What is a Help to Buy RICS Valuation?
Thinking about your Help to Buy loan? Whether you're repaying some, all, or even selling your home completely, you'll need a Help to Buy Valuation Report.
Just remember, this has to be in the correct format and done by a surveyor who's either MRICS or FRICS qualified. Also, that initial RICS valuation only lasts for three months, so if your plans change or take a little longer, you'll need to get either another in-person valuation or a Desktop Valuation sorted.
The Help to Buy administrator has now changed; please liaise with Homes England for customer services on your Help to Buy loan.
What is a Help to Buy RICS Valuation?
If you have an existing Help to Buy loan on your home, you will need a RICS valuation, otherwise known as a current market valuation, when you're repaying any of the loan; whether by cash, remortgage, or sale of the property.
Getting a Help to Buy valuation report (a current market valuation) determines the current value of the loan to be repaid as a proportion of the current property value.
The equity loan administrator requires you to use a RICS surveyor as they are registered and regulated for providing reliable and accurate valuation reports. The report also needs to be drafted in a specific way to meet their strict criteria, and you will need to pay for the valuation yourself.
Who carries out the Help to Buy Survey?
To ensure the valuation is accurate and compliant with Homes England requirements, it must be carried out by a qualified surveyor. Specifically, Homes England requires the valuation to be performed by a surveyor who is registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as either an MRICS (Member) or FRICS (Fellow).
It's also important to note the following requirements for the Help to Buy surveyor:
- The surveyor must be independent of any estate agent involved in the sale of the property.
- The valuation report must be on headed paper, signed by the RICS surveyor, and addressed to Help to Buy customer services.
- The surveyor MUST provide details of at least 3 comparable properties, including their sale prices.
- These comparable properties must be similar to your property in terms of type, size, and age, and should be located within a 2-mile radius.
- The surveyor must not be related to you or have any prior personal or professional relationship with you.
- The surveyor is required to inspect the interior of your property and provide a comprehensive valuation report.
When you choose SAM Conveyancing for your Help to Buy valuation, you can be confident that our panel of RICS surveyors meet all these requirements.
- Local, MRICS and FRICS-accredited surveyors.
- Refreshing your expiring Help to Buy Valuation.
- Fixed, competitive fees.
- Availability from 18/04/2025(i).
- We can solve any property challenge.
How a Help to Buy RICS Valuation works
When you arrange a Help to Buy RICS valuation, a qualified surveyor will visit your property. During the visit, they will inspect both the interior and exterior to assess its age, overall condition, and size.
They will also take note of any significant features that could influence the property's value, such as off-road parking, gardens, and any potential for development.
This on-site inspection typically takes around one hour to complete. Following the visit, the surveyor will compile a comprehensive report.
This report will include a current market valuation for your property, which is determined by analysing recent sales prices of comparable properties in your local area.
What about a Desktop Valuation?
It's important to know that a desktop valuation for Help to Buy can only be used in specific circumstances. Specifically, it can be used if your initial in-person RICS valuation has expired (after 3 months) and you need to extend the validity period.
A desktop valuation cannot be used as a substitute for the initial, in-person current market valuation.
Desktop valuations are generally less expensive and offer a quicker turnaround time as they don't require a physical visit to the property.
Instead, the surveyor will review information from sources such as land registries, council records, and data on recently sold properties in your area, along with details about your property's size, age, condition, and location.
SAM Conveyancing offers desktop valuations from £180 INC VAT. If your initial SAM valuation is nearing its expiry and you'd like to explore this option, please get in touch.
Understanding your Help to Buy Valuation report
- Overview: Location, type, size, age, and tenure of the property; standard or non-standard construction; and available data on sales history.
- Comparables: Up to 10 similar properties in the area with their details, sold price and date, and differences so that the surveyor can determine whether the property would be expected to have a higher or lower value than yours.
- Local property market assessment: Rising, falling or static.
