least that if sellers pitch too high they get fewer takers resulting in slower sales; and if they pitch too low they get ‘too many’ takers.
Tip for first-time buyers – bear in mind it may be possible to negotiate a lower purchase price for a shared ownership property.
“I got the price of my shared ownership flat reduced by £30,000 before committing in 2005”.
Kirsty, shared owner, Moat Homes
Mortgage lenders and shared ownership valuation
Mortgage lenders are primarily interested in whether their investment (in your shared ownership mortgage) is safe. If the worse came to the worst would they lose money? Any lender’s mortgage survey will be in line with their own criteria for lending.
First-time buyers and shared ownership valuation
Of course, valuation can be a double-edged sword for any home owner.
First-time buyers want (or need) low valuations. The same applies to valuations for staircasing or lease extension purposes. But most people will want a high valuation when they come to sell that same home….. This is perhaps particularly true for shared owners given the positioning of shared ownership as a ‘step on the housing ladder’. Many shared owners hope to make a gain on sale to put towards their next home.
Estate agents and shared ownership valuation
An estate agent’s job is simply to obtain the best possible sales price. This may be higher or lower than a RICS valuation, for reasons discussed below..
Buying a shared ownership home
What does ‘affordable’ mean?
Shared ownership is often described as affordable housing. But what does ‘affordable’. mean? The main focus of Government and housing associations is access to home ownership. Affordability is generally defined as an affordable mortgage deposit. A deposit on a part-share will inevitably cost less than a deposit on 100% of that same property. But ‘affordable’ is not necessarily the same thing as ‘cheaper.’ It’s worth checking if the grossed up (100%) sales price of a new-build shared ownership home is higher than otherwise comparable resale properties.
Shared ownership and market mechanisms
“The usual market mechanisms which help regulate property prices may not work as well in the case of shared ownership. Because the market is made up of buyers purchasing part shares, differences in value may have less effect than in the wider property market. For example, someone buying a 25% share in a flat worth £400,000 might be tempted to pay £20,000 extra. But in the open market buyers might never pay £480,000 for that property”.
Richard Murphy (MRICS, RICS Registered Valuer,) Richard John Clarke Chartered Surveyors
New-build premium
The Homes Owners Alliance point out that: “new-build properties include an extra premium on the sale price that, like a new car, depreciates as soon as you move in“. This applies to shared ownership as much as to any other type of property. There are some good reasons for this, of course. A new home is likely to come with guarantees and warrantees, and should be well-presented with no wear and tear. But such benefits may not entirely explain new-build premiums.
A new-build premium means that a quick onward sale by a shared owner could – unless property prices are rising rapidly – result in a lower valuation than the initial purchase price. (Which begs the question why affordable housing schemes focus on new-build homes; a question which there simply isn’t space to address here….).
Lease length and valuation
Of course, not all buyers purchase new-build shared ownership homes. Some buy a share of a resale property. In this case, it’s important to take account of lease length and, in particular, the number of years remaining until the all important 80-year threshold (after which lease extension becomes substantially more expensive).
RICS guidance notwithstanding, it appears that different firms may have different approaches when it comes to taking lease length into account for the purposes of valuation. One surveyor told me: “For the purposes of our valuations anything over 80 years is a long lease; ie the value of the property has not dropped. Leases under 80 years will have a lower value”. But another had a more nuanced view: “The valuer needs to know the lease length to do a valuation and shouldn’t make assumptions as there is no need these days. Previously Land Registry information wasn’t as readily available as it is today”.
The cross-subsidy scheme and potential conflicts of interest
Housing associations face a potential conflict of interest in setting sales prices for new-build shared ownership homes. On the one hand, shared ownership is positioned as a Government-backed affordable homes scheme delivered by not-for-profit housing associations. But, on the other hand, housing associations rely to some degree on shared ownership sales to generate income for social rented housing (the cross-subsidy model).
