A Home Report is a document, required by Scottish Law, which every seller of a residential property is required to produce prior to putting the property onto the market. Whether marketing the property through an estate agent, or via social media, you must have a Home Report.
A Home Report consists of three mandatory documents: a Single Survey, an Energy Performance Certificate and a property Questionnaire, together with a generic Mortgage Valuation Report.
We offer comprehensive residential valuation services in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Red Book standards. These services encompass assessing the market value & market rental value of residential properties. Our expertise, local market knowledge, and strict adherence to RICS professional standards ensure we provide accurate, independent, and objective valuations.
We can provide valuations for all purposes, including, pre-sale, taxation, matrimonial / separation, investment, shared ownership or general information.
A Mortgage Valuation Report (MVR) is normally instructed by a mortgage lender and is designed to help inform them of the value of the property and its suitability for loan purposes. The report advises lenders of the property’s market value and provides detailed characteristics of the property, including significant defects that may affect the value for securing the loan. We include a generic MVR when providing a Home Report.
As the leading mortgage valuation providers, with the most lender panel appointments in Shetland, our objective and independent valuations are accepted by the majority of mainstream lenders, including Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, Santander, NatWest (including RBS) and HSBC.
We can provide mortgage valuations for a range of purposes, including, purchase mortgage, re-mortgage, further advance, equity release and buy-to-let financing.
A Presale Market Valuation is a limited inspection and report designed to provide clients with general information as to the condition of a property and its Market Value. The report may also contain advice on whether defects should be repaired prior to the subjects being marketed. The inspection is not a detailed survey of the property. A more detailed inspection may reveal matters that could materially affect the valuation. Marketing the property for sale will require the production of a Home Report.
Some Estate Agents offer free Presale Valuation services, but it is important to stress that Estate Agents are not qualified to provide Market Valuations of properties.
Our Presale Market Valuations are carried out independently, objectively and in accordance with RICS Red Book Global Standards.
Capital Gains Tax may be payable when you are ‘disposing of’ a property that has increased in value. Your tax obligations are calculated on your gains rather than the selling price.
For CGT, ‘disposing of’ a property includes:
We recommend you confirm your tax liabilities with a qualified accountant and/or tax advisor. If you are liable to pay CGT on the disposal of your property, we have the necessary local knowledge and expertise to provide relevant date valuations as at the date of disposal.
Inheritance Tax is a tax on the Estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who has passed away.
A valuation figure for Inheritance Tax / Confirmation purposes has to be submitted to HMRC as part of the assessment of an Estate (total value of property, possessions and money).
The Inheritance Tax Threshold is currently set at £325,000.
In recent years, HMRC have become more vigilant in their requirements for a Market Valuation. Their advice now is for a report to be undertaken by a Chartered Surveyor and for it to be compliant with the Red Book standards, which is the gold standard of reporting standards by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
A valuation for matrimonial purposes aims to provide a Market Valuation at a specific date, which can be used to decide how joint property assets are divided between parties involved in divorce proceedings.
The valuation can be undertaken acting for either party, or jointly.
The valuations comply with the specification set out in the RICS Valuation – Global Standards (the ‘Red Book’) 2022 – incorporating the International Valuation Standards (IVSC), based on the statutory definition for Market Value.
We can provide a Projected Market Valuation of your new build property, or extension to your existing property, prior to construction commencing for mortgage lending purposes. This is based on the approved plans, specifications and a site inspection.
We also carry out stage inspections during construction, as and when required by you/your lender, to ascertain the Market Value at each stage, enabling the lender to release you the required funds to pay for the works.
A Reinstatement Cost Assessment (RCA) for building insurance purposes is a calculated estimate of the cost to rebuild a property on the basis of total loss, including situations of substantial damage where complete building demolition and rebuilding would be necessary.
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.
To carry out an RCA we need to inspect the property to collect all the construct data required, including taking detailed measurements in line with the RICS requirements.
We can provide a professional supervisory service in accordance with Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) standards for your new build property as an alternative to new build warranties such as NHBC or similar.
This ensures that works are undertaken to a satisfactory standard, complying with plans and specifications from the outset to completion. Mortgage lenders will not accept newly constructed or convertedproperties which are not covered by a warranty scheme such as the Professional Consultant’s Certificate.
Our certificates carry a six-year life, throughout which liability can be transferred if the property were to be sold to a new owner.
We carry out regular inspections at key stages throughout construction to monitor progress and advise as necessary.
