Steel frame

Vaiva

Considering buying a steel frame house.

Before starting our house hunt, we weren't even aware of the term. Funny thing is that most of the agents were also not aware of the term or that steel frame houses even exist in the area. Last week we had already placed an offer, then asked the agent to confirm if the house was steel frame or not. Last minute, after calling their surveyor, the agent confirmed it was indeed steel frame. Moreover, from the visual look of the whole street, now we think that all houses on it are steel frame. We have also noticed that during the past 6-8 months a lot of properties go on sale on that particular street, and they are quite affordable. There was a new one that come up just yesterday. At the moment, there are 4 properties on sale, where compared to other streets it's 1 or 2 only.

Obviously, this rings serious alarm bells.

We have googled back and forth, and on theoretical level are aware of what troubles we might run into after making a decision to go with steel frame. We are also aware of the fact that not all steel frame houses are the same. 

What we lack is real life experiences with a steel frame house - mortgage, insurance, re-sale, value increase/decrease, possible issues with the house itself like warmth, damp, etc. Perhaps we could even find people who already live in the area, are more aware of the building types around it, and could advise whether we should still stick to hope of finding an affordable non-steel frame house in the vicinity, or give up and buy what we can afford, and at the moment it is only a steel frame house.

The particular area I am talking about is Reigate, Surrey (Dover's Green est). Pictures of the two types of steel frame houses also attached for visualisation.

Chandler85

My parents live it one, the issue they had when buying (back in 1990s) was they had to have the bottom of a selection of steels exposed to prove they weren't rusted to get a mortgage.

The houses are inherently colder, though this is the North West where it is colder then Surrey anyway, as they usually have 1 skin of brick only, so it is outer skin and then a steel frame then the internal walls are essentially stud, so just plasterboard.  This also means it is inconvenient to hang things, although new wall plugs have helped address this.  I guess you can re board with insulated plasterboard.

They also aren't allowed cavity wall insulation for obvious reasons (rusting the steels).

BrOz

I think that it's hard to get a mortage on homes of a 'non standard construction' there's a few in my neibourhood, they sell then come back on the market as the sale falls through. 

Chandler85

They are non-standard but that also depends on the local area.  For example there are huge swathes of non-standard construction in some areas, so much so they are the "standard" construction for the area.  These places tend to be fine for mortgages are mortgage providers know the area, know the problems (if any) the homes have etc and the surveyors who operate in the area know what to look for.

It is when you get estates, or areas where 98% of the homes are brick and mortar, then you get a few steel frame ones, or other non-standard where lenders are much more cautious.  Which may the be the case for the OP.  So I guess the approach is proceed but with some caution, potentially ask the mortgage company about steel framed houses before you apply etc.  A local mortgage broker would be useful.

AdrianC

There's a difference between "non-standard" and "defective". Defective construction types have been defined in law since the mid 80s, and are unmortgageable. Most have been repaired or demolished by now, precisely because of that.

There are brand new steel-frame houses going up all over the country now, and being sold with no issue. There's an entire estate went up recently near me, some "exec", some "affordable". All sold easily. From outside, they all look perfectly normal and generic - mostly brick, some "clad" bits.