Help to Buy Valuation St. Mewan, Cornwall

A Help to Buy valuation is not the same as a standard mortgage valuation. It has to be carried out by a RICS registered valuer using the Red Book methodology (Valuation Global Standards), so the result is an impartial market valuation that both you and the Help to Buy agency will accept. That figure feeds straight into how much equity you can staircase for, what remortgage options you may have, and the final redemption payment you need to make. Our valuers work to strict professional standards, so the valuation is accepted by every party involved in the transaction.

Our valuers look closely at your property, from its current condition and any improvements you have made through to recent sales of similar homes in the St. Mewan area. Detached properties, including those on St. Mewan Lane that have sold between £315,000 and £725,000, sit alongside semi-detached homes and bungalows across the PL25 and PL26 postcode areas in our comparisons. That gives the valuation a proper basis in real market activity. We also take local movement into account, including the 1% year-on-year price adjustment seen recently in the PL25 5SP postcode area.

What goes into the report? Floor plans, photographs, and a detailed breakdown of how your property stacks up against the local market. For Help to Buy work, we add the sections needed by the scheme, including confirmation that the valuation meets RICS Red Book standards and can be used by the Help to Buy agency or your lender. The report is set out clearly enough to satisfy demanding lender requirements, while still showing you how the figure was reached.

Construction in St. Mewan varies a good deal, and our valuers allow for that at inspection. Modern detached houses finished in 2020 on newer developments are judged differently from the 1930s bungalows that still account for part of the stock. If you own a converted chapel in the area, we have experience with those character homes too. Traditional stone walls, signs of movement or settlement, and the general quality of construction all feed into the market value we place on the property.

Several parts make our Help to Buy reports different from a standard mortgage valuation. You get a formal market valuation that follows RICS Red Book standards, full property measurements and floor plans, a detailed comparison with recent sales in the St. Mewan area, and clear confirmation that the report is suitable for Help to Buy agency use. We also look at any improvements you have made, since those can have a sizeable impact on the figure we arrive at.

• Full RICS Red Book compliant valuation report
• Property inspection with detailed measurements
• Comparison against local recent sales
• Suitable for staircasing, remortgage, and redemption

The Help to Buy equity loan scheme let buyers purchase a new build home with just a 5% deposit, while the government backed the purchase with an equity loan of up to 20% (or 40% in London) of the property value. If you bought in St. Mewan through that scheme, perhaps at the Higher Trewhistle development by Wain Homes or another new build nearby, you may now be weighing up your next step as the initial term nears its end. Plenty of buyers along the A390 corridor used the scheme to get into newly built homes, and many are now deciding how best to move on.

Staircasing means buying extra shares in your property. You can do this in 5% or 10% increments, which cuts the government's equity share and lowers your monthly loan payments in line with it. Every staircase request needs a current RICS valuation so we can work out what the extra share costs. With average property values in St. Mewan around £405,000, even a small percentage can represent a sizeable sum. Our valuers focus on accuracy, so you pay the right amount for the extra equity.

If you are remortgaging to a standard mortgage product, your lender will want a valuation to see how much it can lend. That matters even more if values in your area have shifted since purchase, because the local market has seen a 25.9% increase over five years, which may work in your favour. As the end of your five-year term nears, you will need to arrange either repayment of the equity loan or a product transfer with your current lender. Our valuation report gives lenders the detail they need for the remortgage application.

Redemption is the end point, where the equity loan is paid off in full. It usually comes at the end of the five-year term, when the property is sold, or when you want full ownership of the home. The final redemption figure is tied to the current market value of the property, as shown by your RICS valuation. St. Mewan values have risen strongly over the past decade, so some homeowners find the property has grown a great deal since purchase, which changes the redemption calculation and also leaves them with substantial equity.

• Staircasing
• Buy additional 5-10% shares in your property
• Requires current RICS valuation
• Reduces your equity loan and monthly payments

• Remortgaging
• Switch to a standard mortgage product
• Lender requires valuation
• May release equity or reduce interest rates

• Redemption
• Pay off the full equity loan
• Required at end of 5-year term
• Final valuation determines outstanding balance