Bank Loan and Mortgage Valuation

Panel grade, prepared to lending standards

A lender's valuation is a different document from a tax valuation. It usually states market value and a realisable or distress value alongside it, comments on marketability, and addresses the physical and legal characteristics that affect whether the bank could recover its money.

Check the panel before you commission anything

This is the single most avoidable wasted fee in our trade. Banks maintain their own panels of approved valuers. A valuer can hold every registration going and still not be on the panel of the specific bank considering your loan.

Ask your lender for its panel list first. If we are not on it, we will tell you, and you should use somebody who is. There is no sense paying twice.

What lenders look at

• Market value, and a realisable value on a forced sale.
• Loan to value, which the bank sets by policy and which caps what you can borrow.
• Marketability and demand in that locality.
• Approvals and occupancy status, and whether construction matches the sanctioned plan.
• Access, road width, independent entry.
• Age, condition and remaining useful life of the structure.
• Tenancy, which can materially affect recoverability.

Loan against property from abroad

Many NRIs borrow against Indian property rather than sell it, which avoids a capital gains event entirely. The valuation is one input. Your eligibility also turns on income, credit history and the bank's own rules on non resident borrowers, none of which a valuer controls.

What we need

• Title deed and chain of ownership.
• Approved plan and occupancy certificate where applicable.
• Latest property tax receipt.
• Details of any existing charge on the property.
• Tenancy agreements, if let.

What we will not do

We will not write a number to fit a loan amount. A valuation that is inflated to get an approval is a problem for you later, not for us, and it is the fastest way for a valuer to lose a panel place. If the figure will not support what you hoped to borrow, you will hear that from us before the report is issued.

What you get

A signed report from a government approved valuer, based on a real inspection, with the workings shown so the person reading it can follow how the figure was reached. Our registration number is printed on it. If anyone questions it later, the evidence is already in the file.

• An inspection that actually happened. Our engineer stands at the property. Every photograph carries the date, the time and the exact position.
• Comparable evidence, named. Real sales from the relevant area and the relevant period, identified so anyone can check them.
• Method stated openly. Which approach we used and why, with the adjustments set out rather than buried.
• The right date. A valuation is always as at a date. Get the date wrong and the number is useless even if the work is perfect.
• Currency where you need it. Rupees for the Indian side, converted for your side, with the exchange rate and its source stated.

How long it takes

Normally 48 to 72 hours from the site visit, once we have the basic papers. If it is urgent, tell us and we will treat it that way. For anything tied to a sale, start before you sign the agreement rather than after, because some of the biggest savings are only available in advance.

What it costs

It depends on the property type, its size and how far our engineer has to travel. Message us with the basic details and you get a firm figure before any work starts. No surprises later, and five percent off your first report.

What if the papers are missing

Very common, and usually not a problem. A deed from 1974 may simply not exist in the family any more. Records at the sub registrar office, property tax records and the notified rates for the area can normally fill the gap. Tell us what you do have and we will tell you straight away whether it is workable.

Questions people ask

Will any registered valuer do for my bank?

Not necessarily. Banks keep their own panels, and a valuer can hold every registration and still not be on yours. Ask the bank for its panel list first.

What does a lender's valuation include?

Market value, usually a realisable or forced sale value, and comments on marketability, approvals, access, condition and any tenancy.

Can you value it to match the loan I want?

No. An inflated valuation becomes your problem later. If the honest figure will not support the amount, we tell you before the report is issued.