Thanks for using our online valuation. The figure you have is a fair starting point, built from real

Thanks for using our online valuation. The figure you have is a fair starting point, built from real sales near you. But it’s working from records, not from your home, and there are a few things that only a visit can pick up.

How the online figure is worked out.

An instant valuation looks at what similar homes nearby have sold for, using Land Registry records and recent sales data. It takes your postcode, the type of property and its size, and compares it with homes that look similar on paper. For a quick sense of where you stand, that’s useful. It’s also the reason the number can only ever be a starting point, because two homes that look identical on paper are very rarely identical in real life.

What it can’t see.

There are five things an automated valuation will almost always miss:

Work you’ve had done. Extensions, loft conversions and garage conversions often don’t show up in the records the tool is using, or they show up years late. An extra bedroom can make a real difference to what a buyer will pay.
Condition. A new kitchen, a recent boiler, replacement windows or a roof that’s been sorted all matter to buyers, and none of it is visible to a tool that has never been inside.
The plot. Garden size, which way it faces, off-road parking and what sits behind the back fence all affect value. A home backing onto fields and one backing onto a busy road can share a postcode and still be valued very differently.
Where it sits on the road. A quiet cul-de-sac and a through road a few hundred yards away can attract completely different buyers.
What buyers want right now. The online tool looks backwards at what has already sold. It can’t tell you how many buyers are currently looking for a home like yours, or what they’re asking us for this week.

Why the street matters more than the postcode.

Online figures lean heavily on averages, and averages hide a lot. Two homes on the same estate, or even the same road, can sell for very different amounts depending on the things listed above. Where your home sits within the range for your area depends on detail that only shows up in person. That’s why an automated figure is best treated as a guide rather than a number to plan a move around.

Why getting the number right matters so much.

It’s tempting to see a valuation as a nice number to know, but the figure you go to market with shapes everything that follows. Price too high and the home sits, buyers scroll past, and a reduction usually follows. Price it right and the first few weeks do their job properly.

This is something we take seriously. Over the last 12 months, we made 15 price reductions for every 100 homes we listed. The other two main agents in the area made 50 and 54. We’d put a lot of that down to the valuation at the start. We’d rather tell you what we think your home will sell for, and show you the sold prices behind it, than give you a higher figure that doesn’t hold up once you’re on the market.

What happens next.

A proper valuation visit takes the online figure and checks it against your actual home. Sam will look at the things the tool can’t, talk you through recent sales on and around your road, and explain how she’s arrived at the figure. You’ll also get a straight answer on anything worth doing before you go to market, and anything that isn’t worth the money.

There’s no pressure either way. Plenty of people book a visit a year or more before they plan to move, just so they know where they stand and have time to prepare properly. Others are ready to go within a few weeks. The visit is the same either way, and the choice about what to do next stays with you.

Questions worth asking at any valuation.

Whoever you ask to value your home, these are worth putting to them:

How did you arrive at this figure?
Which sold homes did you compare it with, and how similar are they?
What would you change or fix before going to market, and what wouldn’t you bother with?
What price would you launch at, and why?

Where you are now.

You have a figure that gives you a rough idea. The next step, when you’re ready, is a figure you can actually plan around. We cover homes right across Warrington, so wherever you are in the borough, we’re never far away.