Rejected mortgage based on 'unusual property'

Bobby_Applejuice

Hi there, 

Me & my partner were in the process of buying a converted barn house, but yesterday after Halifax did their own survey of the property they have let us know they will not lend on it due to:

Property adjacent to working farm and also due to construction type meaning it is not suitable for lending.

They won’t provide any further information & our mortgage advisor at L&C believes we may be turned down by all lenders & should look for another property which has truly broken both our hearts. 

We’re not sure where to turn to for help as we don’t want to give up, has anyone got any advice? A little bit about the property below:

4 bed newly converted barn (3 years old) within a small development of 4 other barns with a small portion of the grounds still a working beef farm. From what we can tell, the build is of a timber frame & brick construction. It’s current owners did the self build themselves and he is a seemingly successful architect - it appears to be of a very high quality build (my parents who are in the building trade thought so too). We have a 25% deposit & no issues getting a mortgage in general, we just weren’t aware mortgages were harder to get on ‘unusual’ properties or that this qualified as such. 

Thanks so much for any help & advice, we’d really appreciate it!

K_S

@Bobby_Applejuice L&C is great for straightforward requirements, but I would be slightly sceptical of their advice to just move on. 

The property might well turn out to be un-mortgageable in the end but I would recommend getting a second opinion from an experienced broker. If it was built by a 'succesful architect' aiming to sell it for a profit, I doubt that it would done in a way that made it un-mortgageable. A modern timber-framed brick-exterior property should be mortgage-able at 75% LTV tbh.

ACG

I agree. One lender saying they will not lend does not mean they all will. 
Well worth looking for a Plan B/C - although you should bare in mind you could struggle when it comes to selling if you do eventually buy it. It sounds like the broker wants to move on to the next simple case. 

Bobby_Applejuice

Thanks everyone. Going to speak to the original estate agent today and see if they have advice also.

MWT

Bobby_Applejuice said:

From what we can tell, the build is of a timber frame & brick construction. It’s current owners did the self build themselves and he is a seemingly successful architect...

I would ask the seller to provide more details on the construction, if this is a self-build by the architect they should have no problems being very specific about the construction methods so don't just rely on what you can see...

loveka

I had very similar due to proximity to a restaurant! I got another lender with no problem.

Thrugelmir

Did the owners obtain a new home warranty ?  A standard requirement of lenders is to have such cover in place for the first 10 years post build completion. 

davidmcn

Thrugelmir said:

Did the owners obtain a new home warranty ?  A standard requirement of lenders is to have such cover in place for the first 10 years post build completion. 

Most will fall back to accepting a certificate from the supervising architect, but it's certainly one of the first things I would be checking out.

Thrugelmir

davidmcn said:

Thrugelmir said:

Did the owners obtain a new home warranty ?  A standard requirement of lenders is to have such cover in place for the first 10 years post build completion. 

Most will fall back to accepting a certificate from the supervising architect, but it's certainly one of the first things I would be checking out.

One of the owners is an architect. Self certifying ones own self build, is unlikely to appease. Guess there was originally no plans to move. Having built their dream home.