Ex Local Authority Houses - getting a mortgage?

mrburns_2

Hi all,

Does anyone know if banks/building societies still treat ex-local auth houses differently when deciding how much to lend?

We have found a house in the area we want to live in. Its at the top end of our budget and the house was once ex-local auth. A couple of the comparison sites I have used have asked if it is ex-local auth - what bearing does this have??

Many thanks in advance.

Mary_Hartnell

A Local Authority house often carries additional restrictive covenants.
These may restrict what you are allowed to do with it more than the normal planning/building regs. systems do.
(Or they may be just a way of extorting more money in addition to the fees for building regs. and planning permission.)

Anything else in my opinion is just "red lining".

On the other side of the coin "Council Houses" used to be built to "Parker Morris" standards, often better than homes put up by a speculative developer.

Conrad

No it has nothing to do with covenants or restrictions, but merely reflects the statistical evidence that shows ex council homes suffer a much higher incidence of repossession.

Furthermore, lenders are concerned about resale. In difficult market conditions, some exlocal property can be difficult to sell on. Also they are interested in other property on the estate - if most is owner occupied, lenders tend to deem that preferable in terms of future value, than where there is a high rental proportion.

Lastly it is the case many councils used non traditional building materials in order to drive down build costs. As such some council stock is deemed not suitable as mortgage security. For example some forms of concrete which have an unproven longevity in our damp climate.