Initial rent is calculated as a percentage of the sales value. This also potentially creates self-interest for housing associations to set a higher rather than lower sales price. There is a strong argument for transparency on the part of the sector. Unfortunately, this is not always forthcoming as evidenced, for example, in the response by the National Housing Federation to a Shared Ownership Resources Open Letter on the question of whether rent generates surpluses for housing associations.
Valuation: staircasing and lease extension
Any registered valuer should arrive at roughly the same valuation using the same methodology. This applies regardless of the nature of a transaction: staircasing, lease extension or sale.
“The value for all transactions after the initial sale is set by chartered surveyors using the same methodology. Ultimately, we don’t need to know the reason for the valuation in order to value a property. Often people need a valuation in order to decide what they want to do. For example, if they feel the value is too low to sell, they may decide to staircase instead.”
“Unfortunately, if a surveyor overvalues a staircasing valuation then someone is buying at a higher rate than they should be and when they come to sell it they are left with a nasty shock. That’s why it’s important to be sure that your surveyor understands shared ownership and valuation”.
Armen MIrzoian (MSc IMC, RICS), Senior Surveyor, Copeland Yussuf LLP
RICS valuers have a professional obligation to act as an independent expert regardless of who is paying the valuation fee. (Usually the shared owner rather than the housing association).
However, some shared owners have expressed concerns about requirements to use housing associations’ recommended valuers. They fear conflict of interest where those valuers act for housing associations as well as shared owners, or gain commercial benefit from participation in recommended panels.
Valuation: selling a shared ownership home
Shared ownership leasehold contracts generally specify an 8 week ‘nominations period’ to give housing associations an opportunity to find a buyer who meets affordability criteria. (NB. for homes funded by the Affordable Homes programme 2021-26, the nominations period has been reduced from 8 weeks to 4 weeks). If the housing association can’t find a suitable buyer, the shared owner will usually be given permission to sell on the open market via an estate agent.
A high sales price benefits sellers (so long as it isn’t high enough to deter potential buyers). It also benefits estate agents if they are working on a commission basis. Estate agents operate in a highly competitive market and will be keen to solicit business. They might initially propose a higher sales price to entice a client in. It’s not unusual to find that the estimated selling price comes down once the contract with an estate agent has been signed. Or perhaps later on if required to attract viewers and ultimately a buyer. For this reason, an initial estimated sales price may be higher than a valuer’s assessment.
On the other hand, it’s possible an estate agent’s valuation could be lower than the sales price required by the housing association, say, if the housing association’s surveyor doesn’t take adequate account of a short lease… or perhaps higher specified rent than local comparable properties (arising from contractual annual rent increases). This could be problematic if the housing association has a policy of requiring any shortfall between the sales price and the valuation to be paid over to them.
I’m not happy with a valuation. What can I do?
Richard Murphy, of Richard John Clarke Surveyors, offers the following tips.
- Knowledge is power, It’s extremely helpful to understand what the valuation should be BEFORE commissioning an independent RICS valuation. Armed with this information you can decide how to proceed if the valuation isn’t in line with your expectations.
- You could do this by approaching an independent surveyor with experience of shared ownership for a desktop appraisal, making sure to specify the lease length. A desktop appraisal would be cheaper than the full valuation report. You could expect to pay around £240 including VAT.
- Talk to experienced local estate agents about the prices comparable flats or houses are selling for.
- Research asking prices of local for sale properties. Take into account relevant factors such as price per square foot, location and condition. But be aware that property portals may not include lease length in property details.
- Check sold property prices in your area on Rightmove.
- If you are staircasing, or extending your lease, and the valuation is lower than you expect, that’s a bonus. Or if a valuation is higher than you expected, you can send your evidence to the valuer to see if they are prepared to adjust their assessment.
- If you are selling, and the valuation appears high, the market will decide. The property may not sell quickly or, indeed, at all. In this case you will need to be aware of your housing association’s policy on paying over any difference between the valuation and the selling price.
- If the valuation appears low, and if your priority is a higher price rather than a quick sale, you can again make representations with evidence to the valuer.
Featured photo: Frans Ruiter, Unsplash.
