AIBU - non standard construction house

[WhispersAnonymous]

Hello... I need the wisdom of some wide mumsnetters, viewed a house today and was told it's of concrete construction.. not sure what type. Would this put you off? Does anyone know what type it is?

Listing below - www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/54710255?search_identifier=47309d6b4b0193446bbfd49af37d5de6

You may struggle to get a mortgage (FYI this knowledge comes from Hones Under the Hammer).

Sick to say fabulous size garden!!!

Arghh sorry *back not sick. Il step away and stop hounding your thread now.

My knowledge of such things is the same - you’d struggle to get a mortgage so these houses are generally cheaper. Great for cash buyers or buy to let investors.

And when you go to sell, other people will struggle to get a mortgage too.

I don’t click on links so I haven’t seen it but can you call the estate agent and ask what kind of construction it is? And then do a bit of research.

Ask the estate agents for the details including whether it has been treated in any way and whether the existing owners have a mortgage. If they won’t/can’t provide the answers they are hiding something.

Has it been brick clad?

If so and the surveys say thats all fine it shouldn't be an issue.

If NOT then you would likely have to get a mortgage that includes the cost of the brick cladding and the mortgage will only be granted on the basis of you doing that work, you'll find v few lenders offering that option and so your mortgage choices will be fewer.

You might well find it’s very hard to get a mortgage and insurance.

Is it what is known as a ‘Cornish house’?

We got a mortgage on an airey house (concrete construction) we were limited to where we could go, and it was hard for the people to sell, however the one next door has sold twice in 3 years so is possible. Worth finding out a bit more about any repair scheme work done (if applicable). Maybe talk to a mortgage broker too.

Cash only. Probably.

As the others are saying it’ll be really hard to get a mortgage and really hard to sell on as a result.

There’s a good article here about what the problems can be and what to look for www.peterbarry.co.uk/blog/houses-of-non-traditional-construction-common-property-defects-6/

I lived in one, a waller type, built just after ww1. If it turns out to be that type although it doesn't look like it from the pic... RUN!

No soundproofing whatsoever, in fact it amplified every tiny sound 10x louder. Could hear every word, fart, sneeze, cough from next door no matter what room or floor I was on as if they were stood right next to me. The impact noises are horrendous. Next door would come in, drop their shoes or bag of shopping on the floor and it sounded like they were taking a sledge hammer to the wall. After 4yrs of sleep deprivation I moved.

Ours isn’t concrete but it is ‘non standard construction’ due to being timber framed. Santander gave us a mortgage no problem so it’s definitely not always the case that it’s hard to get a mortgage.

My friend lives in a concrete construction ciuncil house, tried to buy it but couldn't get a mortgage due to how it was built, broker tried every mortgage company he could but nobody would mortgage it, she is trying to exchange to somewhere that is properly constructed. I lived in a Vic Hallam house, they are built in a wood frame, brick skin to the ground floor & timber upper floor, there weren't many companies would lend on them, I ended up at the Halifax, but Nationwide & some of the smaller building societies also lend on them.

My house is non standard construction as it was built in 1835. Finished paying off the mortgage last year. Mils place was built in the 1500s, and they had a mortgage on that.

You'd think they'd say on the property details that it's not standard construction.
I wonder how many people waste time going for a viewing......

I work in insurance. We class concrete as standard construction

So apparently someone else bought it and then only found out it was concrete on the survey and then ran away! Apparently the vendor had no idea it was concrete as has been Insitu since it was built. I have asked the estate agent for the type but I doubt they will know.. I can't seem to figure out what type it is and I may go back for another look to investigate a bit more.. I might actually go and ask neighbors to see if they know. I was hoping it was the wimpey ones...

Lenders don't like them. Hard to get a mortgage and hard to sell. Hence the low price. Mainly suit cash buyers/BTL landlords looking to rent out.

I had a steel framed, concrete walled house for a few years. Absolutely no problem getting a mortgage or insurance. Actually no, one year insurance was a problem but when I phoned them they said it was the roof that was the problem... it was corrugated tin 😂 (honestly it was a nice house really!)
It didn’t feel in anyway different from a normal house. The neighbours were builders and knocked walls down and extended so they didn’t seem to think it was much of an issue either.

Is it steel framed?
A friend recently sold one( not a million miles from Deal) . The sale fell through 3 times because of issues buyers had with getting a mortgage.
She did eventually find a buyer. You can get a mortgage for them but you have to shop around and possibly you wont get the best deal. I think it's normally reflected in the price though

I am trying to find out, if the previous buyer shared the report it would be useful! We might go back with a builder and see what they say etc but I still can't work out what it is

May not get a mortgage, will make it hard to resell. Impacts on value

You can approach the previous buyer and ask to buy the survey, that is pretty common, you don’t ask them to give it to you

I'm not going to lie I have fallen in love with the house warts and all, if it's a bad type of concrete construction then we won't bother, but if it's an okay type well we might consider it. The area is lovely and quiet, there is massive opportunity on the house, I was gutted as we only found out it wasn't standard as we was standing in the kitchen!