If you’ve got a portfolio of residential properties then it’s vitally important that you understand just how much those properties are worth. This applies on the basis of each individual property and the portfolio as a whole. A residential portfolio valuation carried out by the RICS qualified surveyors at Crown Survey and Valuation will establish an accurate valuation for each of the properties in your portfolio and therefore for the portfolio as a whole. Armed with this information you’ll be able to set rental rates which are fair, insure your properties and, across the whole portfolio, plan your funding and investment strategy on the basis of accurate information.

Why use a RICS qualified surveyor?

Although it is possible to ask people such as estate agents to provide you with a valuation for your properties, the figures they produce won’t be as accurate or as useful as those produced by one of our RICS qualified surveyors. That’s because RICS qualified surveyors work within the strict guidelines set out by the Royal Chartered Institute of Surveyors and combine visual inspections of the properties themselves with a deep knowledge of the local housing market and wider property trends.

An experienced RICS qualified surveyor will also be able to produce detailed and accurate valuations of a wide variety of property types, from flats and small terraced houses to larger detached properties. Our experience in the field means that we can then combine individual property valuations into an overview of your whole property portfolio, enabling you to be certain whether your business is developing and growing as you want it to. Information of this kind is not only vital for your own business operations, it is also incredibly important if you need to seek outside investment or even apply for something as simple as a bank loan.

Accurate valuations will also be extremely useful if you ever have dealings with HMRC on issues which hinge upon the value of your property portfolio, such as capital gains tax. An accurate valuation of this kind will provide a full picture of the capital and rental value of your portfolio, enabling you to set competitive rental rates and maximize the return on your investment if you wish to sell any of your properties.

The individual valuations

The accuracy of our residential portfolio valuations is built on the foundation of the extremely thorough manner in which our RICS qualified surveyors inspect each and every property. This inspection takes the form of a physical inspection of the exterior and the interior of the property, taking into account any factors which might increase or decrease the value of each property. The surveyor will look at a range of factors including the following:

• The location – the location of a property has a huge bearing on its value and consequently the kind of rental rate it can command. Factors such as being located within the catchment area of a school which has achieved excellent OFSTED ratings can lift the value of a property, for example, as can proximity to useful transport hubs. Other factors likely to make a location more appealing and therefore more valuable include the ease with which anyone living in the property can reach amenities such as shops, restaurants, doctors and dentists.
   
• Details – simple details set down in a residential portfolio valuation report will include the year in which each property was built, the number of storeys it has and whether it has been effectively maintained since being built.
  
• Type – other basic information needed to form an accurate valuation of properties within a portfolio include the type of property, i.e. whether it is a flat, semi-detached house, detached house or terrace house, and, if it is a flat, whether there are other flats directly above and below it. The report will also set out the number of bathrooms and bedrooms in each property and the size of the property will also be a factor. For survey and valuation purposes, the surveyor will use the RICS standard code of practice when noting the measurements for a property. Under this code the Gross Internal Area (GIA) measured is used for a flat, and the Gross External Area (GEA) measured is used for a house.
  
• Utilities – the presence of the kind of utilities you’d expect in a modern home will be noted, including water, gas and electricity, although a valuation of this kind will only include a visual inspection of these utilities and not any exploration of whether they function as expected.
  
• Condition – as the owner of a portfolio of properties you’ll want the surveyor to provide a detailed description of the condition of all parts of each property. This is particularly important if your properties have been rented out and you’re not certain exactly what kind of condition they have been maintained in. In particular, certain failures in maintenance could create a situation in which actual structural damage is being caused. 
  
• The market – perhaps the most significant input into any residential portfolio valuation is an understanding of the housing market. In terms of a residential portfolio, this understanding will apply to the local market as it applies to each individual property and the wider housing market and the impact of factors such as changes in interest rates. Our RICS qualified surveyors will apply their in-depth local and national knowledge to combine the condition, location and type of the properties with the wider market conditions to create an accurate portfolio valuation.

If you’re in need of a residential portfolio valuation and are looking for an RICS Surveyor near you, contact us today for a free quote. We specialise in building surveys and valuations and can carry out a professional inspection, so you can rest assured that the portfolio valuation we arrive at is a realistic reflection of the current value of your property.