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Very useful article providing interesting context around shared ownership and valuations. The list of actions at the end is an especially useful resource.
What I find very perplexing are the various “policies” that Housing Associations seem to have … as opposed to what is actually in the lease. It seems to be a complete lottery what Housing Associations have what policies which erodes trust in the model and Housing Associations … alongside a lot of the other issues there are with Shared Ownership.
Thanks for your comments, Kirsty. Glad you found the list of actions useful.
Another invaluable article, thank you.
I’ve recently pulled out of a shared ownership purchase because the valuation came back as nearly £30k less than the asking price. The asking price was also about the same value above equivalent properties in the area. As my personal situation is temporary and I planned to staircase to 100% within 18 months – 2 years, this was not a good deal for me. This phase of the development was the first in a major project and the advice I received was that this price would set the benchmark for future phases with other developers falling into line with this initial pricing purely because the purchase on this phase had gone ahead. I was purchasing without a mortgage and do wonder if a mortgage valuation would have been different. This is not an area where prices are likely to fall, Houses rarely come up for sale and there has been no new development for years.
The following information made me sit bolt upright.
“…But housing associations set the initial sales price.”
On new build housing developments prices can go down but if it’s a large development and you are buying on phase 1 they are more likely to go up especially in places where demand for new houses is high. Developers are unlikely to reduce asking prices if a higher price has been achieved on an earlier phase.
In addition, affordable housing can sometimes be set at a lower initial price to equivalent outright sale houses on a development so when the RICS surveyor makes what I now see as the ‘first’ valuation, eg for staircasing, if they are not used to valuing shared ownership properties this may cause difficulty in accurately comparing the shared ownership property with new build open market sales and re-sale properties. Facilities such as en-suites and utility rooms are often left out of shared ownership properties, their position on the development can be in the less salubrious parts of the estate and the quality of build and fixtures and fittings can be lower than properties available for outright purchase. This can make shared ownership hard to value and the potential for price inflation of the shared ownership property more of a likelihood. Shared ownership properties come up for resale less often than open market properties, making fair valuation even harder for a valuer who isn’t used to valuing shared ownership properties.
The fact housing associations can exercise this much power over not only the affordable housing sector but the entire housing markets is very worrying.
Thanks for your detailed comments, Kate. Use of new-build properties to deliver affordable housing schemes does, indeed, raise some interesting questions. Particularly with regard to first-time buyers who may intend to sell on fairly quickly but may not be aware of new-build premiums, and their potential impact on the likelihood of making a gain to help purchase a subsequent home (per ‘foot on the housing ladder’ marketing rhetoric).
When researching ‘sold’ prices on older estates (for resale) another complication is that even the leases filed with the Land Registry don’t note the % owned. There might be an occasional reference to “purchased an additional share” but without indicating what the starting point was, nor what it now amounts to. Are you aware of anywhere that provides this information (which is vital for understanding ‘values’ over time) other than the unrealistic option of having to knock on people’s doors and ask intrusive and probably unwelcome questions?!
Thanks for your comment, Clare, and your query. The Land Registry holds records of the initial respective percentages held by the shared owner and the freeholder. Title registers can be downloaded for a fee of £3 (as at 31/7/2021): https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry.
However, as you point out, Land Registry entries for shared ownership list the most recent value, but not the percentage of ownership it relates to. Generally speaking, where staircasing has occurred without the involvement of a solicitor, it’s unlikely that the memorandum would be noted on the title. A solicitor isn’t required until Stamp Duty at 80% or above is triggered but many (most?) housing associations don’t advise shared owners about registration of the memorandum. Buyers consequently may have to rely on the seller’s word. Though the % owned by the seller is something that should be verified by a buyer’s solicitor.
On the question of valuation and market value, a RICS valuation of the property should be the same regardless of whether the shared owner holds, say, a 25% share, 50% share or 75% share, or plans to staircase to 100% in a back-to-back sales and staircasing transaction. Valuers will always look at 100% values, and then pro-rate depending on the share held by their client.