- Current market value: Estimated value of your property, with notes, evidence, and an explanation of the valuation approach used (e.g., comparable sales method). Included is also a general assessment of the property's condition.
The report might include a disclaimer stating that the valuation is an estimate and subject to change.
Help to Buy Valuation Cost
Our Help to Buy RICS Valuation service starts at £250 EXC VAT. Get a tailored quote for your Help to Buy Valuation from our nationwide panel of experienced, local RICS Valuers.
When do you need a Help to Buy RICS Valuation?
A Help to Buy RICS valuation is a crucial step when you're considering making changes to your Help to Buy equity loan. Here are the main scenarios where you'll need to obtain one:
Selling your Help to Buy home
Imagine your family has grown, and you need a larger property. If you're selling a home that you purchased with a Help to Buy loan, you'll need a RICS valuation to determine the current market value.
This is necessary to calculate how much of the equity loan needs to be repaid to Homes England from the proceeds of the sale.
Paying off your Help to Buy loan (redemption)
Perhaps you've saved up a lump sum or your financial situation has changed, and you want to pay off all or part of your Help to Buy equity loan while still living in your current home.
In this case, you'll need a RICS valuation to determine the current market value of your property, which will then be used to calculate the repayment amount.
For an estimate of potential repayments, you can check out our handy calculator.
All we need is how many years you've owned the property, the current market value (which the RICS valuation will provide), and your equity loan percentage.
Staircasing (buying more equity) your Help to Buy home
If you're looking to buy a larger share of your property from Homes England, this is known as staircasing. To do this, you'll need a RICS valuation to determine the current market value, which will then be used to calculate the cost of purchasing the additional equity.
It's important to remember that your Help to Buy mortgage payments are separate from the Help to Buy equity loan repayments. If you're also curious about your mortgage payments, we have a mortgage payments calculator available.
Our experienced conveyancing solicitors can help you staircase your Help to Buy equity loan.
Get a free, no-obligation online quote today from real people, in a real office, based in England. Your property challenges solved.
What happens after you get the RICS Help to Buy Valuation report?
How long does a Help to Buy Valuation last?
Once your surveyor sends you the Help to Buy valuation report, it's important to be aware that the valuation is typically valid for just 3 months.
You will need to complete your Help to Buy repayment or staircasing within this timeframe. If the 3-month period expires, you will need to obtain another market valuation or a desktop valuation to extend it for an additional 3 months.
The process of repaying your loan or buying more equity is known as either Help to Buy Repayment or Help to Buy Staircasing.
Both terms essentially refer to the same process of reducing or paying off your equity loan. You'll generally need to:
- Complete your Help to Buy application form (see below).
- Provide your solicitor's contact details (we can help with this).
- Send your completed form and valuation report to Homes England.
- Pay your administration fee (cheque or by card over the phone).
This form can only be used for a Help to Buy Repayment Transaction.
For a comprehensive guide to the process, which can differ slightly depending on whether you are selling, staircasing, or remortgaging, please read our full Help to Buy repayment process article.
What happens if Homes England doesn't accept the valuation?
While it is rare, there are instances where Homes England might not accept a valuation report. If this happens, they will usually provide feedback explaining the reasons for their decision.
You will then need to address these points, which might involve clarifying information with the surveyor or, in some cases, instructing a new valuation.
Can you use the Mortgage Valuation?
No. The mortgage valuation you might have obtained for a remortgage is not suitable for Help to Buy purposes. Homes England requires an independent valuation carried out by a RICS surveyor, and the report must be in its specific prescribed format.
From local RICS surveyors for a Help to Buy valuation to expert solicitors for remortgaging or selling your Help to Buy property, SAM has you covered.
We're on 99% of mortgage lender panels and provide fixed-fee, no-obligation quotes for all your Help to Buy needs. Property challenges solved.
Help to Buy Solicitors
Fast Completions
Fixed Cost
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
