Launching a Menu of Options for Remote Valuations

Arnold & Baldwin has launched a range of remote valuation options for lenders, in conjunction with Property Risk Inspection Ltd, enabling them to lend more confidently at higher LTVs, on larger loan sizes, and on complex buy to let mortgages, including HMOs.

The chartered surveyor has introduced a menu of different approaches available to lenders to remotely value a property, providing 80% coverage of all properties in England.

The first option is a traditional desktop valuation by a RICS registered valuer. This includes Ordnance Survey map validation, general insurance qualification, flood risk assessment, subsidence risk, and collation of online datasets to establish the market valuation.

Where there is insufficient data to rely on the desktop valuation, perhaps because the property has been recently refurbished or extended, and access is not possible as the occupant is self-isolating, the vendor can take geotagged, time restricted photos of the key property components and upload them straight to the surveyor to strengthen the remote valuation using the Property Risk Inspection “MyHomePhotos” application.

As a further step to manage risk and provide added confidence, Arnold & Baldwin can send a Property Risk data gatherer to take additional external photos and measurements, providing street views, and assessment of land and outbuildings for more unusual properties.

Arnold & Baldwin is also able to arrange a physical internal inspection at a later date to validate the original valuation where lenders require this as part of their funding lines.