Mortgage Valuation problems

gcthompson

Hi there,

We've found a nice house (built in the 1870s) which is on the market for 155K. The house is in an area that we want, big enough for our purposes and affordable. We put the offer in at the asking price which was happily accepted by the vendors.

I've had an independent building survey done which hasn't highlighted any major problems other than *possible* rising damp issues (which seems to be the case with every old house). This survey has given a valuation of 150K.

The mortgage company don't accept independent surveys and insist on their own valuation (at a costly 355 quid). The results of that survey came back today and the house is valued at 133K. The mortgage company refuse to give me a mortgage for the offer price unfortunately and now we are somewhat stuck.

After getting some more information from the mortgage broker it appears that the mortgage valuer found the following issues which explains his lower valuation:

• Evidence of dampness to the ground floor walls,
• Sub floor ventilation is not adequate,
• Not bridged at the rear

Why the big difference in valuation? I understand that mortgage valuations are cautious but 20K cautious? :mad:

I don't think it's as simple as going to another lender, I'm a first time buyer and have limited choice who will give me a mortgage. The LTV is 85% and I've not had enough big loans in the past to make getting credit trivial. Before this house we were in the process of buying another house and I tried several other lenders who refused me credit (even though I have pretty good scores with the 3 credit reference companies)

Anybody been in this situation before and willing to offer any advice or guidance?

Many thanks