There are so many variables to consider when deciding the real value of a property. It is because of this reason that most people find property valuation to be a daunting task. Many property owners choose to involve the services of real estate agents whenever they want their property valued. If you don’t want to pay these professionals, you can use our tips to carry out a home valuation easily.
Unlike in the past, it is now possible for the public to obtain information and data that was only available to the real estate agents, mortgage companies, and institutions offering loans. The Land Registry avails most of the data you would need to value your property. Here is a guide on how to value your property regardless of whether you want to sell it or just to have a clue of its current market price.
Find out what other Properties have previously sold for
Currently, it is possible to access information from the Land Registry regarding property sold in the past. There are many websites where you can check on previous house prices within your locality. Some have information on the history of property sales so that you can compare the trends.
Get an overview of the market
The Land Registry categorises house sales from different regions. Even though the site often has outdated data by a month or so, it is a good start as you try to get an overview of the national and regional property prices.
At how much did you buy the property?
You can also predict the worth of your house by making a comparison with what you bought it for. You can consider any home alterations or deterioration that may have occurred since purchase. Home extensions and renovations raise the value of a home. For comparison purposes, you can use the before and after images of your house to determine whether the value should be higher than what you bought it for. To avoid biases in your opinion, you can ask a friend for genuine thoughts. Due to personal attachment with your home, you may tend to overvalue the house. If you want to resell the home, overvaluing it can easily send potential clients away. At the same time, you don’t want to undervalue the property because you want to sell it at the highest possible value.
Your location
The area where your home is located significantly determines the selling price of the property. Most potential buyers check for the crime rate, accessibility to social amenities, and environmental factors such as flooding or any nearby landfills that may cause pollution. Choosing a property in a good location makes it easy to resell it because the demand for such properties is high.
But how can you check all these aspects to determine the value of your house? For crime, you should use data from Police.uk. The website records each crime that occurs on each street nationally. You can be sure that even potential buyers will check the site before showing any interest in your home.
Check for any risks of flooding in your area. Flooding lowers the value of any home because it makes roads impassable or worse still, it can make homes to sink. It is important to note that obtaining insurance premiums for houses in flooding prone areas can be expensive. Nobody wants to buy the property and spend years paying hefty insurance premiums. Also check for any nearby landfills and any other environmental factors likely to cause deterioration in property value.
Use Property Price Advice online tool
This site offers a detailed analysis of what a property is worth. The site will give you a lower and upper estimated value. Also, it will offer you an option of downloading a PDF document with a list of doctors and schools in the neighbourhood. The site is the best if you want to have an independent opinion regarding the current trend in the UK’s property market. You will also have access to the recently sold house prices to make comparisons with.
Summary
Getting the value of your property can be a daunting task. A simple way to determine its value would be to hire a real estate agent. To get an accurate value, several variables are considered. For instance, you have to understand the current price of similar houses in your area and whether your location is prone to flooding or other environmental factors. You can use online tools to get a detailed valuation and possible selling prices of your house.
