jmood

I was advised that I should get a valuation for my apartment in the UK, to keep on hand as a back-up for the affidavit of support, in case the USCIS doesn't accept my husband's income statement. He works purely on commission and this is a new job as of April this year, so the letter from the employer says his earnings are "expected to be". There are also 3 solid tax returns for 08, 07 and 06. It may or may not fly. And hence the need for the back up.

What is the easiest and cheapest way to get a property valuation in the UK, in a format that would be acceptable to the USCIS? This is an apartment in London.

Thanks

jmood

Hi all,
Did I post this in the wrong forum? Since it's to support the affidavit of support for my marriage based AOS, I thought I could ask here.

What would be a form of "valuation" that would be acceptable to the USCIS which would also be the cheapest and easiest to get for me from the UK, while of course I am in the US? Would one from a real estate agent be acceptable?

Thank you.

Rete

I'm transferring it to the USA forum as they would know better than on here.

It really doesn't have anything to do with immigration even though you want the figures for the affidavit of support ;-) Any legitimate source would be acceptable, i.e. appraiser, real estate agent, mortgage broker, etc.

lansbury

We used our house as an asset.

We provided a valuation from an estate agent and a statement from the building society to show the balance on the mortgage. The Embassy didn't ask to see anything else.

jmood

Thank you.

That's the Embassy in the UK though, who probably would be more familiar and comfortable with UK estate agents' valuations. Does anyone know whether the USCIS in the US would accept that kind of valuation?

lansbury

The only alternative would be to pay to have a surveyor do a valuation, similar to the one a building society would do before lending a mortgage. Not sure what they would cost these days, but a few phone calls should give you an idea.

kimbap

i just looked into getting a survey. i was getting very very high quotes, or so i though, nothing less than 450quid. then i looked on my original valuation when we bought it which went through the a big warehouse surveying firm(that quoted me 450) and found the name of the local surveyor who actually did it. i called him and he said he'd do it for 250. so if i were you, i'd look in my area for small survey forms. since you don't need it for anything else go for the cheapest one, i'd say. and i'd use a licensed surveyor particularly for someone in the U.S. -- they can't really quibble with that.

celticgrid

Cost is often quoted as a percentage of the valuation. At least, when I went through the exercise last year it was. Usually around 1% of the valuation that is produced.

Jerseygirl

I would get 3 estate agents to value the property...tell them you're thinking about selling then there should be no charge. Make sure you get the valuation in writing.

helwardman

An estate agent will provide you with an indication of value for their sale purposes. This isn't necessarily the true value of the bricks and mortar as a piece of property. A building surveyor will provide a proper valuation.

Jerseygirl

I know that...but before laying out cash I would check exactly what sort of valuation is required.

dbnull

I would like to digress from the valuation for a minute and look at the original topic which is associated with USCIS and the income level.
Well as USCIS is concerned about income, they have a poverty guideline every year and if your income is above the poverty guideline based on your household size then you wouldn't need to worry about the valuation of your flat in England.
Here is the 2009 Poverty guideline document in .pdf format.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

jmood

Hi all,
I'm answering my own question as to "cheap and easy house valuation in the UK" : I found a website mouseprice.com, on which you can get a full 20 page valuation report for 20 pounds. You just put in your zip code and then add any details of the property.

I don't even know yet whether I'll need to use it with the USCIS and if I do, whether they'll accept it is anothe matter. The report has statistical computations based on HM LandRegistry data and looks quite efficient. It's not titled "valuation" though. It's titled "Property Market Report" and then has a page titled "Valuation Estimates". It gives a low and a high range for the "valuation estimate", so USCIS can take the low range if they want. I feel this could work.

Noorah101

Hi jmood,

You can try this, but personally I think they would want to see YOUR particulars....not just some valuation of properties in the area. You'll need to show 1) that you own the home; 2) what the value of your home is; and 3) proof of the equity in the home (value minus loan on the home, if there is one).

Rene

jmood

The report specifically quotes the exact property address. So it is for the particular property. And yes, I will also need to have the other info you quote.

Hmm, having said that - I don't know whether I have something from land registry or title or lease - or what. And whatever I have is probably in storage in the UK or somehwere. Soo, I'll need to get moving on that front too. Thanks for reminding! :-)

Hey British folks, silly question here: When it's a flat with "share of freehold" situation, what is the document that shows I own the property? A "share" document from the "landlord" or is it the title or deed from land registry?