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Valuations should be left to brokers

3 March 2007

Alex Murray, group director of mortgages for the Thinc Group, said only a few lenders in England allowed brokers to instruct valuations and it meant advisers were often left waiting for lenders. He stated intermediaries were potentially losing revenue by not being able to do it themselves, as they could charge their own fee for instructing the valuation for their client.

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Murray added: “I’m looking for an even playing field for brokers across the UK, as it has always been allowed in Scotland. I feel lenders are hiding behind their automated valuation models and fee scales. You don’t know how much a valuation will cost because of this.”

However, Bernard Clarke, communications manager for the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: “The homebuyer process in Scotland means that making an offer places the buyer in a binding contract. For that reason, customers shopping around need to be confident that the property is sound enough for an offer to be made.”

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Clarke said evidence suggested brokers instructing valuations was becoming more common, but said: “Usually valuations are undertaken by a valuer on the lender’s panel as it keeps control of who does the valuation. Yet the broker channel is important so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen if the market delivers it.”