Survey problems...Britannia will only lend 85%

widdydan

Hi,
We got a mortgage promise with Britannia for 90%ltv on a house. The valuation came back with two concerns raised that needed further investigation. The first problem was penetrating damp upstairs (possibly due to faulty guttering). The valuer said a report was needed to rule out anything more sinister.The second was a chimney breast that has been removed from the ground floor but is still in place above, proof was needed that this has been properly supported.

As a result we received a letter from Britannia stating they will only lend us 85% as the property is not in A1 condition. After much discussion with Britannia we've been told that even if any possible work needed was done prior to exchange they will not review their decision to only lend us 85%. However if we can get reports to show no remedial work is required (ie the house was in A1 condition at the time of application) they will lend us the full amount.

Has anyone else come across this? Does anyone know of Britannia reviewing their decision if we can get any work done?

The ridiculous thing is that we were told by Britannia that if we withdrew our application and reapplied (with any remedial work carried out) the new survey would give us 90%ltv, obviously costing us hundreds of pounds extra!

poppy10_2

They are doing you a favour. Use the valuation to get the asking price of the house reduced.

Cliveski2009

I can see why Britannia would want to make sure the chimney breast is supported properley - if it isn't it's a pottential death trap and/or would cause a lot of damage if it ever came crashing down.

Because you are looking at 90% ltv I can see why they will only lend on A1 condition property as at least that reduces some of the risk for them.

I guess you have no option but to have investigations carried out - if it comes back ok at least you will have peace of mind and hopefully a mortgage offer! if work is required you can get the owner to carry this out or reduce your offer to suit.

widdydan

Thanks Cliveski. We're more than happy to carry out any work needed and so are the vendors but Britannia have said they won't review their decision not to lend the 90%, even if the work is done before exchange. So do we organise the work to be done (if it is needed) and hope that Britannia will change their mind? We just think that even if we decide to look elsewhere we may be in the same situation all over again, we both really want a victorian house!

lincroft1710

I would not have work done on a house if I couldn't get the loan I needed. Hoping "Britannia will change their mind" is misplaced optimism. Look for a Victorian house is fine, but be aware that some were better built than others and because of their age may need a lot of (expensive) TLC. Damp proof courses were not the norm then and standards of construction and insulation often leave a lot to be desired. In many areas they are highly sought after and thus higher priced.