VALUERS PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS

The valuation of property is a professional occupation with representative bodies that will deal with professional matters. Almost all professional valuers are covered by a policy of insurance and allegations of a valuers professional negligence must be dealt with through the legal system. Valuers are normally instructed directly or by a third party such as a bank or financial institution to appraise security offered by a potential borrower.

Duty of Care

To prove a case of valuers professional negligence it is necessary to show that there exists a duty of care between the valuer and the client and that the valuer acted with less than the normally accepted degree of skill and care. The normal valuer/client contractual relationship is usually sufficient to establish a duty of care and one negligence has been proved, the valuer is responsible for all losses reasonably incurred as a direct result of the valuers negligent actions.

Common Problems

There are several areas where a valuer may be found to be lacking, the most obvious of which are over valuations and undervaluation’s both of which have the potential for substantial losses. A vendor who relies on a vakuer to establish a sale price may suffer a direct loss on sale as a result of an undervaluation whereas an over valuation may result in wasted advertising and loss of a potential sale at a realistic value. If a valuer is establishing the extent of security offered by a property it may be that the opportunity for a business or personas loan is lost. Furthermore failure to spot obvious defects may make the valuer liable for the cost of rectification or the reduction in value attributed to the defect.

Reasonable Competence

It must be made clear that not all failures by valuers will be deemed to be negligent. The valuation of property is not a precise science and valuers are not expected to be able to substitute for surveyors in providing structural surveys. A valuer must merely achieve the standard of a reasonably competent valuer to avoid liability in a valuers profession negligence claim.

Litigation Lawyers

If you believe that you have lost money as a result of negligent actions by a valuer we may be able to assist you to recover compensation. Just complete the contact for or email for free advice from a specialist solicitor. If you decode to proceed no further there is no charge and no further obligation however for those that do have a reasonable prospect of success we may be able to offer the no win no fee scheme.