It would be best to read our page on "Valuations" prior to reading this one. This page assumes that you already understand the basic principles of property valuation for mortgage purposes, and merely concentrates on the differences between a purchase and remortgage valuation.
When you first buy a home you want to know if the property represents value for money and if there are any problems with it that you should be aware of. If though 5 years down the line you are looking to “Refinance” or “Remortgage” you do not have the same considerations.
All you will be looking to do is either move to a better rate to save money on your mortgage whilst perhaps consolidating some other debts. Or maybe you want to raise some extra capital for some reason, perhaps to buy a second property or pay for home improvements.
The “buyers beware” factor is not there for you. However the new mortgage 
lender still has their worries. I.e. is the property adequate security for the mortgage they are about to arrange for you.
This time it’s up to the lender to decide what type of valuation to have carried out. They have three main choices, which are,
“Standard” valuation, the surveyor will inspect inside and outside the property.
“Kerbside” they just inspect from outside. These are also referred to in the trade as “Drive By” or “Third Gear” valuations, where a busy valuer will just drive by the property and slow the car down (3rd gear) to have a quick look as he dash’s off to his next appointment. (All valuers will deny they do this)
“Desk Top” For this no one goes to the property at all and it is just checked online against a data base of comparable property in the area.
The lender will normally make this decision based on the amount of loan you want in relation to the value of the property (LTV). So for instance if you want to borrow over 75% LTV, they will have a standard valuation done. 50%-75% then a kerbside may be sufficient, and up to 49% a Desk Top.
These are only guide lines, different lenders will have different lending criteria so check with your mortgage broker who will be able to let you know.
When the valuation comes back to the lender they will then make a lending decision based on the report. The report can throw up some issues, such as when the valuer thinks the property is worth less than you do.
We suggest that you also read the page of the site about "Valuation Problems".
Remortgage Enquiry Form
Mortgage Calculator
REMORTGAGE VALUATIONS