Help - Mortgage valuation on property deemed not 'suitable security'

DTrowRDav

Hi, my boyfriend and I are first time buyers and have recently had an offer accepted on a property that needs extensive renovation. We don't currently have the funds to do the work upfront, but plan on living with his parents whilst we renovate.

We passed all of the financial/legal checks and everything was going fairly smoothly until the mortgage valuer said that the property is 'not suitable security'.

We already had a full building survey done which found there was a history of subsidence, although the report was inconclusive as to what was causing the structural movement, stating there were several possible factors which could be the source (see quote below)

"Other factors which might have an influence on the movement are identified in bowing in the front garden retaining wall which is an indication that the lateral load imposed upon the wall by the retaining ground is greater than the retaining force of the wall itself and compaction of the ground in this area could cause or contribute to the problems which have been identified. There is also a deep inspection chamber which reveals a substantial sump-like arrangement with a flat instead of a channelled base. Leakage in this drain could have been a contributory factor."

We have sent this report to the mortgage valuer, who has come back again saying it is not still not willing to offer us a mortgage on the property, due to the report not stating clearly whether the structural movement is still occurring. They have also requested a report from Welsh Water of the inspection chamber incase this is leaking and contributing to the subsidence.

However we have contacted WW and they were not willing to arrange an inspection with us as it is not our property.

The property is inherited and we have heard from the estate agent that the vendor doesn't want much to do with the property and just wants a quick sale. There were a couple of investors interested in the property whilst we were viewing it, so we are conscious that asking too much/for works to be done etc. would lead the vendor to pull out and go with an investor instead.

Is there anything more we could do (without it costing too much) to secure our mortgage offer?

Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

AdrianC

Quite simply, it means that particular lender don't want to know about that particular property, because of the risk of ongoing subsidence. Another vendor might be less picky, but it's unlikely, given the reason.

The vendor can get the requested report from Welsh Water. If they don't want to, and would prefer a simpler sale, such is their prerogative.

Frankly, I don't think I'd want to be buying this one anyway, unless I had a far better understanding of the structural issue than it sounds like you have. It really does sound as if the lender are being the voice of reason here. This has the potential to be very disruptive and very expensive.

ReadingTim

You can't force the bank to lend you money, and they don't want to lend it on this property. And based on the survey comments, it's likely that no-one else will lend on it either.

You're going to have to walk away from this one, as unfortunately, you can't afford it. If it's of any consolation, it could well be a money pit.

G_M

You have spent some money on survey and mortgage application and that money is well-spent. It is saving you much bigger problems down the line.

Find a property that is not subject to unknown subsidence issues. And that will not potentially require huge amunts of money to under-pin. And will not always be hard/expensive to insure. And will not be a nightmare when you try to sell.

Cakeguts

Don't go for the cheapest biggest properties in the area. There is always something wrong with a property that is cheap. Some of them will cost more to put right than you could ever get back by selling them. Try looking for properties that are in better condition.