Understand your next property decision
Explore practical explanations of property valuations, agent selection, buying and selling, with evidence and examples to help you decide. Each guide answers one question and links to the next one you are likely to have.
This is an estimate from comparable sales, not a RICS or mortgage valuation, and not a survey.
Property valuations
How accurate are online house valuations?
Learn how to judge an online estimate by its property details, comparable sales and limitations, rather than relying on the number alone.
Which type of property valuation do you need?
Compare online estimates, estate agent appraisals, mortgage valuations and surveys to find the assessment suited to your decision.
How to choose comparable sales for a house valuation
Learn how to choose relevant sold properties, reject misleading matches and use a practical shortlist to assess a house valuation.
Selling your home
How to Set the Asking Price for Your House
A practical framework for setting an initial asking price, testing comparable sales and agreeing when to review the strategy.
Your House Is Getting No Viewings: What to Check
Diagnose missing house viewings by tracing visibility, listing engagement, enquiries, buyer response and practical appointment arrangements.
Viewings but No Offers: How to Diagnose the Problem
Understand what repeated viewings without offers reveal about expectations, property condition, competing alternatives and asking price.
Choosing an estate agent
Why do estate agent valuations differ?
Find out why estate agents recommend different prices and how to test their evidence before choosing your asking strategy.
How to compare three estate agents before choosing one
Compare three estate agents fairly, with questions on pricing, marketing, viewings, fees and the people responsible for your sale.
Questions to Ask at an Estate Agent Valuation
Practical questions to ask about an estate agent’s pricing evidence, proposed sales plan, accountability, communication and contract terms before you instruct them.
Buying and offers
How Much Should You Offer on a House?
A practical method for making a house offer based on evidence, affordability and your position as a buyer.
How to Tell If a House Is Overpriced
Use comparable sales, property differences and market context to test an asking price without guessing at a discount.
What Does a House Price Reduction Mean for Buyers?
Interpret house price reductions without assuming the seller is desperate or the revised asking price is a bargain.
Specialist property valuations
How should you assess the value of a house with an annexe?
Assess annexe accommodation alongside permissions, access, services and practical use, without assuming that a separate kitchen establishes a rental income opportunity.
How should you assess a house with land and outbuildings?
Describe a property with land through its extent, access, uses and outbuildings, then compare the whole home rather than applying a universal acreage rate.
What makes an equestrian property difficult to value?
Examine how stables, grazing, facilities and residential accommodation work together, while keeping commercial equestrian business questions separate from home price research.
Formal property valuations
What valuation do you need for probate and inheritance tax?
Clarify the relevant date, property interest and estate assessment requirements for probate, then keep later marketing evidence and sale decisions separately labelled.
What should a property valuation for divorce or separation address?
Agree purpose, date, information and report use before commissioning a property assessment for separation, with clear distinctions between market research and expert instructions.
When might you need a property valuation for capital gains tax?
Prepare the transaction, date and property-interest questions for a tax adviser, rather than treating a current home estimate as a historic tax basis.