Which valuation is needed to repay a Help to Buy equity loan?

Check the scheme before applying general advice

This article concerns the Homes England Help to Buy equity loan process in England. Other schemes or arrangements may have different instructions. The geographic coverage of a PMD report does not determine the rules of an equity loan.

Homes England publishes guidance on arranging the market valuation for repayment, including surveyor, report and timing requirements. Read that current guidance for the applicable loan before making a booking.

Write down what transaction you are planning: sale, repayment from your own funds or repayment alongside refinancing. Ask the scheme administrator what the process requires in your circumstances.

Give the provider a precise brief

Homes England requires a valuation from a surveyor qualified and registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. You arrange and pay for the work. Tell the surveyor it is for equity-loan repayment and supply the administrator requirements; an ordinary agent appraisal or automated estimate cannot perform that task.

State the scheme and purpose, identify the property and provide the relevant instruction. Ask whether the provider can meet the actual requirements. A description such as “house valuation” may be too broad to establish that.

Commissioning a formal property valuation explains the scope questions. Confirm the professional requirements rather than infer them from a report sample or a fast delivery promise.

Identify the relevant England loan; Read the recipient requirements; Commission suitable professional work; Check timing and submission. Read the evidence together before making a property-specific judgement.

Resolve material property questions early

Ask which information the surveyor needs about changes, unusual features or building issues. Homes England's instructions identify circumstances that may need specialist attention. Do not wait until after receiving a report to disclose something material.

Give the adviser or surveyor original documents where requested. An estimate of a change's effect on value is not confirmation of planning permission or construction condition.

Plan the timing with the recipient

Homes England says the original report is valid for three months from its production date and should be sent within five days. Its guidance sets separate extension procedures if repayment is delayed. Check those instructions before booking; a newer marketing estimate does not extend the accepted report. Ask the administrator and provider what current validity and update instructions apply.

When an older property valuation needs checking again explains the general reuse question. It does not override the scheme's requirements or supply an expiry rule for your application.

Prepare for the scheme instruction

Do not order an ordinary market report first and assume it can be converted into the required scheme document. Tell the instructed professional about relevant building or cladding information. Check the next administrative step before relying on a report date. A separate current sale comparison can help your marketing preparation, but remains a different piece of work.

State scheme and transaction; Supply the official instruction; Disclose material property issues; Confirm provider suitability; Ask about validity and updates. Record the supporting document and any unanswered question.

Build the timetable from the steps the scheme actually requires. Avoid assuming that the valuation can be commissioned at any point and remain suitable indefinitely. Confirm what happens if the transaction takes longer or the required information changes.

Check the report against the instruction

Before relying on the document, confirm that it identifies the correct property, purpose and relevant date and addresses the required scope. Ask how factual errors or missing information should be dealt with.

Choosing a property valuation type can help explain why an agent appraisal, automated estimate and scheme-specific report are different. Do not swap them because their final figures appear similar.

Use official guidance for the repayment decision

The administrator's process and suitable professional advice should guide the formal work. This article does not calculate the repayment or determine which amount is due. Do not base that decision on a generic market estimate.

PMD does not provide the Help to Buy repayment valuation. An automated report should not be ordered to fulfil that requirement.

A separate sale-market enquiry

If you also need evidence for marketing an eligible home, PMD can organise current comparable sales and local context. That research is separate from the required repayment assessment. Read the report scope before deciding whether it adds information.

Keep the two records distinct: the professional valuation accepted for the scheme process, and any additional research used for a present sale discussion.