Reading Your Valuation Report Like a Pro

You have paid for a report and it runs to twenty pages. Here is what each part is for and how to spot a weak one.

The ten parts

1. Who the valuer isName, qualification and registration number. If there is no registration number, stop reading and start worrying.
2. What is being valuedAddress, area, boundaries, ownership. Check this against your papers. Errors here undermine everything after it.
3. Purpose and dateBoth matter. A valuation is always for a purpose and as on a date, and using it for something else can be misleading.
4. What was found on siteMeasurements, construction type, age, condition. Evidence that somebody actually went there.
5. Method used, and whyA report that does not say which method it used and why is hiding something. The four methods
6. The evidenceNotified rates, comparable sales, rent where relevant. This is the part that holds up under scrutiny.
7. The calculationsThe actual arithmetic, shown, so a reader can follow it and check it.
8. The final valueIn figures and in words.
9. Signature, seal and declarationIncluding a statement that the valuer is independent.
10. Photographs and annexuresIdeally with date, time and location recorded on the images.

Warning signs

• No registration number anywhere
• A figure with no working shown
• No photographs, or photographs that could be anywhere
• No comparable evidence, only the notified rate copied across
• Measurements that do not match your papers, unexplained
• No mention of a tenant, when you have one
• The purpose and date are vague or missing

What to do if something looks wrong

Ask the valuer first. Factual errors such as a wrong area or a missed floor are usually fixed quickly and without argument.

If the method or the evidence looks unsound and you are relying on the report for something significant, get it independently reviewed. That is a service in itself.