Help to Buy Valuation in Manchester

In Manchester, RICS valuations for equity loan redemption start from around £240 for a standard 2-bed apartment valued up to £250,000. Prices increase with property value and size — expect £290–£380 for properties valued between £250,000 and £400,000, and higher fees for larger homes or those valued above £400,000. Manchester pricing sits below the national average due to lower property values compared to London and the South East, but high-specification apartments in Deansgate or Spinningfields may require higher surveyor fees due to the complexity of finding truly comparable properties. The Homes England administration fee of £200 is payable separately when you submit your redemption application via Target HCA.

Yes — a RICS valuation is mandatory when selling any property with an outstanding equity loan. In Manchester, this applies to thousands of apartments and houses purchased between 2013 and 2023. Your repayment will be calculated by Homes England based on the higher of the RICS valuation or your agreed sale price. This prevents homeowners from selling undervalue to reduce their equity loan liability. When you have already agreed a sale price with a buyer, book your valuation early — the report takes 3–5 working days, and you need to submit it to Target HCA before completion. Your solicitor will coordinate with Homes England to ensure the equity loan is redeemed and the charge removed from the Land Registry on completion day.

For a typical Manchester 2-bed apartment, the on-site inspection takes 45–90 minutes. Your surveyor inspects all rooms, assesses condition and finishes, checks leasehold terms and service charges, and notes any defects or issues that might affect value. They then research comparable property sales in your area — for example, similar apartments in Salford Quays, Ancoats, or the Northern Quarter that have sold within the last 12 months. Expect delivery of the written RICS valuation report within 3–5 working days. Valuations remain valid for three months from the date of inspection, giving you time to submit it to Homes England and complete your redemption, remortgage, or sale. A desktop extension costs £75 and extends validity by another three months if needed.

Property appreciation means you will owe more than the original cash amount of your equity loan. You repay a percentage of the current market value, not a fixed sum. For example, if you bought a £200,000 apartment in Ancoats in 2018 with a 20% equity loan (£40,000), and your property is now worth £255,000, you owe 20% of £255,000 — which is £51,000 — plus any interest and fees. Manchester property prices have risen by over 5% annually in recent years, meaning most equity loan holders now owe more than their original loan. The professional RICS valuation determines this figure, so an accurate and fair assessment is essential to avoid overpaying.

Yes — challenging an inaccurate RICS valuation is possible by commissioning a second valuation from a different RICS surveyor. Homes England will review both reports and make a decision. In Manchester, disputes most commonly arise when properties in oversupplied new build developments are overvalued, or when comparables used by the surveyor are not genuinely like-for-like. For example, comparing a standard apartment in Lower Broughton to a premium unit in Deansgate would be inappropriate. Sellers who find their estate agent's valuation significantly different from the RICS surveyor's figure should investigate further. Always ensure your surveyor has strong local knowledge of Manchester's property market and can justify their valuation with robust comparable evidence and market commentary.

Homes England requires your RICS surveyor to provide at least three comparable property sales that meet strict criteria. The comparables must be like-for-like in property type (flat, terraced, semi-detached, detached), size (number of bedrooms and approximate square footage), age and construction method, and located within two miles of your property. They must have sold within the last 12 months, and the surveyor must provide sale prices and addresses. In Manchester, this can be challenging in areas like Salford Quays or Ancoats where new developments vary significantly in specification, service charges, and leasehold terms. An experienced surveyor will account for these differences in their market commentary and adjust values accordingly to provide an accurate and defensible valuation.

While the RICS valuation itself focuses on the market value of the property, your surveyor will assess leasehold terms, ground rent, service charges, and building insurance costs as part of their inspection and market commentary. In Manchester, many Help to Buy apartments are leasehold with service charges ranging from £1,000 to £3,000 annually, and ground rents up to £350 per year. High service charges or unfavourable lease terms (such as short remaining lease length or doubling ground rents) can reduce property value and affect your ability to remortgage or sell. Your surveyor should note these factors in their report and reflect their impact on the final valuation figure, particularly when comparing your property to similar sales with different leasehold arrangements.

Staircasing is the process of increasing your ownership share by paying down part of your Help to Buy equity loan before selling or remortgaging. For example, if you currently own 75% of your property (after the original 5% deposit plus 75% mortgage) and the government owns 20%, you can staircase to 85% or 90% ownership by repaying part of the loan. In Manchester, staircasing can be attractive if you want to reduce or eliminate the interest charges that apply after year five, or if you want to improve your mortgage terms by increasing your equity share. A RICS valuation is mandatory for staircasing because the repayment amount is calculated as a percentage of the current market value. If your property has increased in value, staircasing becomes more expensive, but it also means you are increasing ownership of a more valuable asset.