1st time buyer - Should i buy a PRC concrete (non defective) house?

isidore

Hi,

i found a PRC house (Precast Reinforced Concrete), one which is not in the defective list.
it's a non standard construction, it's not a "common" prc.

being in 2019, would you advise to buy this kind of house?

my main concern is if that will still be mortgageable as lenders could be confused or reluctant when hearing "PRC" whether it's defective or not.

All i know is the seller got a mortgage from a high street bank few years ago.
Mortgage lenders could change their conditions anytime as time pass by.
Concrete could develop an issue in the futur which we don't know

i don't want to be with something with something tough to mortgage.

in term of price it's cheaper than traditional building but not that much.
the concrete doesn't show any crack.
because it's not defective, it doesn't have a PRC certificate to say "all is ok". It doesn't have a cavity wall insulation.

what is your advice or opinion please?

i feel PRC could be very risky

isidore

hi
Would you buy a PRC (Precast Reinforced Concrete) nowadays ?
Thanks

mick1111

We pulled out of a PRC purchase last week, a couple of days before exchange. There were many reasons, but one consideration for us was that the property has been on the market for a couple of years. As FTBs going in at 95% LTV, we decided not to risk being stuck with a huge debt and unsellable house, should we decide to move in a couple of years for work. We're now going to wait a year to get a bigger deposit and look for something of a more standard construction.

Davesnave

isidore wrote: »

in term of price it's cheaper than traditional building but not that much.

i feel PRC could be very risky

There are the main points to consider.

Many houses have some kind of obvious down-side; not just physical issues, but perhaps legal ones, or the reputation and appearance of the neighbourhood.

All these things affect the bang for your buck. Most people feel that non-conventionally built houses are too risky, even when mortgageable, so the price has to reflect that. If it doesn't adequately compensate, potential buyers walk away and the house stays on the market.

If there's no huge incentive to buy and you have other options available, I'd take them, even if, like the above poster, it means waiting a little longer.

AnotherJoe

Isidore, I'd say it's a risky buy for the reasons you mention. Any future buyers will have the same doubts you do now.

isidore

Thank you for your replies.
Obviously the EA didn't make all of that clear at the beginning, as i got mislead by the outer skin. Lost of time and money for buyer and seller.

Davesnave

isidore wrote: »

Obviously the EA didn't make all of that clear at the beginning, as i got mislead by the outer skin. Lost of time and money for buyer and seller.

Remember the EA works for the seller, not you, so they may have been instructed to say nothing.


It's like underpinning, which some sellers are up-front about and others aren't, though the decision-making process for an underpinned house is often less clear.

isidore

btw, is it easy to find underpinning for a surveyor ?
unless you can visually see the underground you can't really know i guess.

Slinky

isidore wrote: »

btw, is it easy to find underpinning for a surveyor ?
unless you can visually see the underground you can't really know i guess.

We bought a house where the single storey extension has been underpinned. The surveyor discovered it when he spoke to the neighbours who volunteered the information. There's nothing obviously structural that you can see, however it would have come to light as it was repaired under insurance and under building regulations supervision and it's on the local council's planning portal.


It's always worth checking out the local planning/building regs portals for anything you are considering buying. We also checked out the title documents of the property and those adjoining it after getting caught out with a previous attempted purchase.

Cakeguts

Is it an ex council house? The reason I ask this is because it could have been bought by the vendors under the right to buy scheme and they may not have needed much of a mortgage because of the discount.



A cheaper house is a house that is more difficult to sell. You need to find out what the reason is for that. It could be where it is.