Assured Assurance

Being is a state of flux has been the standard operating model for the UK economy since 2008. In the fifteen years that has passed we have seen national, European and world eventsthat have directly affected the UK economy.

None of us would have expected there to be a pandemic, war on the European continent and the rumblings of another banking crisis so soon after each other.

Over this period the UK property market and the lenders that service it have evolved. Pre-2008 the market was dominated by the high street banks, now in a lot of cases the hight streets have retrenched from this market and this has allowed newer, more agile lenders to take their places.

This has been good news for borrowers as with competition has come innovation and price competitiveness.

Back in 2015 Valuation Audit Services (VAS) was setup, its sole aim was to support the new lenders in the market with in-house valuation expertise. Why? Few firms could afford to employ a full-time valuer so VAS was there to fill that gap.

Fast-forward eight years and the company has grown into a full valuation risk management business.

VAS Assurance – originally known as VAS Audit – is there to help protect lenders and brokers from valuation risks. This goes to the core of what we do and why we started the business. The lending process can be long and complex at times and we understand that the valuation is only one small part, however it has an exponential impact on the lending outcome.

This is why we have built a team of Chartered Surveyors, valuers and auditors who are experts in their fields to help support lenders and brokers to better understand the valuation report and its risks.

Since the New Year we have seen more requests for valuation auditing, either ‘live’ where we are reviewing a report as part of the lender process, or ‘retrospectively’ to help manage a valuation panel or review trends. We have also seen a raise in PMS auditing as firms take a more risk-based approach with development appraisals.

With interest rates rising month-by-month we put this large increase in demand to the uncertainty that still exists out there, lenders want to add another layer of risk management into their process and support their internal teams to make better decisions on their security.

The Assurance business is well placed to grow and develop with its current and future clients to individually support them to manage their valuation risks through auditing, helping them to value properties through our Desktop+ product or undertaking loan book reviews.

The market will continue to evolve and change however, good valuation practices will always stay the same.

We are the assured Assurance business.