But, as you say, if historical ‘sold’ prices (actual market value) are published for sales of % shares and the percentage itself isn’t available to buyers, then it may indeed be challenging to assess historical movements in market value over time. Care needs to be taken when looking at sales prices within shared ownership blocks as a result.
I wonder if this is a problem likely to be made worse by Government reforms proposing staircasing in smaller increments than previously…?
Unfortunately there isn’t an alternative source of information. It would be helpful if Land Registry did record shares held. Have you contacted them directly on this issue?
Hi Sue – thanks for the information. Yes, the imminent introduction of 1% increments is likely to make this lack of transparency even more confusing. For my estate, at time of first sale there was a mix of 100% lease and shared-ownership properties: none of these are demarcated on the title documents that are available via the Land Registry. This means it’s total guesswork as to the terms of different leaseholders’ contracts, which can only be solved by asking them directly. No, I’ve not made any representations to the Land Registry about this but that would probably be a worthwhile step as the current situation does shared-owners no favours.
Clare, You might be interested in this Shared Ownership Resources feature: Memorandum of Staircasing. It touches on some of the Land Registry issues you raised in your previous comments.
https://www.sharedownershipresources.org/an-expert-on/memorandum-of-staircasing/
Hello, I am a bit confused.
So my housing association gave us £70K lower price than market in area. I do understand that they have a 8 weeks to try to sell it on their price but me as a owner of 40% I can keep saying no until 8 weeks passed and after sell it on price which I want. I found a buyer who is eligible to buy on shared ownership 40% but from price which I want to sell not my housing association. Will I be able to do it this way?
Hello Sandra, Thanks for your query. Apologies for the delay in responding but I wanted to check the issues with an expert first. (Many thanks to Chris Baker, owner of McDowalls Surveyors, for his advice).
If you believe the valuation is too low, you can approach your housing association and ask them to get the valuer to reconsider the valuation, or to provide further justification.
Ideally, you’d need to provide evidence relating to similar local property sales to back up a claim that your valuation was £70k lower than local market prices. Bear in mind that estate agents’ listings may be higher than actual prices achieved. As discussed in the article, sellers sometimes aspire to one price and settle for another.
You could also ask another firm to provide an alternative valuation. This would be at your own expense but it might help determine why, on the face of it, there is a wide gap.
It’s essential to compare prices of properties which are similar in fundamental respects. One thing that does crop up and makes a difference is that shared ownership tends to leasehold whilst the wider market for houses is usually freehold. The length of the lease also makes a difference.in valuing a property. You haven’t mentioned your own lease length, so it’s not clear if this could be a factor in your own situation (particularly if your lease has fewer than 80 years remaining).
I hope this is useful. Good luck with your sale!
Hi Sue,
I think the person is asking (and me, too!) can they sell at price of their choosing – I have in writing from HA that I can sell as a price of my choosing – even if the valuation from RICS valuer instructed by the HA is lower than that price, and if so, do I have to split the profit (it doesn’t say I do in my lease). Are you able to help?
Hi Mbaku, Thanks for your query. It’s a good question. Unfortunately,, as you’ve found, this isn’t specified in the model lease (nor in Homes England’s guidance for HAs – the Capital Funding Guide).
Per my correspondence with Homes England,, once the nomination period has expired, then a shared ownership home can be sold on the open market – either outright (through a back-to-back staircasing transaction), or just the share held by the shared owner – at, above or below the independent RICS valuation. Homes England say that, if the sales price is above the RICS valuation, the shared owner gains the benefit of ALL of the increase in the price received (over the RICS valuation).
The opposite applies if the sales price is below the RICS valuation – i.e. the shared owner bears all of the loss of the price received against the valuation of the home.
Homes England also point out that this assumes that the home in question has been grant funded by Homes England. Different policies may apply if not.
That is EXTREMELY helpful. Thank you so much – for everything. This resource is a godsend, bless you for doing such amazing work!
