Laing Easiform 1955 property?

[onanadventure]

Viewed a house which had everything DH and I were looking for in a property and were really excited to begin negotiating offers etc.
On listing no mention of non-traditional construction, but estate agent has now said it's a Laing Easiform property, built in 1955.

They 'say' it's ok to get a mortgage on but there's obviously more to consider than just that...
Does anyone have experience of living in a property like this - insurance difficulties and things to look out for?

Or should we just write it off and find a different property?

We're first time buyers so very little experience of housing market and property etc.

I just googled to find out what one looked like and found this which I thought was informative: collier-stevens.co.uk/advice-hub/general/laing-easi-form-housing/
Personally I would tread carefully - but I've had my fingers burned in the past by buying a house with a complicated structural history which was difficult to fix and difficult to sell.

In fact there's a lot of information online, and now I know what they are and what they look like, I can think of several roads of what is probably them in my locality.
It seems that the main issues are mortgagability now and in the future, potential for structural failure and asbestos.

Non-standard construction usually means that there are fewer mortgages available (so you may not get a particularly favourable deal) and fewer insurers willing to provide cover. In addition, it may well be harder to sell on in the future. There were a few houses like that near me, and it was noticeable that they were considerably cheaper but seemed to take longer to sell than more "normal" houses.

Personally, I would walk away.

A friend of mine has just been through the very same thing.

They had a mortgage agreed in principle, but the valuation surveyor for the bank reported back that the house was a metal framed design of non standard construction and he recommended that they walk away. He didn't even go in - just did a drive-by, told them, and they got their money back on the survey that wasn't even completed!

So, they walked away and found something else. The house in question remained on the market for a few months and then got rented out. A lot of the houses round there are of the same construction but most are still council owned, so never come on the market. Equally, the council ones might be in better condition as there was a big renovation programme several years ago which, of course, wouldn't include the privately owned houses.

This website was useful to my friend: www.nonstandardconstruction.com.

Sorry!

Try www.nonstandardhouse.com

Click on menu top left to view different types of non standard construction.

This is the entry for your type of house: nonstandardhouse.com/laing-easiform-cast-in-situ-house/

It appears a lot more positive than my friend's experience! Do these houses come on the market quite frequently? That would suggest they're at least mortgageable? Perhaps find a surveyor to talk to first.