RICS Valuations are recognised as having legal status, unlike those produced by estate agents. They carry more weight due to the stringent procedures that an RICS Valuation Surveyor must adhere to.

Not all Chartered Surveyors can carry out valuation work; RICS Valuations must be completed by an RICS Registered Valuer.

Help to Buy Valuations

The Target Government Help to Buy scheme has helped thousands of people to buy their home, by offering a contribution towards the initial purchase. This means that the Government continue to own a percentage of your home. You may decide that you wish to buy back some, or all of the Help to Buy share of your home. If you do, you will need an RICS Valuation. You will also require an RICS Valuation if you are re-mortgaging your home.

Target HCA are notoriously strict when it comes to the valuation report that needs to be submitted. PFK have a 100% success rate when it comes to meeting the criteria set by them. You know that by having your Help to Buy RICS Valuation completed by PFK, you are in safe hands.

Are you looking to increase the share in your shared ownership home, also known as staircasing? Or are you thinking about selling your shared ownership home. In either of these situations, you will require an RICS valuation in order to establish its current Market Value. You will then need to submit the valuation to your Housing Association as part of the process.

PFK work closely with a number of Housing Associations that offer Shared Ownership property and are familiar with the strict requirements involved when it comes to writing up Valuation Reports for this purpose. Let us help you to achieve your goals when it comes to your Shared Ownership home, contact us today for a free no obligation quotation.

Council and housing association tenants that meet certain criteria have the Right to Buy their home and to get a discount on the purchase price. The discount depends on where you live in the country.

In order to apply for a Right to Buy you will need to contact your landlord. They will then send you an offer letter containing, in their opinion, what the market value of the property is. The letter is also likely to contain other relevant information about the property, including type, age, size, and condition.

It makes sense to have your own valuation done to establish whether or not the landlord’s valuation is accurate. After all, the landlord’s valuer has a duty of care to their client, the landlord, and not to you. We act as independent surveyors and you can use our report to challenge the landlord’s valuation should this be necessary. We have helped a great number of tenants to reduce the amount they have to pay under the Right to Buy Scheme.

A Right to Buy valuation from an independent RICS Registered Valuer allows you to check if the landlord’s valuation is fair and accurate. As independent, RICS surveyors, our reports can be used to challenge your landlord’s offer if that is necessary. You can also use our report as evidence if you appeal to the District Valuer.

After a family member has passed away, their estate – money, property, possessions – will need to be valued so that a Grant of Representation (the legal right to deal with the estate) can be obtained.

The purpose of carrying out a professional probate valuation is to:

• ascertain an accurate value of the estate left behind by the deceased
• enable the executor to assess whether there is sufficient value in the estate to cover any liabilities left by the deceased
• calculate how much (if any) Inheritance Tax is payable on the deceased’s estate

We appreciate that this time can be emotional and stressful. We will work behind the scenes requiring minimal input from yourselves. To obtain a quick no obligation quote for a probate valuation, simply call us on 01228 586805 or email us at RICSvaluations@pfk.co.uk

A matrimonial valuation will provide you with an accurate value of the property, which you can then take forward with your separation proceedings. The valuation can be undertaken on behalf of one of the parties, or alternatively, both parties can jointly instruct a Chartered Surveyor to undertake a valuation of the property. We understand that separation proceedings can be a stressful and complex time. At PFK, we pride ourselves in ensuring the valuation is as straightforward and time effective as it can be.

Do you, or your solicitor, need to know how much your property was worth at a fixed point in time in order to calculate how much Capital Gains Tax you may owe HMRC? If so, you will want to make sure you don’t pay them too much, or too little. This is where we can help. We will provide a compliant report that can be submitted for these exact purposes.

PFK offer a fast and independent property valuation service, and you can rest assured that we are competitively priced.

In the UK, there are three common approaches that are likely to be adopted when valuing residential and commercial property:

• Market Approach – This approach adopts the principle that the value of one property may be derived by comparing it directly with market transactions for similar properties. It is widely used in the valuation of residential, rural and commercial real estate and is sometimes used for the valuation of land and other real estate assets.

• Income Approach – The income approach is used to value real estate that produces an income for the investor. There are two methods that fall within the income approach: the investment (or income capitalisation) method and the profits method. In the conventional investment method, the value is derived from the net rental income and a capitalisation factor based on the expected annual rate of return. These are both normally established using comparable evidence.

• Cost Approach – The cost approach, also known as the depreciated replacement cost approach, is used to value real estate that does not usually sell on the open market (for example, public buildings), and for which comparable evidence does not exist. In some jurisdictions the cost approach is used for proposed or recently built properties. This approach is based on two components: the depreciated cost of the building element and the value of the land. Figures for both these components will be obtained from comparable evidence.

A Buildings Insurance Valuation or (Reinstatement Cost Assessment) is an assessment of how much it would cost to rebuild the property on the basis of total loss, including situations of a fire or collapse and enables you to insure it for the correct amount.

An accurate cost assessment is important to ensure your building asset is insured for the correct amount, avoiding situations of under and over insurance. If your property is undervalued, insurance payments may not adequately cover the cost of rebuilding. Likewise, if the building is overvalued, your insurance premiums will be higher than they need to be.

We are experienced in preparing Reinstatement Cost Assessments for building insurance purposes and carry out inspections of a wide range of property types including listed properties.

What does a reinstatement cost assessment involve?

This includes visiting the property, taking measurements to calculate the floor area and surveying the type of construction and fittings in accordance with RICS recommendations. Our ability and skillset allows us to accurately measure and assess construction in order to calculate the building’s reinstatement cost using current building cost indices and making a detailed assessment of other important factors including, demolition, site clearance, specialist features, site topography and fees.

When do I need a reinstatement cost assessment?

RICS recommends that full reinstatement cost assessment is undertaken every three years and whenever there are significant changes to the buildings such as construction of extensions.

The assessment becomes more complicated when specialist buildings are involved. Surveyors need to be able to assess traditional buildings such as factories, office blocks or educational establishments though an experience of appraising listed buildings or specialist structures will often be required. Every year we undertake insurance valuations for a variety of residential and commercial properties.

Insurance Valuation Fixed Costs:

The fee for providing a Reinstatement Cost Assessment for insurance purposes will be dependent upon the size, complexity and location of the property in question. All of our Insurance Valuations are set at a fixed cost and include the inspection, report, discussion and recommendations once the report is complete and in the hands of our clients.

Our Insurance Valuation costs start at £300 plus VAT.

By instructing an RICS regulated firm such as PFK to prepare a Reinstatement Cost Assessment for insurance purposes, you will have peace of mind that you are insured correctly.