Equity Release - Flat Roof Issue

Lou1973

Hi,

My parents are looking to release some equity on the flat that they live in. It is fully paid for, so they have no mortgage.

They live in a two bedroom flat on the second floor of a 3 floor apartment block. The roof above the top floor is partially flat, but not fully.

They contacted Nationwide to start the process and when asked if the roof was flat, my dad said it was 100% flat without checking. They were denied because of this. My questions are, is this relevant to them as they are not on the top floor and if so, will the fact that it is not 100% flat make a difference?

TIA
Louise

[Deleted User]

Nationwide's money, Nationwide's rules unfortunately.

If it is a flat, there is a lease agreement, majority of these split the costs of building repairs between all the properties. Flat roof properties require more maintenance and the costs of this would be split between all the properties regardless of where they were in the building.

This in turn makes it a less attractive proposition for a buyer of the property. Would you buy a mid floor flat in a building that requires thousands of pounds of roof repairs every 10 years? Or would you buy a different one with a conventional roof that lasts decades with minimal maintenance?

A lender always makes decisions on property based on how easy it is to sell if they have to take possession. Anything that would reduce their market on a sale is a risk to them. In this case they deem the risk higher than the reward of granting the mortgage. So are declining.

Caveat here is that not all leasehold properties share the costs equally but big lenders have to generalise for the majority situation.

The lender makes business decisions, not always completely rational in real life.

Whats_your_forte

Thankfully not all lost. I know of other Equity Release options with providers who are more flexible on the security being offered so they do have options

Lou1973

Sorry, I couldn't have explained myself very well.

When my dad gave the information, he said that the roof was 100% flat. It isn't and is probably more like 25% - 40% flat. Would this make a difference - is it worth him contacting them again? I'm not a home owner so this may seem like a stupid question but how would he find the accurate %?

I'm not trying to say that my parents have no commitment towards fees to repair the roof if there is damage. I wasn't sure whether because they are less likely to be directly impacted by a leak (other than the financial burden of roof repairs), if this would make a difference to the approval process. I'm not sure how these things are worked out.

[Deleted User]

It would make a big difference if its not majority flat roof. Definitely be worth clarifying and seeing if they can get far enough to have a surveyor come out to give full assessment.