Would a 1970s timber framed house be mortgageable?

robbo23

We are interested in buying a bungalow in Wales. We have been advised that the construction is a timber frame built on a brick base. The bungalow was supposedly built in the 1970s by a local builder. There is supposedly a timber frame with marine plywood on the outside which has a timber cladding on top. On the inside it is plaster-boarded.

I have spoken to a surveyor who says that this kind of property would probably be difficult to get a mortgage for. We don't need a mortgage but obviously it would affect the resale potential if it were not possible to obtain a mortgage for it.

As far as whether the building is watertight and structurally sound the surveyor has said that if there are no signs of damp anywhere then he would have to assume that the building was structurally sound. He said the only way to ascertain what was going on under the surface would be to remove parts of the cladding or parts of the plaster board or even parts of the floor. Obviously the vendors would not welcome such intrusive measures so would probably not agree to it. Also that is not something the surveyor would get into himself.

Does anybody have any experience in this area which might help? The vendor did not need a mortgage and neither did the previous owner so neither of them bothered to look into it.

Obviously we can have a full survey done which would tell us how structurally sound the building might be but if the house is not mortgageable then that could be a problem. Is there a rule of thumb to apply to the value of a property if it is not mortgageable? i.e. would it be worth 20% less for example than if it were mortgageable?