Want a mortgage, but no running water??

Bijanca

Hi,
I am wanting to buy a house, it is our DREAM house, it has a kitchen, bathroom and wetroom etc.. but there is a issue with the plumbing/water and it needs fixing because it does not currently work.

Would we be able to get a mortgage with the water currently not working ? because it would obviously be the first thing that we fixed once the sale went through.

any advice would be appreciated x

ACG

Part of the requirements of a lender is that it has running water. That being said, if it was never mentioned I wonder if it would get picked up.

I am assuming it is connected to the mains, but there is an issue somewhere down the line?

If it did get picked up, then you may have to resort to getting a bridging loan to fix the problem and then remortgage. Bridging loans are expensive (around 0.7% per month, with 2-3% in fees plus legal fees).

Alternatively, you could look to exchange contracts fix the issue and then pay for a reinspection and then complete.

Each comes with their pros and cons. Do you have a broker? It may be worth discussing them with the broker if you do.

Bijanca

Thanks for this, so i assume we dont actually have to tell the bank or lender about the water situation if they dont ask ;-) Do they usually survey the proposed house purchase themselves?

Do you know if lenders accept if I am living with someone else while i am repairing the water pipes etc?

Cheers for all your advise :beer:

davidmcn

Yes, the lender will need a survey. A mortgage valuation report doesn't usually involve much in the way of testing utilities so the surveyor might not notice, but I suppose it depends what the "issue" actually is.

amnblog

Why is the seller not sorting out the water supply before sale?

Very odd - it is feed via a Well or Spring - if so can be tricky on the lending front.

Sounds very much like an un-mortgageable property so do not waste money on a valuation until you know more.

PasturesNew

Not having water is a MAJOR drawback to anybody needing a mortgage. It would SERIOUSLY indicate that there is a HUGE and MAJOR issue with water.... else it would have simply been fixed.

Explain what's wrong/why it's not got water.... so people might be able to suggest if it's workable/doable or not.

For most people, no water is a "walk away/too hard" scenario and the property would only be suitable for somebody in the trade, in the know, with deep pockets and skills, that understands fully what needs to be done and has the funds/friends/wherewithall to get it fixed without a lender becoming concerned (e.g. they might buy it with a private loan/bridging loan/cash, get in there, sort it out, quickly remortgage to repay their initial loans).