How to get a valuation of your Help to Buy home
What you need to do when arranging a market valuation to repay your equity loan.
Applies to England
Getting a market valuation
We use the market value of your home to work out the amount you need to pay, when you repay your equity loan.
The market value is worked out by a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuation. The current market value is based on the property condition and the current housing market.
You’ll need to choose a surveyor, and arrange and pay for the report yourself.
When you arrange a market valuation to repay your equity loan, you need to follow set criteria. This includes the type of surveyor and what information they include in the report.
For example, if your surveyor isn’t RICS qualified and registered, your application may be rejected and you could have to pay for another valuation.
If you need a specialist market valuation
A specialist surveyor may be required when a property has something unusual that could affect its value. For example, if you have external cladding or there is a breach of planning permission, you may need to get a specialist valuation.
Your valuation checklist
Your surveyor needs to be:
- both RICS qualified and registered - Find a RICS surveyor in your area
- a RICS member or fellow (MRICS or FRICS) - this applies only to Help to Buy: Equity Loan (2021-2023)
- independent of any estate agent
- not be related or known to you
Your surveyor needs to:
- inspect the inside of the property
- provide at least 3 comparable properties and sale prices within the last 12 months - they must be like-for-like homes in type, size and age, and within 2 miles of the property that’s being inspected
- provide bespoke market commentary and reference how the comparable properties justify the given market value
- create, sign and date the survey on company headed paper, addressed to Homes England
- supply their report as a non-editable digital document such as a PDF file
The valuation report is valid for 3 months from the date it was produced. Send it to us within 5 days.
You need a valid valuation report to complete your repayment. If your report expires, you may be able to extend your valuation but only within 2 weeks of it expiring.
What to do if your market valuation expires
If your valuation report expires before you make your repayment, contact your surveyor within 2 weeks of the expiry date.
You can ask them for a letter to extend for 1 month, or ask for a desktop valuation which is valid for 3 months.
1 month extension - RICS valuation letter
This will extend the original report for 1 month from the date it expired. This letter must be:
- from the same RICS surveyor who made the valuation
- on the company’s headed paper addressed to Homes England
- supplied as a PDF file or a digital document that you cannot edit
- sent to us within 5 days of the date it is issued
If you do not complete the repayment or remortgaging process in the additional month, you’ll need to provide and pay for a new valuation report.
3 month extension - RICS desktop valuation report
This will extend the report for 3 months from the date it expired. This report must be:
- made within 2 weeks of the expiry date of the original report
- completed, signed and dated by the same RICS surveyor
- on the company’s headed paper addressed to Homes England
- supplied as a PDF file or a digital document that you cannot edit
- sent to us within 5 days of the date it is issued.
The surveyor must:
- refer to the original valuation report
- confirm the updated report is a desktop valuation
- provide at least 6 comparable properties and sale prices from the last year if the property has increased or decreased in value. If 6 are not available, they must state this clearly.
If you do not complete the repayment or remortgaging process in the additional 3 months, you’ll need to provide and pay for a new valuation report.
If we reject the report
We may reject the valuation report if it:
- does not follow the criteria
- is too high or low compared to similar properties
If we reject the report, you’ll need to provide and pay for a new report.
To find out more about what you need to apply to repay an equity loan, look at our repayment guidance. Or view our full guidance here
Send us your valuation report
Send us your market valuation report by email or post, along with your completed repayment application form. You may need to send other documents too.
Follow the guidance on how to repay your equity loan:
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