Hi Sue
I am so happy that your information resources are answering and easing a lot of people problems. I for one am in a better situation one year on after contacting you.
For example, I have successfully extended my lease, nearly done.
I have a 50% shared flat with MTVH. I would like to find out if my son can staircase to the other half. I am retired, so unlikely to get a mortgage. Although he’s not on the tenancy he does help me out financially. I would appreciate if anyone knows how to go about this.
Many thanks and stay safe.
Regards,
I’m pleased to hear Shared Ownership Resources has been helpful. Congratulations on your lease extension! I’ll look into your query about your son staircasing, and respond as soon as I can.
Sue
Can my son buy a 50% share in my flat?
https://www.sharedownershipresources.org/an-expert-on/son-50-per-cent-share/
Hi Sue
I am interested in what options are available for people who are obliged to sell a shared ownership property that has been hugely OVER valued by the housing association. I am aware of a case where a property’s market value is 100K less than the surveyor’s valuation, leaving the leaseholder to make up the 100K.
What options are available for a seller in this instance?
Thanks so much
Daisy
Hi Daisy,
Thanks for your query. In the article ‘SO, the building safety crisis and nil valuations’ (link below) Chris Baker, McDowalls Surveyors, makes some comments on valuation which apply more broadly than just in the building safety context:
“If a shared owner isn’t happy with a valuation for a resale or staircasing transaction, the first step is to ask the firm to review their valuation. It’s important to provide evidence to support a different valuation. For example, sales prices of recent resales not yet listed with Land Registry; or additional information about the property; say, lease length, car parking allocation, improvements, and so on. If new information related to building safety – such as a bill or an estimate for remedial works – becomes available it’s reasonable to ask the surveying firm to take that into account.
The next step is to submit a complaint to the housing association. In this case, it might be helpful to obtain a valuation from a different firm as evidence. The District Valuer is the final arbiter for valuation disputes, but that’s a slow and laborious process”.
https://www.sharedownershipresources.org/need-to-know/building-safety/shared-ownership-valuation-fire-safety/
Shared Ownership Resources sponsor Richard Murphy, RJC Surveyors, also offers some tips in the above article – Shared ownership valuation: buying and selling – on what to do if you’re not happy with a valuation. Scroll down to the end of the feature for his advice.
https://www.richardjohnclarke.com/
This feature by financial journalist, Nick Green, on the Unbiased website goes into a lot of detail on how to understand what your home is really worth. It’s worth reading to inform your discussions with your own valuer, and your housing association’s valuer.
https://www.unbiased.co.uk/life/homes-property/how-much-is-my-house-worth
Good luck! Please do let me know how you get on.
Sue
Thank you SO MUCH for all that advice Sue.
My worry is that the leaseholder in question didn’t realise how over valued the property is initially, so accepted the higher valuation from the housing association’s choice of surveyor (supposedly independent). The housing association’s period of marketing the property has now passed unsuccessfully, so responsibility for selling 100% of the property now falls on the leaseholder.
But estate agents are now valuing it 100K less than the first surveyor, a few months later.
If anyone can advise if she can still contest the valuation, and if there are any organisations that can assist and support her through this process, that would be much appreciated! Or can anyone recommend a good lawyer who specialises in this kind of negotiation?
THANK YOU
Hi, I’m wondering if you can advise me, I have a 50% share of a house and the lease is 68 years. I get the freehold if I staircase and want to sell the house.
I have had three estate agents value and know the right price for the area. If the housing association values it as less should I staircase and then sell as a freehold?
The lease lease length may decrease the value which would be an advantage to me to buy and sell for higher as a freehold. Or would I be better doing simultaneous staircase/sale without allowing the h/a to try and sell it? (Or can they force me to?)
Hi Stephen, Thanks for your question. I should point out that I’m not a financial advisor, so can’t offer advice as such. However, I hope that the following observations are useful in continuing your research with your housing association and with estate agents.
