Kencast Construction Info?

Tiners

Hi all,

I'm interested in a detached property that is prefabricated Kencast and I can find very little info on this type of construction when searching the internet, can anyone shed any light on it?

Some info I did find suggested that Kencast construction is so problematic that the these type of properties are effectively worthless and only worth the value of the plot!

Apparently this particular property was refurbished under a local authority grant in 2002 where an outer layer was added to the property with insulation behind,

Would this type of remedial work be a permanent solution to whatever problems they suffer from or just a temporary fix?
And would it make it mortgagable or would it still be classed as non-standard construction and difficult to obtain a mortgage on? (I'm a actually a cash buyer but that doesn't mean I want to find myself overpaying and owning an unmortgagable pig-in-a-poke!)

Thanks in advance for any replies!

lincroft1710

Kenkast were big manufacturers of prefabricated concrete garages and sheds in the 1950s/60s/70s and also for a short period mobile homes in the 1960s. Is the property you are interested in single storey and what is the asking price?

Tiners

Thanks for the reply, yes it's a bungalow, asking price is £155k, but it's a one off build in a very rural area so nothing else size/style wise to compare it with as far as the price is concerned.

booksurr

as you have read, the attitude of lenders to any form of PRC housing is down to whether they are prepared to lend on it after it has received remedial work identified under the Non-Traditional Homes Appraisal Scheme. Obviously some will, many won't.

The same will apply with insurance.

It will always be hard to sell, so the question is are you buying somewhere to live and that is all you have for your budget in that area or can you compromise on location or your attitude to whether it is a forever home so selling it is irrelevant

Davesnave

Are there any other compensations, such as an unusually large plot?

If this is the case, selling-on is usually easier, because many cash purchasers will consider demolition to get the plot/views.

On the down-side, if it's new to the market and on a good plot, it may not hang about for long.

Where I am, a PRC Woolaway bungalow sold about 18 months ago for around £175k. A 4 bed luxury house now stands on the 1 acre plot.

lincroft1710

In some parts of the country £155K for a building plot is a very attractive proposition

Davesnave

lincroft1710 wrote: »

In some parts of the country £155K for a building plot is a very attractive proposition

Or just in the right place.

Two or three years ago, a Woolaway bungalow in out little town was refurbished by having it's walls completely replaced. They just supported the roof while this was done.

Nevertheless it was an expensive job for such a modest bungalow. The reason: its views over the land behind are legally preserved for all time.

The importance of this was brought home to me just a year or so later, when properties further along the same road lost their views completely as a new housing estate was built. Previously, their owners had enjoyed 30- 40 years of seeing 20 miles of landscape laid out before them, all the way to Dartmoor.

Tiners

Thanks again for the replies, In theory I would like it to be my 'forever home' and not an 'investment'.. but that means I still need it to remain habitable and standing for at least another 30 years or so!

I suppose I really need to find out to what extent this L.A. grant funded remedial work has improved the actual structure of the property, I'm guessing it would be Building Control that I need to contact?

booksurr

Tiners wrote: »

Thanks again for the replies, In theory I would like it to be my 'forever home' and not an 'investment'.. but that means I still need it to remain habitable and standing for at least another 30 years or so!

until you started this thread I had never heard of kencast construction so please ignore me if you wish, however, the optimist in me would take the view that after watching the Weaver Vale Housing Trust video on what they did to refurbish their kencast stock it should be alright for what you want.

1. what the video shows is exactly what my council did to its post war PRC stock. New outer brick wall which supports the roof, so the original concrete panels are no longer structural and so become irrelevant. Brick wall makes the building weather tight so removes risk of weather damage to the concrete

2. Housing trusts and councils do not throw multi millions of pounds of scarce funding at short term measures. They employ consultants to advise them, and whilst it may be easy to "comment" on the amount the public sector spends on consultants, at the end of the day these are qualified structural engineers who have obviously come up with a design to address the risks.

In summary: if the property is one which you want long term, is your "forever" home, and is the best you can afford in that area for the immediately foreseeable future, then go for it.