Why Should You Get your Property Valued?
Residential property can represent a significant portion of your financial assets. Whether you own one as a homeowner or resident, as an investor or as a landlord, it requires a sizeable commitment (personally and financially) to purchase, maintain and potentially even to sell it.
That is why you should consider more actively monitoring these assets and seek to maximize the benefits or minimize any costs arising from your property. A good place to start is knowing its market value. Let us talk about the benefits of getting a professional valuation of your residential property.
Insurance
Building insurance is a type of home insurance that will compensate you in the event of damage to the structure of your property – walls, ceilings and floors, and sometimes fixtures and fittings too. Apart from when you are taking out a mortgage, this is not legally required in the UK. However it is certainly worth considering financial protection for events like fire, theft, flood and vandalism. A proper valuation will give you a good basis to apply for adequate cover should your property suffer damage.
Taking profit: Is it time to sell?
Scotland has recorded home price surges in 2021. Two Lanarkshire towns – Motherwell and Hamilton – reported the highest increases in home prices in all of the UK.
Property markets are dynamic and driven by many different economic factors and urban trends. For example in 2021, the rise in property valuation in Lanarkshire towns is attributed to the move towards work-from-home arrangements. Remote work set-ups have allowed homebuyers to look to other towns where they can enjoy the space and affordability without having to worry about daily travel time.
The market price of your property will be one important factor in your decision to sell. In a market with opportunity to profit or as part of a rebalancing of your finances, an up-to-date valuation of your property is very important.
Tax considerations
Knowing your property value is also important to assess tax implications. For example, you have a house for sale in Lanarkshire, a second residential property that you have let out and is not used as your main home. When you sell this asset, the difference between the selling price, which presumably would be equal to the market value, and the cost at which you purchased it, less other allowable deductions, will be charged an 18% or 28% capital gains tax. This CGT is borne by you as the seller.
For estate planning purposes, one also has to consider property value in anticipation of inheritance tax. Estate value above £325,000 is subject to a 40% inheritance tax, which you may want to prepare for with funds to be made available to the inheritors.
New Life Stages
Sometimes the decision to sell residential property is not a purely financial one. Perhaps you are retirees who want to move to a smaller, lower maintenance house near some friends. Or you may be a young couple moving off to London for a new job. The motivation may be different but the need to assess your property value is just as relevant.
Market Value and Your Mortgage
There are instances when property values drop after you have purchased one on a mortgage. Sometimes the value of the mortgage even exceeds the market value of your home.
When you have an updated market valuation of your property, you can make informed decisions about what course of action you can take. Can you renegotiate the mortgage or continue renting out the property while waiting for prices to pick up? Depending on whether it is a property for own use, or an investment, your own liquidity situation and personal circumstances, you can explore that options suited to your individual situation and goals
How do I get my property valued?
You can visit Scotland’s Land Information Service to get property information and property transaction prices in the last 6 months. This gives you actual prices at which properties at specific locations sold. Unfortunately, you cannot asses whether these houses are comparable to your property in terms of square footage, age, upkeep and other such details.
To get an up-to-date and property-specific valuation, get in touch with Kirkland Estate Agents. They are in constant communication with both buyers and sellers so they have their fingers on the pulse of local market trends, such as what prices buyers are looking for, what locations and home features are desirable and whether it is a buyer or seller’s market. They can also visit your property to make an assessment and find comparable properties to benchmark your house value.
Property Valuation Lanarkshire
Kirkland Estate Agents is a locally owned independent estate agents based in Coatbridge covering central Scotland, providing a personal and honest service, from property valuation Lanarkshire and houses for sale Lanarkshire to buying your dream home at an affordable price. You can get in touch with us by clicking on the button below.