Leases fall in value once there are fewer than 80 years remaining, and continue to depreciate (all things being equal) with every year that passes. 68 years is quite low and could make it difficult for potential buyers to obtain a mortgage. You mention that you’ve had three estate agents value your home. Have you asked them the potential sales value at 68 years, and also on the basis that you extend the lease, to see how much difference it makes?
If you sell a part-share there are two implications. Firstly, your housing association has the right to sell your share during what is called a ‘nomination period’ (usually 8 weeks). If they don’t find a buyer you should be able to take your home to the open market once the nomination period is over. In either case. you will be required to obtain, and pay for, a RICS valuation. The RICS valuation will almost certainly be different to the estate agent’s valuation, and it could quite possible be lower. Estate agents will often suggest an aspirational price! You’ll get a better idea of how much you might get for your home by checking sold prices of similar properties in your area on Rightmove: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html
You might also find this article helpful: https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/home-worth/
Secondly, if you sell a part-share you’ll get 50% of the sale price (less deductions). If you undertake a simultaneous sale and staircasing transaction you will still only get 50% of the sale price. Counterintuitive as it may seem, you won’t actually ‘own’ 100% – even briefly – if you do a simultaneous sale and staircasing transaction. It is simply a mechanism to allow the buyer to purchase 100%. But it’s more complex than selling a part-share so you should expect to pay higher legal fees and, possibly, additional fees to your housing association,.
If you staircased to 100% and obtained the freehold, prior to selling, you should then be able to sell the house on your own terms and receive 100% of the sale price. But this assumes you can afford to do so…..
Thank you so much for your advice, the estate agents valued based on it being a freehold as this is how I was planning to sell either by simultaneous staircase or staircasing to 100% and then selling. I think my main confusion was whether I had to allow the h/a to try and sell the property or whether I could sell for higher and simultaneous sell/staircase but from what you have said I think staircasing and then selling on my terms may be better
Steve
You’re welcome! Good luck with everything. Please do let me know how it all went once you’re out the other side – info@sharedownershipresources.org
Hi, my nephew has had his offer accepted (received written confirmation) 3 weeks ago on a shared ownership property, this week the company who are the shared ownership association and are also selling the property, advised that they were having the property revalued, the valuation came back £10,000 higher. Would my nephew have any grounds to challenge this? This is is the same company that valued it in the first instance 8 weeks ago.
Thanks for your query, Sue. That must be distressing for your nephew. I’m not an expert but I’m not sure there’s anything stopping any seller from increasing a sales price at any point prior to exchange of contracts….. But I wonder why the housing association had this home revalued after accepting your nephew’s offer! Has he already had an affordability assessment? Will this affect it? I can only suggest he contacts the housing association to discuss the matter further.
Such a helpful article! I am thinking of buying a resale shared ownership property but I am a bit concerned about the falling market conditions and the possibility that the property value might fall in value significantly in the next year. Before completion would I be able to have my own valuation done on the property, or ask the owners/housing association to do a new one, or in any other way negotiate the price down? Thank you!
Thanks, Meeri. I’m glad you found the feature useful. Please bear in mind I am not a financial or property expert so the following is simply my personal opinion.
Obviously, property prices can go up and down. To what extent this should be of concern to you depends partly on your plans for your new home. It may matter more if you are intending to sell on than if this will be your ‘forever home’.
Even so, you will want to pay a fair price for your new home. It might be worth doing some research – per the suggestions at the end of the feature – to see if the sales price seems about right. If not, you could try going back to the sellers/housing association if you have evidence that it may be over-priced, and see if they are willing to negotiate. This often depends on whether anyone else is willing, or able, to pay the asking price. Good luck with everything!
I am executor for the estate of a 50% share in a Housing Association shared ownership lease. Would the market value of a one half share for probate purposes usually be discounted from the mathematical one half value in the same way that a one half share owned by unrelated tenants in common would be discounted by (say) 10 or 15%. Is there a ‘standard’ RICS deduction from the mathematical valuation for the one half share?
Thanks for posting. It’s an interesting question but, unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. You’ll need to consult with a RICS valuer. (I’d be very interested to know the response when you do get one).
