Unmortgageable house... (posting for traffic)

[PicturePerfectLife]

I posted in the property section but didn't get many responses and thought there would be more traffic here.

Ok, so I don't actually know if the house is unmortgageable or not yet and the agents haven't stated that it needs to be a cash buyer (they know I'm buying with a mortgage).

I'm a first time buyer and recently started looking again after a 2 year break. I had an offer accepted on a flat back in 2021 but the purchase fell through after 4 months due to it being unmortgageable (free holder and management company were both absent). It took months to actually find that out and boy was it stressful. Basically I was offered the mortgage, just not on that flat and ended up having to walk away. Anyway, I decided to take a break as prices shot up but I have decided it’s time to start looking again. After the last experience I’m definitely more cautious and keen to ask questions and know what I’m getting myself into.

I've seen a house that's been on the market since March, reduced twice and still not sold. It's a lovely 3 bed semi with loads of potential. Massive driveway that could easily fit 3 cars on there, big back garden, rooms are a good size in a lovely quiet area but it's had a dodgy looking extension built and the extension roof needs repairing. I haven't been to view it yet but went to see the outside and speak to the neighbours and it's a mess (overgrown garden, rubbish everywhere etc) but it could be made really nice. It’s been rented out for years apparently.

The extension roof has a tarpaulin over it so god knows what state it is in. The rest of the house and roof looks to be ok (new bathroom and kitchen put in) but when I spoke to the agent she said it hadn’t had a survey yet so no idea if there’s any underlying issues. They had some interest and a couple of low offers a while back but all been rejected but apparently the vendor is keen to sell and is willing to negotiate. The biggest worry is the EPC rating which is a G. There’s no gas in the village and the house doesn’t have any electric heaters, just a log burner. I know there are government grants that will help pay towards the work that’s required. I’ve spoken to my mortgage broker and apparently this can be an issue, as well as the repair work and essentially make the house unmortgageable.

I’m not concerned about the roof as my dad is a roofer and he has lots of friends who are plumbers, sparkies etc that can help but ultimately it’s not my decision and I’m at the mercy of the mortgage lender 🙄. My broker is going to look into over the weekend and give me a yes/no before I waste my time going to view it, but it seems such a shame that it might be unmortgageable, especially when these issues can be rectified.
Hopefully I’ll have an answer by Monday and all I can do is wait and see, but I just thought I’d come on here and see if anyone had any advice or knows what the likelihood is of it being unmortgageable?

Thank you!

Understand that, but the survey might point out things that make it unmortgageable.....

If the surveyor reckons it's worth what the mortgage company are prepared to lend you then all's good , if you default then they can recover the debt .

Usually it’s short leases, non standard construction or the lack of a kitchen and bathroom that make things unmortgageable. Our absolute favourite was one auction property we viewed (carefully) it had a kitchen and apparently had a bathroom but we couldn’t check because the staircase had been removed (that was cash only)😂😂

I bought a house with issues (we’re still there now), and this was part of the financing of the mortgage. Essentially the supporting wall downstairs had been removed but no RSJ was put in; the rear fireplace had been taken out downstairs, again no support for the weight above. There were a few other issues that had to be sorted. I remortgaged to have a kitchen extension and that went through with no problem.

Hoping to move in a year or two as we’ve outgrown the house but really like where we live. However the gap between what we want and what we can afford in our area is still mad and we may have to move further away.

@bellac11 arranged with the estate agent to have the keys for two days while a very basic kitchen unit, sing and plug socket were installed.

Honestly - go see it. Make an offer and start the mortgage process. Don't stress, and don't do solicitor stuff yet.

Houses are rarely unmortgageable due to their condition if they have a bathroom and kitchen that look functional. It's usually due to construction materials.

It's not house buying without a few false starts! Just keeping getting back on the horse.

Sorry @mycoffeecup long day and not reading things properly. I guess I'm concerned about wasting more money getting surveys etc done but then I'd need to get one anyway and I know it's there to protect me from buying a money pit. I think the last place has put me off house buying so much but I'm desperate to get on the ladder!

Based on what you’ve said I don’t think it’ll be unmortgageable. We offered on a house that was unmortgageable and ended up pulling out but it was structural issues we couldn’t have foreseen. But I’d say generally a leaking roof on an extension doesn’t make it unmortgageable.

Only thing I’d say is for a doer upper consider the amount of work you’d need to do as it can get you down when all your money is going into the house. That said it sounds like you have good contacts and can hopefully get mates rates on a few things :)