Valuing Shared Ownership Properties
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The Charities Act 2011 Valuation Guide
The Charities Act Valuation Guide addresses the Charities Act of 2011, an essential tool for regulating officially registered charities in the United Kingdom.
One of the principal requirements the statute addresses is the charity’s need to obtain “qualified advice” before completing any property-related transactions, including purchases, leases, and disposals.
We will look at what it takes to achieve a “Charities Act Valuation,” how RICS factors into that process, and how our panel of surveyors can help a charity show it has met the Act’s requirements.
Compliance with the Charities Act 2011 is essential for registered charities in the UK. Our panel of valuers provide specialist valuation services ensuring that charities receive good advice for their property transactions, ultimately benefiting the community.
Shared Ownership & Equity Valuation
In Canterbury’s dynamic property market, shared ownership has emerged as a popular choice for many first-time buyers striving to step onto the property ladder. At the heart of this is the shared ownership valuation, a crucial process that demands a thorough assessment of a property’s value. We’re giving you a comprehensive guide to shared ownership valuation in Canterbury, unravelling its intricacies and focusing on the main parts.
The main person involved in a shared ownership valuation is the Chartered Surveyor. A Chartered Surveyor is a qualified surveyor with loads of knowledge regulated by the RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), or Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA). A Chartered Surveyor’s intricate role involves working out how much a property is worth in the market place. An RICS surveyor will look at many things – the condition of the property, where it is, what it looks like and the same sort of properties around it – to come to a fair value.
Shared ownership valuation is required for various reasons:
- figuring out the price of the property you are buying or selling is a requirement of both housing associations and mortgage lenders;
- if you’ve chosen to be party to a shared ownership arrangement, a valuation is essential before you can make plans for what’s known as staircasing: when you increase your share in the property;
- if you want to sell the property, you’ll need a valuation to know the official market price.
Additionally, a solicitor plays a prominent role in the process. A solicitor will liaise with the surveyor, the housing association, and the mortgage lender to make sure all legal aspects of the transaction are looked into as well, making the valuation more credible.
Shared ownership valuation is not a one-off calculation. As the property market ebbs and flows, so does your share’s value. Keeping up-to-date about these changes can really make a difference, especially in the fast, competitive Canterbury market.
What is Shared Ownership Valuation?
A shared ownership valuation will give you a report that will help you determine shared ownership value in Canterbury based on your home’s current market value. Surveyors will offer different share types, so call us to find out how to increase your share of your property.
Unless you plan to sell your home, any work you have done or improvements you have made do not factor into an RICS valuation. The RICS valuation involves an in-person or desktop inspection, but it does not include a detailed report of the property’s condition or any repairs that you need to do. The RICS valuation doesn’t include a cost estimate for repairs – you’ll need a full building survey or an RICS HomeBuyer Report for this.
If you want to purchase more equity in your Canterbury property or cash in your help-to-buy loan, a RICS Registered Valuer valuation is essential. By having your valuation, you can negotiate the increase in share on fair terms and organise your finances with it.
What's good about a Shared Ownership Valuation?
From understanding the true value of your home to expanding your stake in your property responsibly, here are our reasons why you should have your Canterbury residence valued for equity:
- independent surveyor’s valuation: an equity valuation will give you the further understanding of the equity value amount you can purchase from your developer or a Housing Association
- ensures fair ownership arrangements: your rent will reduce accordingly when you buy more equity.
- secures your financial future: understanding the property value and the costs of buying more equity will help you budget for the future
What is Staircasing?
Staircasing refers to gradually increasing your share of the property. You can buy additional shares in increments, from 10% to 15%, or 20%, until you eventually own 100%. When you own a higher share, you pay less rent to the housing association, so the shares are both a benefit and a way of saving money.
Shared owners may take advantage of the staircasing opportunity to build up their property share. You begin by obtaining a shared ownership valuation produced by an accredited valuer registered by RICS. This valuation of the property for the shared ownership valuation report will calculate how much the additional share you would like to buy is worth, and is based on the current market value of the property, with similar properties previously sold in your neighbourhood, as well as your property’s condition being taken into account by the RICS valuer, to ensure an accurate valuation. Typically, the valuation will be valid for 3 months.
The price you pay for your plot is based on the value of your home at the time of the valuation, not at your first purchase. Hopefully, the value of your property has gone up since you first bought your home. If so, that extra share will be worth more than your original. Then, when you own 100% of the shares in your property after staircasing, you become the outright owner and no longer pay rent on the remaining share to the housing association. Nevertheless, do be aware that owning more shares might mean paying some stamp duty, depending on the total value of your property and the value of the share you’re purchasing.
Shared Ownership Valuations Problems
Assessments of shared ownership valuations, however attractive in terms of other advantages, aren’t free from complications. You can see this in the differences between valuations. Property valuing is an intricate process that requires the opinion of the qualified surveyor and so two valuations from different RICS surveyors might conflict.
This may be due to differing local market interpretation, your property’s condition or comparisons with other properties. It can make a confusing situation and potentially lead to a dispute. If one valuation proposes an extremely higher value than another, this could affect your financial planning for staircasing. This situation can be especially troublesome when a buyer want to negotiate the staircasing or while looking for the open market selling price.
Another issue concerns shared ownership’s distinctive characterisation. Property valuation disagreements could happen since this model is a collaboration between the resident and the housing association. The housing association, for example, could favour a higher valuation to maximise its return when you sell or staircase, but you might be be interested in a lower valuation to decrease your financial outlay. Grasping these dynamics can help you navigate potential conflicts and negotiate fair terms.
Likewise, shared ownership trusts may also not rise in value at the same rate as those on the open market, due to resale and buyer eligibility caps, a vital consideration for shared owners looking to benefit from property market growth.
Valuation for Divorce (Matrimonial)
A Divorce Settlement Valuation is a service that will enable you to split them appropriately in the divorce settlement. It guarantees that no matter what the terms of the settlement are, the equity is divided proportionately.
Is Shared Ownership Valuation Required?
If you are hoping to buy a more significant share of your shared ownership home, you will need an RICS-accredited surveyor to give a precise valuation. This lasts for 3 months. Get in touch with us today and have a member of the Canterbury Valuation Surveyor panel organise a Shared Ownership Valuation for you.
