VAS Panel has bolstered its quality control procedures with the launch of QC+, a free, additional audit overview of valuations where the value is over £5m.
The service, which is delivered by one of VAS’s own dedicated Chartered Surveyors, builds on the company’s existing audit procedures which review over 100 core areas.
VAS Panel says QC+ delves deeper into the key variables which can impact the valuation, with a QC+ Audit Report presenting the findings to clients, providing an added risk management tool for lenders on larger value properties and their inherent complexities.
A Chartered Surveyor will also be available to talk through the valuation in greater depth with the client once it has been submitted.
As usual all reports go through VAS Panel’s internal Quality Control process which follow a red, amber and green rating systems to determine if the report needs further reviewing by one of its auditors, then it moves into the additional QC+ system.
QC+ has been trialled through several lenders over the last six months and will now be incorporated across all clients.
David Morris, director, real estate credit risk for Shawbrook Bank, said: “As a bank we take risk management extremely importantly, this is part of the reason why we use VAS Panel for our valuations.
“We find the QC+ process very helpful as it adds an important layer of oversight to the valuation process on the larger transactions. Normally the properties we value for loans over £5m are more complex and having VAS Panel provide us a separate audit on the valuation and access to talk to both the auditor and valuer is very useful. The whole process combined adds up to a safer lending decision in the end.”
Philip Dabbs, director of property credit risk at Castle Trust Bank, added: “We really value VAS Panel’s valuation knowledge and advice, and this is never more important than when you are looking at the larger transactions. These are normally more complex and need a much higher degree of underwriting.
“When we found out that VAS Panel had the QC+ service to support us with larger lending cases we jumped and the chance to use it. The separate valuation audit is a great extra layer of oversight that helps our underwriters and credit teams to get further comfort with the valuation report.”
