Semi commercial mortgage, or not, or what? HELP!!!

quat-fro

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a house, at auction, Monday! (26th Nov). Photo below should give you a good idea of its situation.

h t t p://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8202686347_6f1be755e4.j p g

It's your standard Swansea stone built terraced house which ideally for me, comes with its own sizeable warehouse!

The trouble I'm told is that it could be viewed by the mortgage surveyor as semi-commercial and is therefore not mortgageable as a residential property.

What are my options if the surveyor doesn't like it?

Commercial mortgage? (And, if so, who would you suggest?)

"Sell" the warehouse part to myself for 1p and continue on with a residential mortgage on the house?

I'm afraid I know very little about the world of mortgages so don't be afraid of patronising me!

divadee

Normally when buying at auction you have to complete in 28 days or you forfeit your deposit. Have you got your mortgage in place? Not just an agreement In principle but a firm mortgage offer?

Have you got at least the 10% deposit in readily available cash to pay the auction house on the day?

As you are asking about which mortgages to go for I assume you have not got a mortgage offer ready to go. This is unlikely to be sorted by Monday so you may struggle to buy this property.

quat-fro

Hi,
Cheers for quickly getting this ball rolling.
Got an agreement in principle, currently waiting for mortgage surveyor to take a look around it and get back with a report, so that we do have a mortgage 'in place' - everything hinges on his or her say so!
Yes, got enough to cover a 10% deposit of our maximum bid value and the auction fees on the day.

What I want to firmly establish is which is my best course of action to ensure I don't forfeit my deposit, other than not bidding for it in the first place!

Thrugelmir

quat-fro wrote: »

What are my options if the surveyor doesn't like it?

Not the surveyor. But the lender the surveyor is contracted to.

Ring a few lenders and sound them out.

quat-fro

A ha! So that how it works. Surveyors survey, lenders then decide...

I've been on the blower half the afternoon trying to get somewhere, clearly I need to dedicate the rest of the week to getting to the bottom of this conundrum before it's too late.

Can anyone recommend a lender who can accommodate unusual properties?

Dave_Ham

I cannot view the picture for some reason, can you please supply more details on the property..

If it is a terrace, where is the warehouse, approximately how big and what is it currently being used for?

Your broker and solicitor will need to work incredibly quickly. If you are going direct to lenders, ensure your advisor has no holiday planned. Ensure your solicitor is used to dealing with auction property purchases and have everything booked in ready to go.

Probably a tad late in the day now, but many auction houses will allow a valuation in advance of the auction.

Whilst this may cost you a few hundred pounds and then you may not bid, this feels a better risk than a non refundable 10% deposit.

Commercial mortgages are incredibly difficult to get a hold of and certainly not quickly, subject to circumstances

Best of luck

quat-fro

It won't let me post a photo just yet as I'm deemed a newbie...but if I post this...

quat-fro

...And maybe this...

OH, it seems I can only post pictures after posting more than five times AND being a member for several, unspecified, number of days.

Can't you get rid of the spaces and make it work?

I'll try sending you a P.M.

Dave_Ham

Nothing there I am afraid...

quat-fro

Did the PM work? Must dash but I'll be back online after 10pm...

Dave_Ham

Got the pm, although you are not setup to receive pm's so my thoughts below. Sure others will have value to add also...

Thanks Tom,

It is bigger than I expected and my suggestion would be to speak to the auction company tomorrow first thing and see if they will let you do a valuation Thursday/Friday.

Get a residential mortgage application in pronto and see what the valuation comes in at and be hopeful you get it before Monday am - this will be tight in the extreme

I say this because no-one is going to be able to definitely tell you whether this will get through a mortgage company.

I think so long as you let them know that you will only use this as a garage etc. for storage then you do have a half a chance.

10% deposit is at risk though and I would want more than a 5050 chance of success.

Some lenders are more flexible than others, although none are likely to tell you in advance they will just say subject to surveyor comments...

Hope this helps a bit..