Single Skin wall, bad purchase?

oystercatcher

I don't know the finance side but single skin walls make for a very cold house. My friend had a lovely house , they didn't realise it was single skinned until they were having work done on an extension , but that house was always freeeeezing in winter despite good heating system.

If you have much choice in your price range I would keep looking, 8 years or so is a long time to be cold all the time !

I'm sure friend had a mortgage but this was a good few years back.

[Deleted User]

I lived in a house with a single skin kitchen and bathroom extension on the end. It generally wasn't done to a good standard, so many bodge jobs included (which we only discovered when we reinstalled the bathroom and did work on the kitchen).

If you opened the lounge/kitchen door it sucked any heat in the rest of the house into the kitchen. The lounge was always cold. I'd never live in the same sort of arrangement again. The flat roof wasn't insulated either. What it cost in increased heating bills I wouldn't like to guess (and remember the house was still cold). I spend far less now in spite of tariff price increases in the last four years.

Davesnave

First, you ought to consider when this extension was done. If it was within the last 30 years, it's most likely a poor quality build, as no one sensible would have built that way in modern times or have met building regulations.

Next, you should consider where we are likely to be with energy prices in 8 years time, because most of us can only see them going one way relative to other expenses. The higher the cost of energy, the less desirable inefficient houses will become, with a knock-on effect to value.

Lastly, if you think you'd be confident to have the structure upgraded, don't forget you'll probably lose the kitchen that's there and replacing it + the electrical work which may also follow will have a cost too. It will also be incredibly messy and disruptive.

No one here knows if the house is priced to compensate for what's now partial non-standard construction, but if it isn't discounted significantly, I would look for another.

Doozergirl

mrsmortgage wrote: »

But let's say the house is worth £200k, deposit is £20k. In 5 years I sell it for £210k and fix the wall for £10k (so it's easier for the buyer to get a mortgage)

In this scenario the "profit" would be taken by fixing that wall so it would be a bad investment.

If it needs work then you should be negotiating it from the price of the house, not paying to fix a problem that currently belongs to the vendor, from your pocket.

An element of single skin is fairly common on older houses where outbuilding have been converted into habitable spaces. I think the lending criteria can depend on the proportion of single skin.

Insulating the walls is a good idea. I'm not sure I'd go to the effort of digging up the floor; the payback wouldn't be noticed in bill reduction and wouldn't affect the value of the house. It would on the walls (and definitely in ceilings - that will pay you back within 8 years). If it's in the kitchen, we bard with plywood before the plasterboard, so it can be easily used to hang units.

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm not sure I'd go to the effort of digging up the floor; the payback wouldn't be noticed in bill reduction and wouldn't affect the value of the house.

If it is a converted outbuilding (or shoddy build on the cheap), then there may not be a DPC in the floor - I'm assuming a concrete slab here. Most of the cost in replacing such a floor is in the grunt work excavating deep enough. If the OP is up for some hard work, that is one area where costs can be reduced.