There is only one problem – finding a surveyor to carry out the valuation needed for completion is more difficult than ever.
The London-based broker Springtide Capital told Mortgage Solutions the waiting time for valuations had stretched to two or even three weeks. In this respect, Springtide is a casualty of a geographic divide. Despite the demand for valuations in the south, a poll this month by surveyor support group Lionheart found job stability was the primary cause of stress for surveyors.
The group’s welfare officer Tracy Vernon said while surveyors in the south may be rushed off their feet, those in the north faced a lack of work: “There is a lot of stress. When they are not getting the money they used to there are debt worries, which leads to relationship issues.”
According to Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors director Graham Ellis, it would not be easy to shift surveyors specialising in valuations south: “One of their skills is local knowledge.”
Instead, he said the mortgage industry needed to listen to valuers’ concerns. While a rise in professional indemnity fees has encouraged some valuers to specialise in more profitable areas of surveying such as expert witness work, dispute resolution and energy related reports, those who remained often felt unappreciated.
He said: “Day in and day out, I hear that valuers are subject to complaints from brokers because they have not come up with a figure that holds the deal together. It can be quite distressing.”
The rise of online property websites like Zoopla and a raft of extra information available means valuers must spend more time sifting online data to do their jobs as accurately as possible, he added. “When the valuer is out there they are under pressure for time. I do not think that is reflected in the fees valuers are paid.”
While the fees paid to valuers vary with the value of the property, Ellis says these can be as low as £23.50, while official fee scales may start at £35.
A significant increase in fees would be the best way to engage with the “surveyor at the coal face”, he suggested. “There are a number of underlying issues here and we are trying to get lenders, brokers and panel managers round the table to get this problem resolved.”
One company taking a pro-active approach to the problem is the LSL-owned chartered surveyor company e.surv, which plans to increase its 385-strong workforce by 25% by the end of 2013.
Business development director Richard Sexton said the firm aimed to add roughly 100 staff through recruiting graduates, enticing former valuers back in and offering surveyors with other specialities conversion courses.
He said the increase in mortgage lending in the south east had encouraged e.surv to act: “There is no single answer to the industry issue. We have got to be a bit more innovative now because it looks like this demand is set to stay.”
