What the bank valuer checks on the visit
Most people have no idea what happens during a bank valuation visit, so they either panic and clean the house or ignore it entirely. Knowing what is actually assessed helps you prepare for the things that matter.
What the visit is for
The valuer is answering one question for the bank: if this loan went bad, what could realistically be recovered by selling this property. Everything examined connects back to that.
It usually takes thirty to sixty minutes for a normal flat or house.
What gets measured and recorded
- Actual area. Measured on site, not taken from the brochure. Builder figures include loading that a valuer will not.
- What is actually built. Compared against the approved plan. An extra room on the terrace or an enclosed balcony gets recorded as a deviation.
- Age and condition. Structure, cracks, dampness, quality of construction, and how much useful life the building has left.
- Floor and position. Which floor, lift or no lift, corner or middle, road facing or interior.
- Access. The width of the approach road matters more than owners expect, particularly for plotted properties.
- Occupancy. Vacant, owner occupied, or tenanted. A sitting tenant reduces what a lender can count on.
- Surroundings. The immediate neighbourhood, and anything nearby that affects saleability.
- Photographs. Exterior, interior, approach road, and usually the building name board, with date and location recorded.
What to keep ready
- Sale deed or title document.
- Approved building plan, if you have it.
- Latest property tax receipt.
- Society share certificate and maintenance receipt, for a flat.
- Occupancy or completion certificate, if it exists.
- Khata or mutation document, depending on your state.
- Access to every part of the property, including any locked rooms or the terrace.
Missing papers are extremely common and rarely fatal on their own. What causes problems is a gap discovered late that nobody mentioned early.
What does not move the number
Owners often prepare for the wrong things. A spotlessly clean house does not raise the valuation. Nor does furniture, expensive curtains, or a fresh coat of paint applied last week.
Genuine improvements do count. A structural addition, a proper roof treatment, a legally approved extra floor. The rule of thumb is that anything permanent and approved may count, while anything decorative or removable mostly does not.
Two things that genuinely help
Be there, or send someone who knows the property. If the valuer cannot get into a room, it gets assessed conservatively. If nobody can explain that the extra floor has approval, it is recorded as a deviation.
Disclose the awkward things yourself. The tenant, the pending mutation, the deviation. It will be found. Disclosed early, it is a factor to work with. Discovered late, it can stall the file entirely.
Read about bank loan valuations, or if the figure disappoints you, see what to do about a low bank valuation.
Checked by Parish Rao, Chartered Engineer and Government Approved Valuer.
Page last checked on 25 August 2026.
Get a free call back
Leave your number and we will call you back. We will tell you which report you need and what it costs, free of charge.
In a hurry? Call +91 98681 69747 instead.