Glossary
Drive-by valuation
The 1991 approach where valuers assigned bands from the street without going inside — a major source of errors.
In 1991 the government needed to band every home in England in a matter of months. Valuers drove down streets estimating bands from the outside, occasionally supplemented by estate-agent input. Interiors weren't inspected, and adjacent-looking homes were often given the same band regardless of internal differences. This is the single biggest reason bands are wrong today.
Related terms
Check your own band
The fastest way to see if your band is wrong is the neighbours test. Enter your postcode and compare every band on your street.
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