Unacceptable Property Type??

bintie22

Hi

Can anyone confirm if Hawksley Build type is usually unacceptable by most mortgage lenders?

thanks

Bintie x

BobProperty

What is it? It's not one I recognise and neither does Google. Are you spelling it correctly?

bintie22

Double checked on Rightmove and that's how it's described there.

I was a mortgage advisor til about 3 years ago when i left for the more rewarding job of being a mum, i vaguely remember the term and think it's not a good one.

I found a property on Rightmove which is in a good area, 3 bedrooms, looks in good condition, no warnings etc, however it's about £30k less than i would have thought - hence my suspicion!

PasturesNew

Sounds like Schindler and Hawksley SGS. Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete Houses .

Which means they are non-standard construction. Basically just pre-fabs using concrete.

There are a couple of specialist lenders that will lend to you if you have a large deposit. But the process can be harrowing. Then what do you intend to do with it? If you want to do it up and flog it on as it's cheap and you think you can make a profit, then it's a no-go due to the problems mortgaging this type of property. Probably it would cost £20-25,000 for starters to get the outer shell up to scratch.

Mostly these properties are bought by developers, who have the cash and skills to make the alterations (often this involves rebuilding it entirely on the outside with a layer of bricks). Or some developers will be looking to demolish it and build a new house, or houses, on the spot.

bintie22

Cheers guys, sounds like it's a bit over my DIY limit!!!

BobProperty

Thanks PasturesNew, I had heard of Schindler but not Hawksley.

tbs624

AFAIAA there were 26 types of build listed as"defective by reason of their design or construction" under the Housing Defects Act, and originally Schindler and Hawksley SGS were listed individually Later practice was to group those two together (ref: Pastures New posting above) , as with Unity & Butler, so the list had 24 types.

Generali

Interesting.

Why don't people just buy them, knock them down and build a decent house?

BobProperty

Generali wrote: »

Interesting.

Why don't people just buy them, knock them down and build a decent house?

Because they aren't priced at plot value minus demolition costs

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

Interesting.

Why don't people just buy them, knock them down and build a decent house?

Because you can't get a mortgage on the house in the first instance, you'd need a lot of cash. They aren't peanuts just because they're unmortgageable it doesn't mean they're a wreck or unsafe. You can still live in them or rent them out.

Often they are semi-detached too.

vivatifosi

Where I live this kind of house is popular with retired people. They get a large house, generally on a good size plot, as PasturesNew says, often semi detached. They can cash in on their more expensive houses, have money in the bank and a similar standard of living, and they aren't likely to go wrong in their lifetime.