What is a Property/House Valuation?

Property Valuation Types
Fair Deal Valuation
Mortgage Lender Valuation
Probate Valuation
Family Law Valuation
To book a valuation of your property

“What’s my property worth? is a question that we get asked quite regularly at DNG Galvin. What is a property/house valuation?, of course it’s a natural thing to be inquisitive about how much your house or apartment could be worth on the open market. To many people, a property or house valuation is the first step to listing a property for sale. It certainly is the first step for that purpose but did you know that there are a variety of types of property valuation?

Property Valuation Types

Fair Deal Valuation

The Nursing Homes Support Scheme, more commonly known as the Fair Deal Scheme is operated by the HSE. It provides an avenue for people who own an asset (the asset can be cash assets and / or non cash assets e.g. property) to offset that asset in order to help to fund their nursing home accommodation. You can learn more about how the Fair Deal Scheme works here. If a family is attempting to use the property of a loved one to apply for this scheme, they will need a valuation for the family home and this is used as part of the assessment.

Mortgage Lender Valuation

Having successfully achieved mortgage approval and having moved to the sale agreed stage of a property sale, mortgage lenders such as AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and others will require a bank valuation to be completed. This is not to be confused with a pre- purchase survey: a pre-purchase survey is not a bank requirement. Lenders provide the purchaser with a panel of possible valuers (these would be qualified estate agents or surveyors) and the purchaser engages with one of those valuers to visit the property and provide a valuation for the lender.

Probate Valuation

A probate valuation is a necessary step as part of the granting of a probate. This will happen when someone has passed away and their asset (a property) needs to be valued; as part of this process, the valuation needs to be completed by a qualified professional whether it is being put up for sale or not. The appointed valuer will provide a document for the purposes of probate whereby they will value the property based on the date that the deceased passed away. You can read more about this topic in our ultimate guide to probate.

Family Law Valuation

As part of separation/divorce proceedings and also as part of instances where a family member might be gifting a property to another family member, a family law valuation might be required. This is a document outlining the advised market value of a property that can be used if needed in court proceedings. Seek good, independent legal advice. Many factors can influence how assets are divided, such as the length of the relationship, each party’s income and responsibilities, and if children are involved. Check out Elevation -, which is a community for people who are going through separation or post-separation and need help and support with the day-to-day communication with their ex-partner.