Non-standard construction

Smodlet

LMCLMC wrote: »

I see. At the moment the situation is, we have emailed the agent with a lower offer for the house and included the valuation report stating it is an Airey. The agent is going to speak to the owners and put forward our new offer, so at the same time will presumably find out if the owners have any repair certificates or what have you. They bought it in 2010 and know for a fact they have a mortgage on it.

Is there a chance that the valuer could be wrong and it's not NSC after all? Has anyone got experience of this?

Did you ask the agent to ask for repair certificates? If not, why presume they will do anything useful? They are, after all, estate agents and therefore the spawn of the devil (imho, of course)

It is hardly in the valuer's interest to state a property is of non-standard construction if it is not and I imagine one who could not tell the difference would not keep his job for long. Lenders want to lend mortgages so they can charge interest and make profit. They dread being stuck with a property they cannot sell and will pursue the borrower if they cannot recoup their costs, should the borrower default and they have to repossess it. It is, therefore, very much in their interests to employ valuers who know what they are looking at.

Please bear in mind many NSC properties were built in a tearing hurry after the second World War to replace bomb damaged ones. NSC ones are built far more quickly and cheaply than brick built ones so seemed like a good idea at the time.

They were not, according to the government of the day, intended to last as long as they have; they were meant to be only a temporary solution and, as babyblade41 and others have illustrated, many are now past their sell-by date. This is why obtaining a mortgage on them can often be so problematical.

LMCLMC, I strongly advise you to walk away and find a nice, brick built, cavity walled property to buy even if that means waiting and saving, taking second jobs, whatever it takes rather than risking buying a money pit. Any issues which occur with this house will not be covered by any insurance policy if they are due to wear and tear for the simple reason it is not possible to insure against that. If you don't believe me, call up an insurance company and ask them. Suddenly finding an eroded water pipe is not an insurable risk as the damage occurred over time, not in one sudden incident.

Lecture over.

LMCLMC

Thank you for your input Smodlet

LMCLMC

And honestly, this is the hardest thing we've ever done. Definitely don't want to do it ever again! my nerves are shot to pieces, and I suffer with crippling anxiety to start with!

Smodlet

LMCLMC wrote: »

Thank you for your input Smodlet

There is no nice way to tell people what you know they don't want to hear. I felt sufficient empathy with you to bother to say it but can take a hint; leaving now. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

LMCLMC

I didn't mean it that way smodlet, don't want you to leave the chat, was just shocked to hear that what we have planned is such a major no-no in the eyes of everyone. Like I say we are beginners and on a massive learning curve. Thank you for taking the time to help, appreciated. We have another viewing at 1:30

Smodlet

I was afraid I might have overstepped the mark, LMCLMC, and was trying to avoid going into "finger-wagging" mode. (Epic fail, Smodlet ) As I intimated, some FTB's I find not worth the effort... You listen.

I would rather some random nobody like me upset you enough to help you avoid making potentially a very expensive mistake than just leave you to it. I suppose there may still be many NSC properties around which are perfectly all right and standard construction properties are not without their issues either; they just tend to be a whole lot easier and therefore cheaper to fix. Lower insurance premiums and ease of borrowing reflect these facts.

The whole point of your posting on here was to gain knowledge; this you have done but please don't think I am any authority on this subject. I learned enough from talking to a surveyor I used to work for to know I never want to buy an NSC house. That is all. What you do with the knowledge you now have is, of course, entirely up to you. I just hope you can now make more of an informed decision.

LMCLMC

Everyone's opinion counts to me, and as a whole you seem to all agree. Anyway, random thought for the day (and I may break into a rant here!)

I am so sick of EA's and their false adverts. We have just been to view a house with a supposed log burner (which I am in love with). What it actually had was a gas fire with a flue to make it look like a log burner, with some fake log effect detail on it! Cross is not the word!

Thank you everyone for keeping me sane during this stressful process

hazyjo

LMCLMC wrote: »

I am so sick of EA's and their false adverts. We have just been to view a house with a supposed log burner (which I am in love with). What it actually had was a gas fire with a flue to make it look like a log burner, with some fake log effect detail on it! Cross is not the word!

Blame the seller. Unlikely to be the EA's fault. (Not often I defend EAs lol.)

LMCLMC

The agent knew it wasn't a log burner though, as it was her that pointed it out to us, so why wasn't the advert correct? Just another dirty trick in my opinion to lure people in.

This might not go down well with some people but I'm going to say it anyway. We have been renting for near enough ten years, and in my experience the whole lot of them (agents) are disgusting frauds. You can tell I'm cross can't you?

Smodlet

LMCLMC wrote: »

The agent knew it wasn't a log burner though, as it was her that pointed it out to us, so why wasn't the advert correct? Just another dirty trick in my opinion to lure people in.

This might not go down well with some people but I'm going to say it anyway. We have been renting for near enough ten years, and in my experience the whole lot of them (agents) are disgusting frauds. You can tell I'm cross can't you?

Learning, you are, young Skywalker... :rotfl: To everyone on this thread, especially you, LMCLMC, I think a big high ten (?) is due.

Seriously, sometimes this forum actually works; that's why I stick around. It does not get any easier; I think hazyjo might back me up there, not that I would ever presume to be in the same area of erudition. Hazyjo is one savvy buyer of property, from what I have gathered. I cannot claim the same (heart over head, back in the day)

ETA: The "log burner" not being an actual log burner is a very, very far cry from a house not being made of real brick, don't you think? That is conceivably fixable. Now, come along, young Skywalker!