Would you buy a non-standard construction house?

Mullingitover

The house we're in the process of buying is a non-standard Designated Defective construction. A Unity build - basically a post-war concrete slab build.

It had PRC-certified remedial work (brick walling) done in 20001 and extensive cavity wall extensions added since.

The seller and agent failed to let us know that the previous interested party before us pulled out of the sale as their surveyor 'got it wrong' and they did not get their mortgage offer.
 
They chose not to disclose this fact to us as it was their opinion the house was 'no longer a Unity build'. They have now provided the PRC certificate, which we've sharing with our lender to check they're still happy to lend. 

Our surveyor found the house to be in fair/good condition = though the original non-standard concrete and steels are still in place.

Is this property a good/safe investment?

AndyDufresne

Not sure if it's more difficult to get buildings insurance on a NSC property but might be worth looking into.

GDB2222

There’s always going to be a question mark on it’s mortgageability, as the sellers found with the previous buyers. Hence, it ought to be cheaper than the equivalent standard building. How much cheaper is the question, of course. 

ironlady2022

I would say not but it's entirely up to you

bobster2

"Non-Standard" - yes. Lots of non-standard construction is good - and easy to mortgage. But "non-standard" and on the Designated Defective list - probably not.

Marvel1

Probably put me off when doing building insurance.

Mullingitover

@marvel1 yes, we were concerned about this. Have spoken to one insurer who didn't see it as a problem.

@bobster2 would you not buy because of concerns about the construction, potential resale issues....or both? 

lincroft1710

Personally I wouldn't consider a "Unity", even a repaired one.                                                                                                                                 

JMA74

If a property has been repaired and has the certificate (very important as if the certificate goes missing then its near impossible to get it re-certified) then the property becomes readily mortgageable and thats the main issue with a property being a good investment. 
I have done loads of repaired PRC properties at 5% or 10% deposits.   

Another thing is if it is normal for the area.  Around my way there are a few streets with dozens of these repaired properties. We dont see any issues with them being bought and sold over the years.  They wont get the same value as an equivalent "standard" house but if they are bought for less it doesnt matter if they are sold for less.  

So as long as the price being paid is in line with them being repaired prc then no issues as far as my experience goes anyway. 

Just make sure that any adjoining properties have also been repaired as that's a big issue if they havent.  And also check there isnt spray foam in the attic as its quite common for the insulation to have been done by the council at the same time as the repair.   If it has spray foam insulation then run

Mullingitover

@jma74 that's very helpful, thanks.

What's the best way for me to know the correct value for the house? 

We offered asking price when we didn't know it was a repaired PRC property.

Now we wonder if we should revise it down - but have no idea how to go about that. 

Mullingitover

@lincroft1710 Do you say that because of the build quality or the quality of the investment?