Buying a flat without an NHBC

Nolo1984

Hello all

Got a bit of a problem that I need your advice with. My mother has had an offer accepted on a flat that she likes. It's a new build but unfortuantely there's no NHBC as the owner/builders went bankrupt shortly after completing the flats. The flats are now owned by the bank and have been put up for sale by them.

However, mother (who is a cash buyer) has been advised by her solicitor that the flat will not be mortgageable if she comes to sell it on because it hasn't got an NHBC.

Mother still wishes to buy the flat because she likes it but I am concerned that given the question marks over its morgageability she could end up paying a lot of money for a property that she can't sell on when she needs to.

I've suggested to negate this risk that if she is determined to carry on buying the property that she should reduce her previously accepted offer (currently accepted at 105,000 with the property on the market at 109,950) and try offering 80,000 on the property on the basis that is only suitable for cash buyers.

Do fellow forum users feel that this is a sensible approach?

Regards

A

J_B

Can't she 'buy' a guarantee???

rosyw

I bought my place (cash buyer) with no NHBC, it would only cause me a problem if I wanted to sell it before it's 10 yrs old, after that the NHBC warranty will have run out so it won't make a bit of difference. For peace of mind a full structural survey could be done to make sure there are no problems with the build. With my place there were a few minor things to be finished and therefore couldn't get the architect's certificate, but I did speak to the architect who wrote confirming it was structurally sound. If your mum intends living there long term it really isn't a problem, and from what I've heard and read about NHBC Guarantees they're not worth the paper they're written on anyway!

davidmcn

Is mum going to be living there? If so is she likely to be moving into a block which will be largely vacant until the bank finishes selling the flats? Does she want to live in a block mostly occupied by the tenants of cash-buyer landlords?

Nolo1984

davidmcn wrote: »

Is mum going to be living there? If so is she likely to be moving into a block which will be largely vacant until the bank finishes selling the flats? Does she want to live in a block mostly occupied by the tenants of cash-buyer landlords?

It's not in a block as such. It's a two story building and she'll be on the first floor.

Nolo1984

rosyw wrote: »

I bought my place (cash buyer) with no NHBC, it would only cause me a problem if I wanted to sell it before it's 10 yrs old, after that the NHBC warranty will have run out so it won't make a bit of difference. For peace of mind a full structural survey could be done to make sure there are no problems with the build. With my place there were a few minor things to be finished and therefore couldn't get the architect's certificate, but I did speak to the architect who wrote confirming it was structurally sound. If your mum intends living there long term it really isn't a problem, and from what I've heard and read about NHBC Guarantees they're not worth the paper they're written on anyway!

I think she only wants to be there for the next few years. So would be looking to sell within the 10 year period.

globalds

Nolo1984 wrote: »

Hello all

there's no NHBC as the owner/builders went bankrupt shortly after completing the flats. The flats are now owned by the bank and have been put up for sale by them.

This sounds a bit odd ?
when I say odd I mean it doesn't make sense.

I would dig a little bit more, someone isn't telling the full story.
If the building had been completed to the satisfaction of the NHBC then the developer going belly up would not affect the certification.
If the developer ran out of cash because of problems during the build .That might be something a lot more worrying.

davidmcn

Nolo1984 wrote: »

I think she only wants to be there for the next few years. So would be looking to sell within the 10 year period.

Even if she gets it at a good price, it's likely to be a pain to sell once you restrict the market to cash buyers (considering how long it takes many flats to sell even if they have NHBC). Unless there's something special about this one I would give it a miss.