Nationwide Mortgage - Listed building whack-a-mole

northerner1974

Been embarking on my second purchase of a grade II listed house. I have owned one previously, and am no stranger to the potential issues and extra maintenance/investment they need.

But my god - I am having a nightmare with getting a mortgage approved with Nationwide.

On my previous house - 15 years ago now - it was approved without issue. This time feels like a game of whack-a-mole with Nationwide:

Applied via broker

Valuation booked

Valuation flagged ‘potential deficiencies with roof based on external inspection - roof survey required’

Specialist grade 2 listed roof survey building booked

Results back - all generally ok, aside from some slipped tiles and historic signs of woodworm (but deemed no longer active)

Sent survey to nationwide

Come back flagging that a timber survey is needed

Timber survey confirmed a historic infestation, timber still structurally sound

Sent onto Nationwide - waiting to hear back

I’m genuinely now worried they’re just going to ask for something else.

is this normal for a listed house? And I was lucky with my first purchase?

Or are nationwide just insanely paranoid/risk averse?

user1977

What LTV? Might be relevant to their decision-making.

stuart45

Have you checked the cost of insurance? Years ago it wasn't too bad for a listed building but nowadays they seem to be asking for a rebuild cost from a company rather than you just giving them an estimate you made up. Rebuild costs for listed buildings can run into millions, depending on the construction type, and premiums of 5 grand are not unheard of. It's put a lot of people off buying a listed building these days.