Airey House....Do I sell?

steve5345

Does anybody on here know anything about Airey Houses? I won't bore you with all the details but 7 years ago we bought an Airey House which had had work done to it to bring it up to local council standards, I got my mortgage with Natwest with a minimal amount of fuss. I have now gone back to them to borrow some additional money to build an extension on the back of the property and have been told that they will not lend any more money on this property unless I upgrade the repairs to a new standard (which will involve knocking down and rebuilding intenal walls ruining my brand new kitchen in the process) The majority of the High Street Lenders are taking the same stance so moving my mortgage is not really an option.
In my eyes I have the following options:-
1. Stay put and live with what we have and maybe do the work in 10 years time when the kitchen etc has dated a bit more.
2. Do the work and borrow extra money to pay for it (risk as Natwest won't confirm if they will or won't lend the money when the work is completed!)
3. Cut my losses and sell up now, although it would have to be a cash buyer who bought the house as you would not be able to get a mortgage to buy it!

Really going round and round in circles at the moment so if anybody has any advice they could give me it would be very much appreciated.

motherofstudents

Are you happy where you are, ie is it a nice neighbourhood/location? If so I would be tempted to stay and do the work later, but that's just my personal view. You could try to get a cash buyer, most estate agents work on a no sale no fee basis so you could try and see if you get any interest. It's one of the drawbacks of buying a non standard construction house but I'm sure you can find a solution if you can think it through. Sometimes when you are in the thick of it, it is hard to make a decision.

steve5345

thanks for your reply. The area we live is really nice, lovely open countryside round us and the primary school only a couple of houses up from us (handy as we have 1 child there now and 1 will be starting there next year) which is why I am reluctant to move now, I just don't know if I am doing right staying put where we are for now, what I didn't mention earlier is the fact that we do need more space at home. Before our children were born I agreed to put my name towards a caravan for the in laws to live in and once a year (around Christmas time) they will come and stay with us while the park they live on is closed. 6 people and 5 dogs in a 3 bedroomed house is a squash!!! The extra bedroom and conservatory is just what we need but unfortunately Natwest won't play ball!!

teneighty

Airey houses are susceptible to suffering major structural defects, probably more so than any of the old PRC homes. However any future decisions should be based on what work has been done previously. It could be that structural repairs have already been carried out which make the house perfectly safe but not to the arbitary requirements of the mortgage lenders.

If you do not have that information I would suggest you get a structural engineer to inspect and advise, one that is familiar with PRC homes. I seem to recall it is the base of the concrete columns that are the main weak points so these would probably need to be exposed internally for inspection.

I would have thought spending money on an extension before you knew whether the structure of the house was safe would be throwing good money after bad.

lincroft1710

Stay put. The term "Airey house" is an instant turn off to many buyers and even if you put it on the market now, it would probably still be for sale next January. A house that close to a school may also deter many buyers.

Your in-laws are clearly living on a holiday park, rather than a park designed and licensed for permanent year round living.

I know of many 5 person families who lived in 3 bed semis, 1 more wouldn't be too bad, but 5 dogs as well! Build kennels in the garden?

steve5345

Thanks for the replies. The house has had structural work done to a Halifax plc and Leeds City Council standard by a local builder who did all the houses around where we live (which are council owned) and the surrounding villages too. I believe they are to a high standard but not high enough for the high street lenders who are tightening their belts at the moment when it comes to lending.

The park where the in-laws live is a very quiet holiday park, they can stay in their van for 11 months in the year but have to be out for the other.

The thing i am most bothered/worried about is being stuck with the house in 15/20 years time when the kids have moved out....I have also been told that there will be a chance that withing the next 15/20 years when the guarantee for the work that was done originally run out that the council will just knock down all the airey houses and re-build new ones.....wat will happen to mine then as it is a semi-detached joined onto a council house??

lincroft1710

Knocking down houses which still have a useful life and replacing them with new builds is a very, very expensive road to go down. If you are old enough and can remember the prefabricated bungalows erected in late 1940s/early 1950s, these were supposed to have a life of 10 years. Many lasted for over 50 years and some still stand with brick skins now surrounded the original steel walls.

If you are that desperate to move, see if the council would like to buy it back.

teneighty

If the repairs have been done I would be inclined to stay put. It's probably worth speaking to an independent mortgage broker or even post a question on the mortgage section as there are some clever types over there. The High Street lenders can be useless when it comes to anything out of the normal.

As for your long term plans. If and when the council eventually decide to demolish and redevelop their remaining houses they will probably offer to buy you out. When I was involved with PRC houses a few years ago the council was making quite generous offers to owner occupiers as the houses usually sat on generous plots with lucrative redevelopment potential.

sismith42

What about building a seperate summer house in the garden?

lincroft1710

sismith42 wrote: »

What about building a seperate summer house in the garden?

Good idea, if OP can fund this, there is room in garden and planning permission (if needed) is forthcoming. It would certainly solve immediate problem.

Bigmoney2

Or buy a touring caravan, use it yourself during summer and let the inlaws use it in winter, I'm assuming you would be able to store it on your drive, if you couldn't then maybe they could hire a cottage for a few weeks.