The rise in banks using 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 without realising they 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 remote valuations can also “be detrimental” for a buyer when they come to sell the property.
Steve Savage, of Connells Survey and Valuation, said: “I had a case recently, a two-storey terrace house from 1900 with single skin brickwork spanning four inches. 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 been undertaken for the lender, giving the property the green light for a mortgage. Had the lender known the correct type of property construction, they would not have accepted the mortgage application.”
Mr Savage said the buyer may also have thought twice about buying the property, or tried to negotiate a better sale price earlier.
Mr Savage added: “Desktop and mortgage valuations are for the lenders’ benefit and will be limited in scope.
“The use of desktop valuations has increased since Covid… [They] can be detrimental to the customer when they come to sell the property.”
