Is this house mortgageable?

Laura_Bee

Hi
Please can anybody give me some advice
We have inherited a house that hasn't been lived in for a few years.
There was some dry rot which we have had dealt with. In order to do the work we had to remove the bath and wash basin.
The water is off at the mains to avoid possible bursts but there is still a toilet upstairs and a kitchen sink
The gas is off but the electrics are fine.
We would like to sell it but are a bit concerned in case it would be unmortgageable.
Does anybody have any knowledge about this
Many Thanks

Cakeguts

Enter it into a property auction.

walwyn1978

Or go into EA's and explain that you want it pushed at developers, not private clients, who may well have cash reserves to buy it outright without a mortgage.

steampowered

I would get a bit of work done to make sure the plumbing works, electrics work - then you shouldn't have a problem.

Hoploz

I don't see why it wouldn't be mortgageable. It has a working kitchen sink and toilet.

Having said that, it might be worth spending a few hundred or perhaps even a bit more, to get it into a liveable state, which would open it up to owner occupiers rather than just developers who'll want it cheap.

davidmcn

Hoploz wrote: »

I don't see why it wouldn't be mortgageable. It has a working kitchen sink and toilet.

I think "habitable" also means a working bath or shower.

Davesnave

My experience suggests a functional bath or shower + sink and toilet is essential for mortgage purposes.

I agree that spending a small amount now would probably give a better return than being restricted to cash buyers.

Laura_Bee

Thanks for all your help.
I was hoping that a toilet upstairs and a kitchen sink would be acceptable to the lenders.
There are quite a few things to consider doing to make it more saleable

Thanks again

Davesnave

If it's a real project house, don't do too much. Fresh emulsion paint, fine, and anything seriously injurious to the fabric of the building likewise, if it can be done cheaply.

If installing a bath, it could be a secondhand white one from eBay for all most purchasers will care. They will have their own ideas about fittings and probably rip out whatever you install anyway.

My DD bought a do-er upper, but needed the bright yellow bathroom fittings intact to get a mortgage. Within a few hours of taking possession, all but the loo was gone, and it too followed within a month or so.

Waterlily24

We bought a house that was unmortgageable a long time ago. It had a proper working bathroom and kitchen although very old. It had a brand new roof but the ceilings were falling down and there were floorboards missing upstairs. It was in a state but things do differ a bit in relation to unmortgageable.

sal_III

You really need to decide what your target buyers are. By the sound of it it's not really habitable, so even if you make it mortgageable you are only slightly expanding your pool of buyers from cash investors/refurbishers to include those that need mortgage. You are still missing on a vast majority of the market which is people looking for home.

If you have the funds, it's best to bring it to a habitable state with minimal investment to make it attractive for people "punching above their weight" happy with a habitable fixer-upper, which will pay more than the investors/refurbishers