You have added to a suspicion I have had for some time. I suspect that lenders pretty much always claim (or strongly imply) that they obtained two independent valuations when in fact they only obtained one. They claim they had two independent valuations done because it makes them look good. However, the second 'independent valuation' is often little more than a sales questionnaire filled out by the lender's agent.(posted 8525 days ago)But there's more.
In my opinion, it may be of interest that the independent valuer and the lender's agent have an opportunity to discuss the property, for example if they are passing on the keys to the property one to the other. In my opinion it is interesting that the valuations *and* the suggested asking prices are often exactly the same, right down the pound. In my opinion, it may be significant that all parties are well aware that the property concerned is a repossession. Could it also be significant that, as Tony Levene reported in the Guardian on August 26th, leaked memos from a lender suggest that repossessed properties have in the past been disposed of deliberately quickly by lenders? (See Guardian Jobs & Money, Aug 26 2000, pp2-3.)
Who knows?