Advice needed for PRC inspection certificate

choginosh · 7 January 2016 at 9:39AM

Good morning, Can someone please give me some advise. I am currently in the process of a right to buy, my house was a Woolaway type but was repaired in 1989. The mortgage company is saying they need a PRC inspection certificate otherwise they will not proceed. I have contacted the original company who over saw the work and they have told me certificates were only given to private homeowners in the street at the time. I have tried speaking to the council but they are not being very helpful. I have googled how to get a certificate and it seems quite costly. Should I be getting the house cheaper as there is no certificate and/or should the council be paying for a certificate as they are the seller?
Any advise would be good thanks

Davesnave · 7 January 2016 at 10:15AM

Not an area I know much about, but I think anyone here is going to ask how the council aren't being helpful.

How did you contact them? Whom did you speak with/hear from? What did they say, exactly?

Even in 1989, councils were accountable for their spending, so they ought to have records of which properties were improved and what was done.

davidmcn · 7 January 2016 at 10:30AM

The council don't need to help you make the property mortgageable, but as they've surely had identical queries before from other tenants I would have thought the answer is on file somewhere.

choginosh · 7 January 2016 at 10:47AM

The property was owned by woodspring council at the time, they then changed to North somerset council, then in 2005 Alliance homes took over the council houses. There is a record on the file saying the repairs were done but I seem to be going around in circles. the lender will not accept a letter from Alliance homes and the company the oversaw the work saying it was done they want a certificate but am not really sure where to start

teneighty · 7 January 2016 at 10:56AM

What repair was done? As far as I recall the only proper structural repair was to demolish the external concrete panel walls and re-build in traditional brick/block effectively making it a traditional house.

I did a lot of Woolaways about 20 years ago when we just repaired the defective concrete panels and applied external wall insulation which was supposed to give them an extra 20 years life.

They were the 2 storey house variety, not bungalows and we found tremendous variation in the condition of the houses (mostly due to small changes in the original make up of the concrete panels) , quite a few were condemned and demolished as they were just too far gone to repair.

Of all the PRC houses I worked on the Woolaways were the worst, I would expect a considerably lower market value unless the full re-build repair has been completed. Having said that I would be very surprised if the average mortgage valuer knew what a Woolaway was let alone understand the construction issues so may give it a higher value based on ignorance.

choginosh · 7 January 2016 at 11:03AM

Thanks for the replies. As far as i am aware they were all done properly in the street as my neighbours have their original certificates. The original valuer that came out for the council valued it at £175000, then one came from a building society mortgage company and he didn't say anything about it but that mortgage didn't happen for personal reasons and was put on hold for a bit. I had the valuer come out before xmas and he sent in a valuation saying he can not put a value on it and is defective, but Alliance homes say it's not

teneighty · 7 January 2016 at 11:12AM

So what is it, Brick and Block or that horrible pebbledash render on rigid foam insulation?

choginosh · 7 January 2016 at 11:13AM

It's Brick and block

stator · 7 January 2016 at 11:43AM

The council owned properties didn't have to have a PRC repair certificate because they did not have mortgages. The councils were free to do what they wanted. Some of their repair jobs weren't any good, some of them were up to standard.

I'm afraid you will have to pay for an inspection of the property. You should get the council's permission as it may involve drilling the odd hole to take a look.

http://prchomes.co.uk/

The second of these issues can be a little more complicated to deal with, over the years many different Engineers, Local Authorities and construction companies have come up with and carried out their own solutions to the PRC problem, some of these may be acceptable to lenders others are definitely not.
In some cases works have been undertaken on properties but no documentation is available to prove the suitability of the repair. Local Authorities often carried out repair programs but never issued PRC Certificates, alternatively documentation and evidence of repair has been lost over the years. This is a key issue and continues to prevent existing and prospective owners from raising the finance required.
This issue can often be overcome as long as the repair was carried out correctly. PRC Homes UK Ltd are happy to consult on the re-certification of a correctly repaired property or will provide a report and recommendation on repairs that do not meet the required standard as set down in the Housing Defects Act 1984.

http://www.prc-repair.co.uk/prc-certificate/

How to Arrange a Retrospective PRC Certificate

The PRC Repair Co has arranged for hundreds of replacement PRC certificates over the last few years and all have been accepted by high street mortgage lenders.
We offer a highly competitive price £895 inc vat and we do not charge if a certificate cannot be issued. We also do not charge an upfront fee to arrange an inspection.
Simply call 08000 121361 or email your details

http://www.prc-certificate.co.uk/

PRC Certificate how to get started

Unity type 2
We have been receiving quite a few enquiries for a PRC Certificate from clients looking to sell or take out a mortgage on a repaired PRC Home. A lot of PRC Houses have been repaired over the years by the Local Authority without a PRC Certificate being issued. If you are finding it impossible to arrange a mortgage on your home give us a call for expert help.

We will arrange an inspection of your property to determine which PRC licensed repair scheme was used.

Issue a retrospective PRC Certificate, we can usually arrange issue of the replacement PRC Certificate in 5 days.

choginosh · 7 January 2016 at 11:48AM

So do you think I should be getting the house cheaper than it was valued as a traditional house?

Davesnave · 7 January 2016 at 11:57AM

choginosh wrote: »

So do you think I should be getting the house cheaper than it was valued as a traditional house?

If the walls have been replaced by brick & block, then it is a traditional house. You just have to prove it to the lender.

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Advice needed for PRC inspection certificate

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