Timber Frame - another house buying disaster

Sammy5

So I thought I'd finally found a property I could afford and would be happy in. However, what I didn't realise until the valuation came today was that it's timber frame. It was built in 1982 and it's brick on the outside, timber frame with pitched concrete roof. It has also had a couple of extensions added. The house didn't feel particularly damp and was until recently rented out. There are similar properties built around the area, I believe these smaller 'back-to-back' houses are ex-council and presumably the larger properties are brick built and always privately owned.

You don't get houses for 150k around here often, particularly if they have an extra room. There's another standard one in the area for 160k. But that said, I don't want to take on a massive problem. The house joined at the side (they're built in blocks of 4) is seemingly abandoned, with the skylight having been left open when I've been there and the side section boarded up (there's a note on the door to say that someone's possessions are no longer there). The two houses in the next block along also appear to be empty, from what I can tell. Although freehold, these four houses are responsible for maintaining the road outside... no chance of that if they're empty, I guess. At first I thought I'd found a lovely property in a quiet area and that it was perfect for me, but now I'm worried that with an empty and damp building next door, the timber in my house is going to be at severe risk. And I don't know much about it, but I guess if the extensions weren't done correctly then perhaps they might cause problems too?

Any thoughts? At the moment, I'm thinking this is another 1.3k down the drain for me. I just can't get a break at the moment

Sam

Davesnave

There's nothing wrong with modern timber frame construction, but everything is wrong with buying in a road where a significant number of houses are empty and the adjoining house appears abandoned.

I can't suggest why this small road seems blighted, but you are presumably local and should be Googling like mad to find out all you can about the area.

Did the valuation say it was worth what you offered?

Strapped

Lots of back-to-back areas in northern cities are being pulled down. I assume you've checked your potential purchase isn't one of them (sounds too expensive to be).

Sammy5

I know the area, it's actually a very leafy area in Hampshire and very quiet. I believe the smaller properties like this one are generally let out (seems to often be the case these days). I'm not aware of any problems with the properties around here, there's another road of them and some more dotted about the area, built in exactly the same way. I think my main concern is that it's timber frame AND that property next door appears to have been left to rot. Is that going to likely to affect this property? And if it did, I guess I'd have no comeback? The problem I think (as always) is that if you want to know for sure, you've basically got to have a surveyor remove stuff to check what lies beneath.

Sammy5

Oh, and yes - the valuation said it was worth what I'd offered. Actually Zoopla values it much higher, but I've noticed that it appears to do that a lot...

lincroft1710

£150K in a leafy area of Hampshire? Abandoned houses in the immediate vicinity?

Doesn't sound good to me!

Furts

Davesnave wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with modern timber frame construction,

There are risks associated with timber frames of this era. World In Action produced a TV programme around 1983 that crucified the timber frame industry in England. The programme focused on Barratt Homes.

It is a moot point, but the timber frame industry in England has never recovered from this bomb shell programme.

NHBC responded by a total rethink of their requirements, but the damage had been done.

Sammy5

I had heard about this programme... I would try to track it down and watch it on youtube or something, but I fear it might be the final nail in the coffin for this property if I did! I think if it's held up this long without problems then I'm not so much worried about the quality of the property as such, I'm slightly more concerned about the empty (and probably very damp) property joined at the side causing problems for this one. I was thinking that I would be best off finding who owns that one and also knocking on the doors of other people in the 'block', as they might know more about it.

Worst case scenario, I'm worried that I won't be able to shift it in a couple of years if I want to move on, but I can't help thinking at that price that I ought to be able to at least break even, assuming nothing terrible happens to it in the meantime or we have another financial crash...

Davesnave

Furts wrote: »

There are risks associated with timber frames of this era. World In Action produced a TV programme around 1983 that crucified the timber frame industry in England. The programme focused on Barratt Homes.

It is a moot point, but the timber frame industry in England has never recovered from this bomb shell programme.

NHBC responded by a total rethink of their requirements, but the damage had been done.

I was distinguishing between theolder,non-standard constructions of earlier times and the the perfectly mortgageable houses that have been built more recently, but I didn't know this.

I'd like to see some of the Barratt homes that were built in the noughties in the year 2050, but sadly, I haven't been built to last 100 years either!:rotfl:

Certainly, in my home town here, they are currently putting up a whole estate of timber-framed houses at a rate of knots, and I guess people are buying them.

comeandgo

In Scotland it's mostly timber frames, has been for years and you won't get anywhere colder or wetter. No problems with them being timber frame, only when trying to explain to an English lassie when sorting out house insurance, she had never heard of them.

Furts

Sammy5 wrote: »

I think if it's held up this long without problems then I'm not so much worried about the quality of the property as such,

The gist of the programme, IIRR, was the failure to treat the timbers, the poor membranes and ventilation, and subsequent rot. How long it would take before serious rot set in would vary from house to house, depending on the design and builder. But rot was setting in within a short period of time - perhaps 1-2 years.

comeandgo wrote: »

In Scotland it's mostly timber frames, has been for years and you won't get anywhere colder or wetter. No problems with them being timber frame

My post made a deliberate reference to England - Scotland has a tradition of building with timber.