Complaints rising over repo selling prices
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The Financial Ombudsman Service has highlighted complaints it is receiving about disputed property valuations, particularly on the sale of repossessed properties.
Complaints are arising when lenders raise the interest rate on a mortgage following property revaluations. Borrowers are also complaining when their bank repossesses and sells a property at a price they consider too low.
The FOS says: “Where such a sale raises insufficient funds to repay the mortgage in full, consumers sometimes argue that responsibility for making good the shortfall lies not with them but with the lender.” It says it must consider if the lender has obtained at least two reliable valuations and made every effort to sell at a reasonable price.
Association of Mortgage Intermediaries director Robert Sinclair says: “A few months ago, we thought valuations given by surveyors were lower than would be expected but that has largely stopped now. The problem is property is only worth what people will pay for it and in a distressed sale it is never going to be easy to get market price.”
