Steel framed house

cecilia

Hi Guys,
I've got a friend who's put her 3 bed-semi house for sale for almost 4weeks but have only had one viewing since, with no offer, although her estate agent told her that he's quite confident that her house is very sellable. I have to agree, it is in fact in good condition, spacious, well-presented and in a nice location as well...she's concerned whether the lack of interest in her house is due to the fact that it's a steel framed house and that people tend generally to go for concrete building? I would guess that it might be due to that borrowing against this kind of property is possibly more problematic compared to standard ones??..although she didn't have any difficulty to have a mortgage to buy the house 3 yrs ago. I personally don't have any preference whether its steel or brick, as long as the property is in good condition, offers nice&spacious rooms and is located in a nice area.However, generally speaking, I wonder whether buyers' interests in steel framed houses are likely to be less in the current market? Any views on this? Cheers:)

neilhew

You will have major problems trying to sell this house, due to the nature on non-traditional construction. When your friend bought the house, was she advised by the surveyor or solicitor as to the construction. There are problems with steel construction, and I am amazed that she got a mortgage in the first place.
If she is serious about selling, I would advise to seek professional advice from a chartered surveyor that specialises in non traditional housing. Details from RICS (https://www.rics.org.uk).
He will not only do a survey, but investigate any repairs that may have been carried out. This will cost, but is advisable in the long term.
It is also advisable if she has this survey available for potential purchasers. There are a number of organisations that will prepare a Home Information Pack (compulsory from 2007).
I would also drop her estate agent, as it is clear that he has unrealistic expectations. See if there is a local agent who is also a member of RICS.
There is more to selling a house than purely decoration as your friend and the agent are implying. Any buyer will struggle to obtain a mortgage on this house, especially when there is a supply of traditionally built housing available.
Best of luck.

Fairdo_2

Disagree with this.

It is a case of precedent here.

You've already mentioned that your friend managed to get a mortgage on this property already. The lender will not have done this without being informed of its construction.

Lenders that will be able to do this, based on condition of course, are Halifax, Abbey, Accord Mortgages, to name a few.

Who have they got their mortgage with? That will be a start.

I deal with mortgages for properties like this in this area on a regular basis and, as long as you know which lenders will consider it, it is fairly simple to arrange. The actual market normally reflects the reasonable price for a non-standard construction property and people will often take the view that a non-standard construction property is a value way of getting a roof above their head.

Therefore, I would not say out of hand that the Estate Agent is doing a bad job.

They may not be marketing right, it may be priced wrong, or it could be there waiting for the right people to view and hopefully offer.