Help! Steel Frame house with Stone Cladding - Can it be mortgageable?

LouLaBelle_3

Hi! As you can see, I'm new as a member but have been using this site for pretty much all my problems in the past and this is the first time I've not been able to find an answer, so apologies if this is in the wrong forum (and also for the length!).
The problem: my partner and I have finally found a house we both love BUT it's steel framed! Now we are in the lucky position where we can get an (expensive!!) mortgage on it with Santander (so far!) but it is still considered a non traditional and thus, a non mortgageable house! So the problem isnt getting the mortgage for us since we can just about afford the ridiculously higher deposit after saving for years! But the problem is the resale, if and when that comes round!
Now the guy who's house it was, he built it himself with a steel frame and stone cladding as opposed to the more commonly (I think!) used concrete or brick. It also has a tiled roof (which I think makes a difference). Unfortunately, he has sadly passed away and since he did build it himself back in the 40's no one has a record of exactly how it was made and it doesn't fit into any of the named catigories of non traditional house that I've seen. So, before I shell out £1k+ on a structural survey or engineer, can anyone tell me either where I can get advice on this or if it would be possible to turn a steel framed, stone clad house into a mortgageable property? Right now I know you're probably saying run for the hills, it's not worth it, it causes too many problems etc but it is such a great little house and I would just love to know if it was possible to make it mortgageble even if it was just an option that we never took.
I have tried speaking to engineers, builders and surveyors and some said that it will never be a mortgageable property because of its steel frame but I have also spoken to people who also say that's depending on the type of house, it could be!
It may also be worth noting that this house is in the North of Scotland, as are the people I've been speaking to and I'm not sure if that's makes a difference but a lot of the steel framed houses I've read about have been down South, so maybe (hoping!) these people just haven't had experience with it.
So has anyone had something similar or know which direction to point me? I have tried googling extensively but I'm afraid I may just be using the wrong words.
Anyway, if you can help, I would really, really appreciate it!! :)

Davesnave

LouLaBelle wrote: »

Now we are in the lucky position where we can get an (expensive!!) mortgage on it with Santander (so far!) but it is still considered a non traditional and thus, a non mortgageable house!

So the problem isnt getting the mortgage for us since we can just about afford the ridiculously higher deposit after saving for years! But the problem is the resale, if and when that comes round!

You are contradicting yourself in the above quote. It's either mortgageable or it isn't. I think you are saying Santander will lend, but only at punitive rates with a higher % deposit than average.

Some lenders will lend on steel framed houses of particular well-known designs which have been deemed non-defective, but this is very much at their own discretion. No one knows if they will continue to do so in the future, so expecting assurances there is unrealistic. However if you buy such a house at a reduced price, then it's only sensible to assume you will have to offer a similar discount when you sell.

If this house is a one-off, then it is unlikely to be viewed positively by most lenders, especially if there are no plans in existence. If you'll pardon the pun, it would have to stand or fall on its own merits.

I'm not sure an engineer could produce a report for the figure you quote, as investigation might well need invasive work to expose parts of the structure, but I'm guessing here, as will everybody else. If you've had a quote that low, it's possibly money well spent, even if you end up walking away.

stator

You would need a specialist surveyor to do an invasive survey/inspection.
Even then he might not give you the answer you want.
I wouldn't expect it to be mortgageable unless you rebuilt the load bearing structure as traditional.

Pewmouse

We bought a steel framed brick skinned bungalow this year (in North Yorkshire), it was built in the 60's and it's called trusteel. It was built by an independent builder but it is still categorised as a trusteel build. We have a mortgage on the property and our lender is also Santander. We have a slightly higher interest rate but not much higher than normal, the only stipulation was that we had a structural survey done. It did not specify that it had to be an invasive test as most sellers won't allow you do these tests as the surveyor doesn't make good the damage.


Have you got a mortgage broker? If not I suggest that you get one and look into mortgage options for non standard construction if you want to buy this house. We were almost put off buying our bungalow as the construction made it difficult for us during the purchase as we could no longer port our current mortgage and the price was no less than a standard construction build but it still offered everything we wanted and now we are in we haven't looked back. It's very well built and in good condition all these years later.


If you can, go up in the loft and look at the metal frame there to give you an idea of what the rest is like. If these types of houses are kept in good condition and haven't got damp you shouldn't need to worry about the frame.

D00gie72

I bought a non-standard construction house a couple of years ago. In my case it was a known construction type though. Interestingly Santander wouldn't load on ours - however I was able to get a mortgage from another main high st lender (TSB) at their standard rates at the time - no additional expense due to construction type. In our case - we knew we were buying our forever home - so re-sale opportunities' are not so relevant for us we were just happy to get a mortgage offer! It may be worth phoning round a few different lenders and see what they say - this is time consuming but may be worth it if you find a lender who's prepared to lend at their standard rates. We are in England BTW.