I sold a shared ownership house in 2020 after a tortuous nine month conveyance. Lovely house but everyone around me was racist sadly. Selling the house wasn’t the issue, I sold it right away, it was the length the conveyancing took – I thought it was due to Covid. However, not once did the Housing Association ask me to get another RICS Valuation in that time.
I am now, for health reasons, having to sell the shared ownership house and had a RICS Valuation in January. The house sold in 24 hours. The conveyancing, and I would argue, the Housing Association deliberately dragging their feet means that 6 months on they now tell me I have to pay for a third RICS Survey. In this financial climate the valuation could drop and I am concerned that if this does happen I won’t be able to afford anything else with my equity as I’m too old for a mortgage. What upsets me is that Housing Associations in my area have available identical houses to mine for up to £10,000 more than my home was valued in January so they themselves don’t appear to have to have RICS Valuations every 3 months. I have just written to my MP and Michael Gove as I am so worried I will not have a home in my retirement due to both the percentages being asked for and due to the third, possibly lower, valuation.
Homes England, who fund these Housing Associations and Help to Buy don’t appear to be able to answer any of my questions about selling shared ownership so perhaps the Government might help. Very worried and upset.
Thanks for your comment, Ness. I am sorry to hear about the problems you are facing selling your home. You mention that similar housing association homes near you are selling for a higher price…. Are these new builds? New builds tend to attract a new-build premium and are therefore sold at a higher price than resales. Also, as you are aware, resale prices are based on a RICS valuation, whereas the sales price for a new-build has to take a RICS valuation into account but may not be restricted to the value established by a valuer..
I hope you find the tips in this feature on challenging a RICS valuation helpful. And I hope that you manage to sell at a price that allows you to buy a home more suitable for your current needs.
Hello,
We are in the process of extending our lease on a shared ownership property which we bought out (100%) earlier this year. Our housing association offered to pay legal fees if we take an informal lease extension, which we decided to take advantage of. Their valuer valued the flat 20% higher then the price we paid at the beginning of 2023. We found the comparison properties they provided were very different then ours. For example, with an extra bathroom, larger square footage, newer, and with amenities like a gym and concierge in the building – all things we do not have. Not even to mention the downturn in the market since we bought our flat. We have tried twice now to contest the valuation with no effect. They are 100% confident the value is good and refuse to amend. The housing association will not negotiate. Is there any possible way to have this audited by someone from RICS or a third party? Do we have any rights or did we give that up by agreeing to an informal extension? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your query. I’m sorry I’m not in a position to offer advice as such. However, you might find this article – Informal lease extension explained – useful. It’s published on the HomeOwners Alliance website and was produced in conjunction with Homehold (a sponsor of Shared Ownership Resources).
https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/for-owners/informal-lease-extension-explained/
If you still have questions, it might be worth contacting Homehold directly. (If you do, could you mention Shared Ownership Resources). Good luck! And please do let me know how you get on.
Hi Alex, sadly if you do an informal lease extension, you don’t have any right to have the price audited – it’s essentially a “take it or leave it” deal.
If their legal / valuation costs are covered, the better option would be to pull out of the informal deal and pursue a formal one – and whoever you appoint could negotiate on your behalf.
Feel free to book a call with me at homehold.org/book-consultation and I’ll be happy to talk through whether or not I think it makes sense to do this. No obligation at all.
Hello – I’m looking to staircase a shared ownership property to 100% (full freehold) and received a RICS valuation which is way below market value. When I spoke to my broker for the re-mortgage to 100% ownership they spoke to a lender who valued the property 15% higher than the RICS valuation, and my broker says they are happy to lend to me based on the higher valuation (giving me the ability to draw out equity).
My broker has informed me that this situation for 100% staircasing can happen and isn’t particularly unusual, but I just wanted to see if this is true….
Thanks for your comment, Alan. I’m guessing most shared owners would be pleased if the RICS valuation was lower than they expected, as it would make it cheaper – as compared to a higher valuation – to staircase to 100%.