You have agreed to a BMV property deal. You have also given directions to your team. So what comes next? Is your part of the job done? Hold on - there is a lot that still remains to be done. The fact is that the success of your below market value deal is in the hands of the surveyor. His/her estimation of the market value and market rent of the BMV property will decide whether the deal will succeed or fail.

A surveyor's report is extremely important, especially if you do not have the funds for the deal. If your estimation of the property is not the same as that of a mean surveyor, you need to ensure that you possess the financial backing to fill in the shortfall if the valuation indicates a "no money down deal," which needs a payment for the mortgage deposit.

Start with establishing realistic expectations, when 1) calculating the worst case scenario for your below market value property deal and 2) making an offer for a BMV investment property. In the current environment, which is characterized by a credit crisis, this is very important.

Hometrack, an extremely valuable online valuation tool, is used both by estate agents and by property investors. It provides surveyor valuations for properties being valued for mortgage/remortgage reasons, as well as the figures for comparative properties and prices at which they were sold. This is extremely valuable information while deciding the possible valuation a surveyor will assign. You might sometimes find that your own vendor has applied for a remortgage. You then get a genuine surveyor's estimate to proceed with.

Hometrack offers a valuation product known as REALTIME, which offers more comprehensive information than the standard Hometrack report. REALTIME provides a specific value for the property being considered and not simply comparatives. It also tells you about the confidence level for the valuation by providing a rating of 1-7, where 7 represents extremely high confidence. Many experienced investors use this service, which is available on a Pay-As-You-Go basis for around £35. The service plans to incorporate a rental value estimate in the reports in the near future, which will be extremely useful for investors.

Talking to estate agents and letting agents can help evaluate realistic figures. But remember! An agent is often likely to just tell you what you want to hear. You need to be creative in approaching agents. You can get figures from both angles by approaching one agent professing an intention to buy and another with the intention to sell.

You will also benefit from attending to the valuation exercise on your own and, if required, speaking to the surveyor and showing him your own due diligence. If you plan to do this, complete your assessment earlier than scheduled because surveyors do not usually report at the time they were supposed to. Build a rapport with the surveyor as you would with a seller, but do not try to tell him how to do his job. He probably has much more experience than you and will not like being given instructions. You need to present the information properly. It will be useful if you can show some proof of how the figures were arrived at.

If you do not intend to do the valuation yourself, have the vendor tackle the issue. But be cautious at al times. Most vendors are unlikely to be happy with this arrangement. You will, with time, be in a position to know if a vendor will be at ease with the valuation process or whether you need to see to it yourself.

Always remember that a surveyor is just doing his job and does not gain anything by valuing a property in a particular manner. After all, it is his reputation that is at stake. If he is down-valuing a property, there could very well be a good reason for it. He might just be helping you out by hinting at it in order to get you to review your stand.