Period homes are always popular, but when steeped in cinematic history, they’re more attractive than ever.
Methley Street is said to have been the inspiration for his film The Kid and is also situated next to the City Lights Court factory building named after Chaplin’s 1939 film, City Lights.
Putting a value on a property as unique as this, of course, requires an exhaustive amount of work – and rightly so.
However, recently in the mortgage trade press, criticism has been levelled at valuers for “down valuing” properties.
There are several reasons why this is unlikely to be the case.
The entire housing value chain relies upon residential valuers to provide expert, unbiased property valuations. Our duty of care is relied upon by lenders, buyers, sellers, developers, conveyancers and brokers.
What’s more, as a profession, we are heavily regulated and audited.
Surveying is a very prescribed process that relies upon our experience and expertise to deliver sound judgements that take into account third-party opinion, desk-top research and third-party databases to ensure that any final figure we issue stacks up.
Yet, it is worth remembering that the demands of housing do not stand still. Valuing is a process that operates in a dynamic market place.
RICS regularly updates guidance notes to account for issues, such as developing methods of construction, and are currently assessing how sustainability should inform future valuations.
In short, it is practically impossible for valuations to do anything other than reflect markets.
Robin Johnson is managing director of Kinleigh, Folkard and Hayward
