Before deciding whether to approve you for a mortgage, a mortgage lender will want to check how much they think the house you’re buying is worth. To do this, they carry out what’s called a ‘valuation survey.’
Traditionally, a mortgage lender would arrange for someone to go inside the property to take a look. Or, they might just get someone to look at it from the outside, which is known as a ‘kerbside valuation.’
Nowadays, however, most lenders will simply value the property using sales data online, without anyone actually seeing the house in-person. This is called a ‘desktop valuation.’
The valuation survey isn’t usually very detailed, so you should get your own survey carried out as well. Always use a surveyor registered with a governing body that sets high standards, like the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the Residential Property Surveyors Association.