Unadopted Road - mortgage refused

sloop1

RelievedSheff said:

Is the developer Gleesons by any chance?

No it's not Gleesons - but thanks for clearing up the difference between 37 & 38, I understand it now! I have no idea why it's taken so long for the water company to adopt, but I'm hoping that the fact they now have is good news! 🙏

sloop1

All this talk of red flags is very scary - the only thing we're hanging onto is the news (in writing) that has been received by both solicitors (theirs and ours) that the process is underway finally. What's worrying is that the process could take over a year. We can't stay here for another year and need to move. What is most strange is that 2 properties have sold on the street just a few months ago, seemingly without problem - well, they sold at least. It could be that they both sold without the need for a mortgage, but it seems unlikely (one is what you'd class as a starter home, the other has a young family in it).

We have no recall of the unadopted status being an issue when we bought the house or applied for a mortgage - and at that stage it had been unadopted (and the building work finished) for about 8-9 years.

Their 'awful' solicitor is frankly awful though - it's not just this, it's a whole heap of things that's made everyone frustrated throughout (us, the buyers, the estate agent, our solicitor...).

I'm going to go and pour a glass of wine and have a little cry now - not feeling very positive anymore and feel like we're stuck in this house for ever and ever and ever... 😢 If anyone can offer a crumb of hope I'd appreciate it!

prettyandfluffy

Section62 said:

Your estate agents and solicitor told you this unadopted status is very common with new build estates.  They aren't wrong.  But 'unadopted' is usually either because responsibility will remain with a funded maintenance company, or it is a temporary status pending adoption.  After 18 years this estate isn't "new build" any more.

It also depends where you live as to how common unadopted roads are.  We moved from the SE where there were no unadopted roads in the local area, to the Midlands where they are much more common and not all associated with new developments.  Our house was built in 2009 as part of a small development, the roads are to highway standards and are maintained by the local authority  but have never been adopted.  We own the part of the road outside the house and are not tied into any maintenance arrangements.  This is not an uncommon situation here although it horrified our solicitor when we were purchasing.

secla

I used to live in a new built village where a lot of the roads were still un-adopted after 20+ years, they were slowly going through it but the council were in now hurry to take it untill everything was 100% perfect.
As far as i know it didnt cause any problems with mortgages as it was a popular area with people always buying/selling.

sloop1

john-5-2 said:

We are having the same sort of issue at the moment too but in a different context.

We have an extended end terraced, Which we bought & have lived in for almost 20 years with no issues.
We bought land to the side & rear to create off road parking & bigger garden. Next door to us is an allotment owned outright by an old boy. Next to that is a traditional english chippy, Which opens 2 hours at lunch & 2 hours evening.

Anyways we sold it a few months back but our buyer was refused a mortgage by Nationwide as it is too close to the chippy. 
Just to clear this up the chippy is 3/4 houses down from us & opens from 11.30am to 1.30pm & 4.30pm till 6.30pm so parking is no issue(As we have off road parking too) There is no smell from the chippy even on warm summer days. We have lived here for years & have never had no problem. But now this has put our sale in doubt. So i feel your pain

So sorry to hear that John, I really hope you manage to get the move back on again. We always make a point of swearing when the Nationwide ad comes on telly now!

Wishing you all the very best of luck - buying and selling houses is so stressful!!! 🤯

Section62

john-5-2 said:

So is this the way things are going to be now?
Does this mean all existing houses near commercial premises or on unadopted roads are now unmortgageable?
Ive spoken to a few people who have recently completed mortgages on unadopted roads/commercial area(s) So its finding the right lender i guess.

No, there are lots of homes on private roads that will have no issues, indeed will be highly valuable and readily mortgageable.

The problem will be with those in limbo - where the developer wants the road adopted, but the highway authority doesn't want to adopt it.  Section 37 effectively provides an arbitration mechanism of sorts where a magistrate gets to decide whether the road should be adopted, but even so, the road must be constructed (and has been maintained) to at least a minimum standard.

In fact formal non-adoption has become far more common over the last 20 years or so.  Developers like it because they can build cheaper narrower roads, councils like it because they don't have the hassle of maintaining shoddily-built roads, and the management companies set up to take on responsibility get a nice steady income without having to do much for the money. Win-win-win.