If you’re buying property, it’s usual to commission either a HomeBuyer Report or a Building Survey. Sometimes, though, only a valuation report is required.

This type of report briefly covers the property’s condition, may recommend that a survey is obtained, and will clearly indicate whether the proposed purchase price is reasonable or not.

Rather than purchasing a property in full, many Housing Association schemes now offer the option to own a percentage of the property or take out a Help to Buy equity loan against part of it.

In either case, when you come to buy an additional percentage or sell it, a formal valuation is required to determine the new value of your share.

This is required when a person dies so that their estate can be valued and any inheritance tax owed can be calculated.

It reflects what the property would have sold for on the open market on the date the owner died and, compared to a market appraisal supplied by an estate agent, is often recognised by HMRC as being a more suitable valuation.

When a married couple separate, their assets will need to be valued and this often includes property.

This type of report determines the market value of the property at a given date and may be used to guide relatively informal settlements between the couple or in more formal court proceedings.

Similar to a matrimonial valuation, a property valuation may be required by the Court to help inform a dispute, and supplied by a Chartered Surveyor in an expert witness or assessor role.

These types of valuations are needed when leaseholder owners of top-floor flats want to extend into the roof space, only to find that it’s owned by the freeholder.

In these situations, they’ll need to purchase the space and obtain a licence from the freeholder to carry out the work – the valuation report is what helps to determine the price. (Similar principles apply to the valuation of basement extensions and expansions onto terraces.)