Choosing a survey level
The lender's figure is below the agreed price and the valuation does not list repairs. Where do you look for condition?
Look in a home survey, not in that valuation. A lender's figure below the agreed price, with no repair list, is a view of value for the loan. It does not itemise slates, damp, timber or drains. Condition, if you want it itemised, is what survey ratings are for, and only after you instruct that survey. Do not reverse-engineer a works schedule out of the gap between the price you agreed and the number the lender prefers.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
MoneyHelper says the mortgage valuation is for the lender and is not a structural survey. A lower figure can happen for market reasons, for condition the valuer thinks affects security, or for both, and the document may not explain which. That opacity is a reason to get your own survey, not a puzzle you solve by dividing the gap into imaginary roof and damp allowances. There is no published method that turns a down-valuation into an itemised bill, and the consumer guidance does not supply one. Guessing the split will not make the guess true.
Choosing the survey level is the practical next decision. A conventional home in reasonable condition and simple form points toward Level 2. Older, altered or unusual construction, or a plan for major works, points toward Level 3. The valuation you already have does not become either of those because it disappointed you. When the survey arrives, read the ratings and the limitations. Obtain quotations where the matter is serious, before you are legally committed. Use the lender's number in the mortgage conversation, and the survey in the condition conversation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Given this house, which level is the one that would actually describe condition?
- Will you ignore the lender's figure and inspect independently?
- What limitations should I expect even after a full visit?
What are the typical next steps?
- Commission a home survey for condition.
- Keep the value gap out of any homemade repair list.
- Ask the broker how the lower figure affects the loan.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the valuation mentions one defect, is that the whole condition story?
No. One remark is not an itemised survey. Other defects can exist without being listed there.
Does a lower figure mean every rating would have been serious?
No. Value and condition ratings are different systems. You cannot translate one into the other by assumption.