MORTGAGE ON AN OFFICE CONVERSION

wiseoldbird77

I am selling my flat through an estate agent to downsize. It is a great flat that has attracted loads of viewings and is on the top two floors of an office conversion done in the 1970s. We got a buyer for whom the broker attached to the agent has been trying to get a mortgage. Unfortunately the buyer had put that it is ex-local authority on the forms submitted to 3 mainstream banks who all turned him down.
When I found out this had happened I immediately got on to the agent and reminded them I had told them at the beginning it is a converted office of a large publishing company and is well built. I suggested several lenders I'd looked up on the web who would be more likely to help. I'm told the buyer has been on holiday but he did say in an email that he would try again. The broker has said he is still keen to go ahead. I am waiting to see what's happening.
Has anyone else had a similar experience who can suggest anything to help. Do you know of a lender (mainstream or otherwise) more likely to lend that you could suggest.

ACG

Im a bit confused. 
Is the problem that the broker messed up? In which case you have spoken to the broker and that should fix the problem or is it that it is ex local authority? Although I dont see how if it was a commercial building. 

I dont understand how there is a problem as both of these can be overcome so im not quite sure where the problem is. 

Hoenir

Buyer's been away. Probably accounts for the lack of progress. 

wiseoldbird77

Thanks everybody. It isn't ex local authority. I'm sure the buyer was turned down because he'd mistakenly said it was. The estate agent has been good but their broker is useless. I haven't had the chance to speak to him direct. I want to stay with the agent but would like the buyer to use a different broker however haven't met him. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I thought it would be possible to get a mortgage on a converted office. It has an EWS1 A1. How do you think this could be overcome ACG?

ACG

I cant help but think you have the wrong half of the story. Mortgage lenders lend on an ex local authority flat. To get 3 declined applications for the same reasons either means the broker is ridiculously bad (whats the saying? doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results) or you do not have the full story. 

Its tricky to comment because there are things here that just do not sound right. I cant really put my finger on it but something sounds wrong somewhere. 

Who were the lenders?
Was a valuation carried out? If it was, they would have fed back that its not local authority and in essence corrected the brokers mistake. If it did not get to valuation then I suppose it could be the problem but lenders lend on those properties. 

Could it be that most of the properties in the block are let out? 

user1977

You can get a mortgage on a converted anything, it's what it currently is (and has permission to be used for) which matters.

sgthammer

Why did the buyer assume it was ex-LA? How old is the actual building pre-conversion? Could something about it have triggered the dread phrase "non-standard construction" which seems to deter a lot of mortgage lenders?

kingstreet

Last year we did a mortgage on a flat in an office block conversion. For several reasons it was complicated and only an off-high street solution was possible.

wiseoldbird77

Many thanks all of you. I made a mistake in my first post. It was built in the 1970s but was converted between 2002 and 2010. It is 10 storeys high and is typical of architecture of the time. However, it is built using blue bricks and faced in granite in part so it looks as though the budget was good.

I don't think the broker knows what he's doing as when I pointed out it isn't ex local authority he reacted as if it didn't matter and he didn't care. I don't think he put much thought into it before just firing off the applications to first 3 lenders he came up with. I don't know whether it was his fault or the buyers and I haven't had any direct contact with either.

I am going to try to find out what percentage deposit the buyer has as I've realised this could have a bearing on things.

Thank you everybody.