Would you buy a house like this?

[Pigletin]

Posting in AIBU for traffic.

We have found our dream house in terms of budget, space, condition and location. The structural survey returned a couple of major things that concerned us:

• Spray foam insulation on the roof which will cause a huge expense and potentially means replacing the roof (assuming the bank will give us a mortgage due to the type of insulation). We are prepared to split the cost of a new roof with the sellers and they are willing to do the work.
• My husbands’ bigger worry is that it’s a timber frame house with an outer skin of bricks. The surveyor has no way of ascertaining the condition of the frame as it’s all hidden. The overall condition looks good from what you can actually see and the sellers seem to have taken good care of it in the 4 years since they’ve lived there. The house is 30 years old and we have read online that the usual span of life of these types of houses are 50-60 years.

This will be our forever house but is also an investment for our kids for when we are gone. We can potentially move out of the UK when we retire or downsize and would want the house to hold or appreciate in value (London) when sold. From what we read online it’s questionable whether this can happen with a timber frame house in another 20-30 years and people might be reluctant to buy it due to the above (essentially having similar concerns to ours). I know timber framed houses are the norm in many countries but they are built differently to the ones in the UK and there are disadvantages to the building process here. The reality is if we walk away and look elsewhere we will end up with a smaller house in a less ideal location.

Would you buy a house like this? Would the timber frame put you off considering we want it to keep or grow its value?

YABU - Stop worrying, buy your dream house.
YANBU - Walk away.

I’m asking for opinions and people’s views. We have not made up our mind. Just commenting that comparison to timber framed houses in other countries is not useful and I have stated that in my OP.

I had spray foam taken out of a roof last year. It cost £4,000 - that was for a huge, high attic roof in a three-bedroom Victorian mid-terrace. The roof timbers underneath turned out to be absolutely fine, and the spray foam had been on for twenty years. One thing to look at is if the foam is all over the underside of the entire roof, or if it has been sprayed in between the roof timbers, leaving some timber exposed. If it's been sprayed all over there is more risk of finding damage underneath. The roof I had done had the foam between the roof timbers, not all over.

But I wasn't the one comparing it either...

I wouldn't buy any house that has a lifespan of only 50 years! That's madness.

@godmum56 I'd think really hard about the foam in the roof. do you know what a worst case cost would be and will the sellers just knock that off the cost of the house or will they get it done before you move in? What will happen if the work costs go up because of what they find?

All very valid questions and something we will be considering very carefully before agreeing to proceed.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we don’t know if this is actually true, it’s just what we have read online hence asking for more opinions.

... oh yes, and I will add that the first builders I asked about removal of the foam said they would have to take the entire roof off and work from the outside in. They quoted £10,000. The builders who eventually did it were prepared to work from the inside, which made the job much cheaper.

This is helpful, thank you. From the pictures I can see that the foam is between the roof timbers leaving some of it exposed. It was done less than 4 years ago.

If I was in your position then for me the fact that I’m already concerned about the lifespan of this house would be enough to make it an immediate no. If I’m worried about it now then my buyers in 30 years are also going to be worried about it- more so with another 30 years on the clock- so it’s not a particularly safe investment.

Plus if this is a bit of a “unicorn” house, as in perfect location, perfect house and perfect price, and there is genuinely nothing else like it that you could afford, I’d have a real good think about WHY this one is affordable. It’s never for no reason. Plus the sellers wanting out after only 4 years, and agreeing to pay towards the roof, to me seems a bit like rats trying to get off the ship before it sinks.

The vast majority of houses built in Scotland in at least the last 40 years or so timber frame. It’s totally standard.

Op- What is your current house frame made out of ?

Brick and block.

It’s perfect for us…it doesn’t mean that location, budget and space is perfect for another family as it’s all very personal.

Run, don't walk, away.

You answered your own question. You want this to be a good investment for your children when you're gone, but the house has a lifespan of 50 years. This means that in 20 years time you will have a very hard time selling it.

Oh! So the 50 years isn't in an official document from the builders or the construction company or whatever? It's just online? I was wondering where the 50 came from but thought it was non-standard construction maybe.

Have you checked with your lender to see if they'd lend on the house or if they have any concerns?

Housing will never catch up with demand in England.
Mews were stables and now they’re pricey.
In decades most won’t own a home.

Yes we have read this online, it’s not on any official documents hence asking here for opinions. We will be talking to our lender on Monday and will see what they say.

Some of what you said is true. I grew up in NA and like everyone else had a timber framed house (with brick at the bottom). The house is now 70+ years old and no issues. You can’t see rhe timber (what a strange thing to say) no would you be able to know about the condition of the wood as it’s covered (normally is siding). Weather is extreme - -10 in winter to plus 30 in summer so it knows how to take a beating. And it isn’t always cheaper to bulldoze and rebuild - again what a strange thing to say.

I wound suggest wood frame isn’t common here so people don’t know what to make of it but 100’s of millions of people have them around the world and don’t have issues . They normally are better insulated as well as the framing has space for insulation. Good luck.

Thank you for your comments, I think the point you are making that people here do not know what to make of it is the key for me. Again I think comparing to the way houses are build in other countries is not that useful so I was hoping to avoid it as stated in my OP but here we are.

The other countries thing is a good point. Simply because they are all CALLED timber framed or brick and timber doesn't say anything about the methods used or the quality of the building materials....its like saying "cotton dress"

Based on what you have said you may be better off leaving this house as you will always have doubts.

However, timber framed houses are the majority of houses built today. This is the future of home building. If your doors and skirting boards are on the inside of the brick skin and last forever why wouldn’t the frame?

Without knowing the specifics of this house I would not ask the lenders as they simply want to make money out of you, nothing more. Can you ask a builder friend or call one up and pay him to do an appraisal, independent of the mortgage.

This is where getting a really good survey done is worth the money rather than the low cost home buyers report.

Thank you. It was through the Level 3 survey that we found out about the spray foam and the timber frame construction so yes money well spent. I think we need to do more research on the timber frame as it appears we are not that knowledgable on the topic.

Glad to see someone understood my point.

Yanbu

This is a standard modern construction and nothing to be concerned about. I don't know where you heard the 50 years figure, but it is incorrect. The house will have the same potential lifespan as any other house built in the same period.

Spray foam insulation on the other hand is a big concern. That alone would be enough for me to reject it.