Remortgaging a "non conventional build" pre-fab house?

SarahLou

We live in a 3 bed semi-detached 1940s/50s pre-fab house (i.e. steel structure is visible from the outside on the first floor of the house, bottom half looks "normal", roof is steel also).

We have our mortgage with the Halifax and have had since we bought the property just over 2 years ago.

We have recently just got out of our initial mortgage deal (fixed at rates set 2 years back) and are now saving £120 a month. Hurrah. We asked about remortgaging to get cash back to do extra improvements to the property but have been told bluntly that because it is a "non-conventional build" house, there is NO WAY it will have gone up in value and hence we can't remortgage.

Does this sound right? Given they haven't even asked what we've done ot the place?? They haven't been out, sent anyone round or indeed, like I say, haven't even asked. Seems rather odd.

When we bought it, sure enough, house prices were up on what they are now but it needed "updating" shall we say and the large garden was an absolute tip (literally). So surely they should at least ask what we've done already??

We've spent in excess of £5000 on the garden alone - it is now actually a garden rather than a tip. It is a family friendly garden, 30 meters in length, 10 meters wide. So a sizeable chunk of land for family homes these days when you usually get poxy gardens!!

We've had the old (almost condemned!) back-boiler replaced with a Worcester Bosch Combi boiler. There are now thermostatically controlled radiators throughout. Brand new shower. Painted to be far nicer colours throughout - gone for neutral as opposed to bright green and bright pink like there was when we moved in :rotfl:

New flooring in the kitchen and bathroom.....

etc.

I'm confident we'll have added value to it. I was just wondering where we stand and what we can do about it?

Neither hubby or I have ever remortgaged before so don't know what to do next. Halifax have told us basically that there is no way we can remortgage til the economic climate improves "greatly". :rolleyes:

PasturesNew

They are most probably right. Those houses were difficult to mortgage when they were literally throwing money at people just because they could fog a mirror.

The house will have lost value, probably one of the greater drops %age wise because of its type.

Realistically, such work never "added value" to a house. What "added value" tended to mostly be the rise in house prices generally. In the last two years, most people who have done up houses have either lost money or would be breaking even.

What would also make some difference is how much you borrowed in the first place and how much it cost you, so the LTV then ... and potentially now.

The world is an entirely different place to two years ago.

_Andy_

Given you bought two years ago, you have probably made a slight loss or broken even.

SarahLou

Thanks for the responses. Would it not be worthwhile getting an independant valuation done?

Ian_W

I'm sure you've made the place much, much nicer than when you bought it - whether that adds sufficient value to make up for a 15 to 20% drop in house prices is what the other posters are questioning. You bought pretty much at the peak of the market and at this stage no-one knows for sure if it's at the bottom.

So £5k for the garden (may not add that much in value tho'!), £3K for a boiler, £1K for new floors & a few pots of paint (assuming floors are tiles or real wood rather than laminate or vinyl, if the latter = nowt!), means you've spent about £9K max. Reduce the price you paid by 20% then add on £8 or 9K - has the value really increased by enough to borrow more?

Would it not be worthwhile getting an independant valuation done?

Not unless you enjoy wasting money. An RICS surveyor would cost you a few hundred for a valuation and the Halifax still probably wouldn't be interested.

Mrs_Bumble

You can look on sites like https://www.zoopla.co.uk for estimated value of the property but because of its build type and when you bought the property it won't have increased in value because nothing has in that period of time.

There is no point getting an independent valuation done, it would cost you money and would only confirm what Halifax have already told you.

Just put some money aside for the home improvements.

Out of interest has the property been re-bricked at all? Can't remember for the life of me what the official terminology is! But essentially means that the property had a brick skin put round it and you would have a certificate?

SarahLou

Thanks for the replies. Will start saving up the pennies!!

Thats a very good way of looking at it with that simple calculation, Ian W, never thought of it like that. D'oh!

As for having it re-bricked.... I didn't even know you could have such a thing done?! We certainly haven't had anything like that done to it and I suspect it hasn't been done. It looks like a conventional pre-fab from the outside. (Albeit we are looking to get some UPVC "cladding" put on the outside as some of our neighbours have had done to make it look more like a conventional house from the outside).

Mrs_Bumble

Hi before having the cladding put on, speak to a RICS surveyor and ask them about the re-bricking, wish I could remember what it is called! Driving me nuts! But if you have that done in the future it would make it easier to remortgage as more lenders would look to lend because the work has been done - or at least that is what used to be the case!

SarahLou

Thanks! I'll dig out some contact details for them and have a word. When I found out what its called I'll let you know

Mrs_Bumble

That would be great! It will probably come to me in the middle of the night!! Must be my age!