Help to Buy Valuation in NP13 Abertillery

A Help to Buy valuation starts with a RICS surveyor inspecting the home to work out its current market value. They measure the property, note its condition and features, and then review comparable sales in the local area. Homes England expects at least three comparable properties within two miles of your NP13 property, and our surveyors work to that standard. Construction type, room dimensions and any major features or defects are all checked, then set against recent sales from similar homes in Abertillery and the surrounding villages.

For NP13, Help to Buy valuations begin at £195 for properties valued up to £150,000. Fees then rise with the value of the property, reaching approximately £495 for homes worth over £350,000. At Homemove, we give clear upfront quotes, with no hidden fees. The price reflects the work involved and the research needed to find suitable comparables in your part of NP13. Larger homes, or ones in less common locations within the postcode, may need more work, and that shows in the quote.

Your Help to Buy valuation report remains valid for three months from the issue date. If the transaction has not completed by then, a desktop valuation can extend it for a further three months, provided you ask for that within two weeks of the original expiry date. Miss the two-week window and you will need to commission a new full valuation, which adds extra cost. We always suggest keeping a close eye on your timeline so avoidable expenses do not creep in.

The report has to be addressed to Homes England, formerly Target HCA, and submitted within five working days of the report date. You will also get a copy for your own records. It must be on official headed paper and signed by a RICS-qualified surveyor. Our team takes care of the submission paperwork and checks that it matches Homes England’s requirements. We also deal directly with Homes England so the valuation can move through smoothly.

Yes, you can appoint any RICS-registered surveyor for your Help to Buy valuation. The surveyor must be independent of any estate agent and must meet all Homes England requirements. In NP13, our network of RICS surveyors deals specifically with Help to Buy work and knows the process well. We only work with independent, RICS-qualified professionals who have plenty of local experience, which helps to avoid rejection or delay first time round.

If your property has fallen in value since you bought it through Help to Buy, the repayment on your equity loan may be lower than the original loan amount. It is always calculated as a percentage of the current market value, not the original purchase price. Our surveyors give you an accurate valuation so you can work out the repayment figure. For homeowners planning to redeem or staircase, a lower valuation can reduce the amount due. Even so, the figure needs to be right, because Homes England carries out its own assessment as well.

The initial inspection usually takes 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the property. Once that is done, the report is normally turned around within 3-5 working days. Help to Buy cases tend to work to tight deadlines, so we aim to get reports out quickly without cutting corners. Our surveyors give these valuations priority because the timing is so important. As soon as the report is ready, we send it to Homes England within the required five working days so your transaction keeps moving.

Yes, every staircasing event needs a current RICS valuation to work out the current market value of the property. If you are staircasing 5%, 10%, or any other percentage, a fresh report is needed so the repayment amount can be calculated accurately. That is because the equity loan repayment is based on the current market value, not the original purchase price. Anyone planning several staircase events should budget for the cost of each valuation. Our team can talk through the most cost-effective way to approach staircasing for your circumstances.

If Homes England rejects the valuation, the process can be held up for a while. Usual reasons include too few comparables, comparables that are not like-for-like, or reports that miss the strict presentation rules. Our surveyors know those requirements well and check every report before it goes in. If Homes England raises a query, we deal with it directly and sort out the issue as quickly as we can. We also offer a re-inspection service if more information is needed.

When you sell a Help to Buy property, the equity loan has to be repaid in full from the sale proceeds. The repayment is worked out as a percentage of the sale price, not the original purchase price, and a RICS valuation is needed to calculate it. Our surveyors can provide the valuation for that process. It is worth accounting for the equity loan repayment early on, because it will make a big difference to the amount you receive from the sale.