Halifax rejected after valuation, 'Area of limited saleability: Local Authority development'

TristramShandy

"I have not provided a valuation because the property is not acceptable to the lender due to being located in an area of limited saleability. There are significant adverse locational factors: Local Authority development."
The property is on the De Beaviour estate in N1.
We are applying via our broker for a product from a different company, and are waiting to see if their opinion differs.
Has anyone had a similar rejection for a property in this area? If so, did you find a lender who was prepared to offer a mortgage?

How many lenders should we approach before letting go? We are extremely keen on the property - the location and the size and the condition are all perfect for us.

It's an 85% LTV product, and we plan to live in the property for the next 5/10 years.

K_S

TristramShandy said:

"I have not provided a valuation because the property is not acceptable to the lender due to being located in an area of limited saleability. There are significant adverse locational factors: Local Authority development."
The property is on the De Beaviour estate in N1.
We are applying via our broker for a product from a different company, and are waiting to see if their opinion differs.
Has anyone had a similar rejection for a property in this area? If so, did you find a lender who was prepared to offer a mortgage?

How many lenders should we approach before letting go? We are extremely keen on the property - the location and the size and the condition are all perfect for us.

It's an 85% LTV product, and we plan to live in the property for the next 5/10 years.

@tristamshandy Quick thoughts -

- Is there a rightmove ad that you don't mind sharing?

- That estate has quite a mix of properties: Is this a flat, tower block, lowrise flat, maisonette, terrace, etc?

- There is lots of "regeneration" going on in that area. Any plans to demolish/rebuild parts of the estate nearby?

- It's unlikely to be completely unmortgageable, but at 85% LTV it's going to be an uphill struggle.

TristramShandy

Thank you for the reply @K_S. We've just heard back from our broker – NatWest are also not prepared to lend. We're going to try one more lender and see what they say. In case that's successful, I'll add them here to help future Googlers.

It's a mainsonette on the ground floor of a six-storey block. There is some regeneration of the estate planned for the next two years, but I (naively) assumed this was good in the long run, as they are tidying up the estate and adding some nice park areas...

tommyt-saver

TristramShandy said:

Thank you for the reply @K_S. We've just heard back from our broker – NatWest are also not prepared to lend. We're going to try one more lender and see what they say. In case that's successful, I'll add them here to help future Googlers.

It's a mainsonette on the ground floor of a six-storey block. There is some regeneration of the estate planned for the next two years, but I (naively) assumed this was good in the long run, as they are tidying up the estate and adding some nice park areas...

Those renovations can cost a lot per flat, wildly different amounts fly around at a few grand up to £25k per flat... so I suppose its hard for a lender to accurately assess value. Suppose the cost of the flat is on the high side already that's why they're cautious? It's worth you exploring these planned works and estimates for your own budget before committing too. If you haven't already that is. 

a_sarkar

@TristramShandy 
sorry to reopen an old thread but we’re in a (remarkably) similar position - trying to buy in London on 85% LTV, looking at ex-council (because capped at 450k by Lifetime-ISA), had a flat rejected by Halifax and then NatWest due to ‘limited saleability’. Just wanted to check how this panned out for you, were you successful or did you have to wait it out for a unicorn property/build up deposit further? Thanks!