Rise in remote property surveys risks leaving homeowners unable to sell

The rise in banks hiring property surveyors who are working from home risks leaving homeowners trapped in homes they cannot sell, the industry has warned.

Remote or hybrid property surveyor jobs have jumped from 4pc pre-pandemic to 33pc today, according to exclusive data shared with The Telegraph by job search portal Indeed.

Valuations done from a desktop rely on pictures, making it hard for surveyors to see how properties are constructed. As a result, some bank surveyors are signing off on properties that are unmortgageable.

Remote valuations help banks keep up with the volume of mortgage applications they receive – one surveyor told The Telegraph six valuations a day is standard practice. But these valuations can also “be detrimental” for a buyer when it comes to selling the property.

Steve Savage, of Connells Survey and Valuation, said: “I had a case recently [in which] I carried out a Rics (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Level 2 homebuyer survey for the customer and found the property was unmortgageable. This was after a desktop valuation had [ given] the green light.”

Customers can file complaints against banks to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for structural issues not flagged in valuations, but bank valuations aren’t liable for structural defects. In one case brought against Santander in 2021, the FOS decided not to uphold it because the “valuation type” selected by the buyer’s broker was “for mortgage purposes”.

The FOS said the small print read: “Please note this valuation is not a building survey and defects which a detailed inspection should reveal may not be discovered or commented upon.”

The buyer, who had discovered the subsidence, claimed he thought the valuation was a survey. Michael Holden, a chartered surveyor at housing body Propertymark, said automated valuations were “a way of speeding up the process”.

He added: “You’re effectively pressing a button and the artificial intelligence provides a figure. Then money is secured against that value. It doesn’t work for large or unusual properties.

“Lots of surveying firms which work on behalf of banks operate a points-based system: so a minimum of six valuations a day, or two Level 2 surveys a day. You have to hit a certain number a day otherwise you’ll be up for retraining.”

Steve Lees, of Rics, said: “Rics would always advocate commissioning a home survey before purchasing a home, this should not be confused with a lender’s valuation. A Rics survey will tell you the actual condition of the property.”