buying concrete ex-LA flat

james007ago

:Thi there!
im looking for an advice about buying an ex-LA made up of concrete. What are the diadvantages of it compared to brick made? Cos im interested in one property but there are only 2 lenders willing to lend me money for mortgage (the broker said that this is because of the size of our deposit, paying only 20% of the property). Im concerned that when its time to remortgage in the future, I will only have 2 lenders to choose again so it means im stuck!
back to my question, do u think its worth buying a concrete ex LA? and if yes, do you think when its time to remprtgage, i could be chooking from several lenders intead of 2?
Any advice is muchly appreaciated!!!!:j

clutton_2

what precisely is the type of construction - there are more than one concrete designs - and some are fine - others are more difficult

chickmug

The fears you have now about buying will be the same fears, for potential buyers, if you ever want to sell.

It sounds like the sort of property that will have an extremely limited appeal so would need to sell on price so if you can buy cheap it may be worth consideration.

My worry is if lenders get even more difficult and so NO lenders prepared to finance?

00ec25

I was once involved with a pre fab (concrete) house. The EA thankfully informed me that it was difficult to mortgage and an recent offer had fallen through becuase the purchaser could not get a mortgage, it can back on the market 4 months later (this was back in the boom years 2007) as a non mortgageable property basis only

as Clutton says it does depend on the exact type of construction

delain

is it in a rough area?

a lot of concrete LA blocks are, and people won't want to buy if they are worried about being mugged on their way home or junkies wandering about the place!

GDB2222

Google concrete sickness. That can cause buildings to fall down (or be demolished) but in any case leads to very high maintenance costs, as any water getting into the fabric can cause the concrete to fail. (More precisely, it makes the steel reinforcements rust, which makes them expand and the concrete flakes off.) That can be avoided by very thorough painting/waterproofing and repairs of any damage. It's expensive to maintain.

If it's a LA tower block, expect to have to pay £5-10k every five years for external decorations and concrete repairs. If you can't afford that sort of expenditure, don't buy it.

clutton_2

not all concrete construction has steel reinforcers inside - if it is a Wimpey-no-fines for example it is a perfectly acceptable form of construction and mortgages are not a problem

james007ago

thank for your replies. I dont know where to get more info about the property but it is not a tower block, its a 5 storey building. The way my broker said is that there is no problem with the lender, its just that because i can only manage 2 put down 20% deposit hence 2 lenders only.
Anyway, im sure this will arise during the survey right? By the way, is valuation same as survey or have to pay separate?
Im going to have a 2nd viewing on the property 2m, can you give me questions need to raise to the agent? I recalled that the agent said that there was a higher bid than mine but unable to get mortgage, probably the reason is due to the propery being concrete. Ive been also to Halifax and they said that the type of property is not something that they will lend on so im looking for other lenders.
What is your outlook about the property market? U think going up or down still?
Thank you.

Emmzi

valuation = what it will sell for and is it fit for loan purposes only. It's for the bank, not you.

If you have any doubts i'd get a full structural survey done but expect to pay £500 for it.

If this would eat into your deposit too much to get a mortgage - I would walk away now. There will always be another house, another flat.

Richard_Webster

As well as issues with a small number of lenders this sort of proeprty will fluctuate more in price in that it will not be easy to value at any given time because it will only be worth what somebody (probably a cash buyer) is prepared to pay for it.

A structural survey may tell you how likely it is that expensive repairs will be needed that will be charged to you as part of the maintenance charge in the future. However, with flats it is more difficult for a surveyor to assess things properly because to advise you properly he would have to look at parts of the structure that he would not have access to. A structural survey will not really give you a better idea of the value of the flat because unless a lot have been sold recently there will not be much of a market for them. Surveyors normally rely on local seatet agents to obtain market comparables - they do not magic values out of their heads.

GDB2222

The best question to ask the agent is when the last 'major works' project was carried out on the building and what it cost. Funnily enough, he won't have that information (because the answer would simply put you off).

Have a look at this case, and have a look around for the many others around:
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/northwest/barnet/3764548.Tenants_fight_against_repair_bill____scandal___/

These properties are cheap for a good reason, and they are hard to mortgage for a good reason.

The typical life cycle of these flats is:
1. Built as public housing, sometimes using experimental construction techniques
2. Sold at a discount under the right to buy
3. Buyer cannot pay the maintenance costs, so it ends up on the market, often as a repo
4. Bought by a BTL'er, who lets it out to a housing association for use as public housing