Type your postcode into an online valuation tool and you will get a number in seconds — free. So why do people still pay for an RICS valuation? Because the two products answer different questions, and using the wrong one can be expensive.
What Online Valuations Actually Do
Automated valuation models (AVMs) estimate from sold-price data, floor area and local trends. For a typical estate on which many similar houses have sold recently, they are often within a reasonable range. For anything unusual — extended, unmodernised, mixed-use, short-lease, or in a street where little sells — the error can be tens of thousands of pounds. They also carry no liability: no one signs it, no one stands behind it.
What an RICS Valuation Does
An RICS Red Book valuation is a physical inspection and a professional opinion of value that carries the valuer’s liability, prepared to a regulated standard. It is what HMRC requires for probate and capital gains, what courts expect in divorce proceedings, what housing associations require for Help to Buy and shared ownership, and what lenders and solicitors will actually rely on.
Which Do You Need?
Curious what the house next door went for? Online tool. Setting an asking price? An estate agent’s market appraisal plus your own judgement. Anything formal — probate, tax, divorce, lease extension, staircasing, disputes — needs the RICS version. Our house valuations in Manchester are fixed-fee, delivered in days, and prepared by RICS Registered Valuers. Call 020 4579 8270 for a quote.