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Mortgageability - Single Skin Hollow Block House
kittykatkat
Posts: 134 Forumite
The house we are buying turns out to have a single skin external wall made from breeze blocks with a built in hollow cavity and rendered.
This seems to have slipped past the valuer and surveyor (money well spent, hmm...) but we have confirmed it ourselves since. :eek:
If we go back to the mortgage company/surveyor to tell them about this, will the mortgage offer then be in jeopardy if they consider it a non-standard construction? Or worse, if we go through with it quietly is there a good chance of not being able to remortgage and/or sell in the future? Or is it still classed as standard construction?
This seems to have slipped past the valuer and surveyor (money well spent, hmm...) but we have confirmed it ourselves since. :eek:
If we go back to the mortgage company/surveyor to tell them about this, will the mortgage offer then be in jeopardy if they consider it a non-standard construction? Or worse, if we go through with it quietly is there a good chance of not being able to remortgage and/or sell in the future? Or is it still classed as standard construction?
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Comments
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kittykatkat wrote: »The house we are buying turns out to have a single skin external wall made from breeze blocks with a built in hollow cavity and rendered.
This seems to have slipped past the valuer and surveyor (money well spent, hmm...) but we have confirmed it ourselves since. :eek:
If we go back to the mortgage company/surveyor to tell them about this, will the mortgage offer then be in jeopardy if they consider it a non-standard construction? Or worse, if we go through with it quietly is there a good chance of not being able to remortgage and/or sell in the future? Or is it still classed as standard construction?
I understand that you would be upset about losing the money spent on fees, but you would have to be absolutely stark staring bonkers to try to slip this past your lenders.
I do not know the particular construction you mention, or whether it would be acceptable, but suppose for a moment that your lenders would turn you down. That means that when you come to try and sell your home, any buyers are also likely to be turned down by their lenders. So, you could easily end up with a totally unsaleable house. If you do keep quiet about the issue, you may just be digging a grave for yourself.
On the other hand, if you tell your lenders about it and it does not bother them, the chances are that it will not be a problem for buyers in future, either.
Consequently, I would tell the lenders, and I would also tell the valuers and ask them whether it affects their valuation. You may lose the fees that you have paid, but that is small beer compared to what you might lose if it all goes pear shaped later on.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
I understand that you would be upset about losing the money spent on fees, but you would have to be absolutely stark staring bonkers to try to slip this past your lenders.
I do not know the particular construction you mention, or whether it would be acceptable, but suppose for a moment that your lenders would turn you down. That means that when you come to try and sell your home, any buyers are also likely to be turned down by their lenders. So, you could easily end up with a totally unsaleable house. If you do keep quiet about the issue, you may just be digging a grave for yourself.
On the other hand, if you tell your lenders about it and it does not bother them, the chances are that it will not be a problem for buyers in future, either.
Consequently, I would tell the lenders, and I would also tell the valuers and ask them whether it affects their valuation. You may lose the fees that you have paid, but that is small beer compared to what you might lose if it all goes pear shaped later on.
furthermore, push your surveyors for a partial/ full refund for missing this VITAL piece of dealbreaking information...0 -
This is somewhat unlikely but if the house you are buying happens to be in Ireland then it won't be an issue for the mortgage company. What you describe sounds like what was the standard construction method in Ireland for an extended period of time including the 70's and 80's. Apparently the argument was that the hollow was like having a cavity.....:eek:
If you have a reasonable alternative I would leave this one alone. The fees that you have paid out are far less than what you'll pay in extra energy bills or to sort out the insulation issues by cladding (which is fraught with difficulty anyway).0 -
Thanks all. I think we are going to pull out even though it was special to us and we don't really have an alternative option. Will try to get money back from the survey since they obviously weren't that thorough, but not holding my breath.
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kittykatkat wrote: »Thanks all. I think we are going to pull out even though it was special to us and we don't really have an alternative option. Will try to get money back from the survey since they obviously weren't that thorough, but not holding my breath.
Please, dont be silly about the fees !
If the Surveyor failed to identify the method of construction, and that it would not be acceptable to many lenders, then jolly well do press them for the fees.
Use the firm's complaints process and take it to the ombudsman serviceStop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
Just a quick query. I assume that the construction is not acceptable to lenders? Is that just because it provides very poor insulation?No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0
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Just a quick query. I assume that the construction is not acceptable to lenders? Is that just because it provides very poor insulation?
It largely depends on the lending criteria as to what the lender will accept, some are restrictive, some set ceilings on LTV.
In single skin walls yes U value is important ( having bought a house in Canada I had to keep remembering to say R value!) but it is also about stability weather and water exclusion in particular damp and whether the material and construction is robust enough to last much longer than the loan terms or be too onerous in repairs.
It is is also required to be insurable and be of a value to be disposed of in the event of a forced sale or repossession.Stop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
propertyman wrote: »It largely depends on the lending criteria as to what the lender will accept, some are restrictive, some set ceilings on LTV.
In single skin walls yes U value is important ( having bought a house in Canada I had to keep remembering to say R value!) but it is also about stability weather and water exclusion in particular damp and whether the material and construction is robust enough to last much longer than the loan terms or be too onerous in repairs.
It is is also required to be insurable and be of a value to be disposed of in the event of a forced sale or repossession.
So even if you can find a lender who accepts this type of construction at the moment, there is a serious risk that lenders could become more selective in the future, and the property could become unmortgageable in future. It sounds like the OP is very wise to back out of this.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
did you ever get your money back? (bumped old thread)0
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did you ever get your money back? (bumped old thread)
Surveyor has offered £300 compensation without accepting any negligence, as a goodwill gesture, before going down the formal complaint route. Our costs incurred amount to more than twice that so not sure we should accept, on principle if nothing else. And that excludes the cost of the original, flawed survey. :mad:
Something is better than nothing though? Or should we expect to be fully reimbursed for the costs and stress?0
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