Independence is the product
A legal valuation has value precisely because nobody controls the outcome. We are paid the same fee regardless of the figure, we do not sell property, and we will not adjust a number to suit an instruction. Where we are asked to, we say so plainly and decline.
That is also why an agent's appraisal carries so little weight in these matters. It is not independent, it is not documented, and the person who produced it faces no professional consequence if it is wrong. Solicitors and courts discount it accordingly.
Single expert versus competing experts
Where both sides can agree, one valuer appointed jointly is almost always the better course: one fee instead of two, no incentive to shop for a favourable number, and the dispute usually narrows immediately. We accept joint instructions from both solicitors and communicate with both parties equally.
Competing experts are sometimes unavoidable — unusual property, a genuine methodological disagreement, or a party who will not agree to a joint appointment. It should be a considered choice, though, not the default position, because it doubles cost and frequently requires a third process to reconcile the two reports.
Disclosure works in your favour
Unapproved structures, partially completed renovations, subdivision potential, easements, a granny flat without a permit. Disclose them. In a legal matter, information that surfaces later damages the party who withheld it far more than the figure it was meant to influence.
Where these features exist, we identify and value them explicitly rather than leaving them implicit, because unstated assumptions are what generate argument between opposing experts.