Our house is unmortgageable. I want to cry!

[Holls81]

Just wondering if anyone else has had this, especially recently.

In the past we’ve owned 2 properties built in the late 1800 and never had a problem getting a mortgage for either.

our current home was built in 1890.

we had no problem getting a mortgage on this either- in fact we just fixed again with the mortgage lender we’ve had for the last 5 years.
we recently applied for £10k on our mortgage to do some home improvements (re rendering etc which should add value) but it was declined. Not on the grounds that we couldn’t afford it, but on the grounds that the surveyor deemed our property as unmortgageable due to the original part of the house being single skin.

I had no idea that this would be an issue I spoke to the lender and they said it’s a blanket rule across all properties which are single skin (ie. Pre cavity wall - 1930’s builds.)

im now worried that we’ll never be able to sell our house as no one will ever be able
to get a mortgage on it, plus we’re paying a lot of money each month for a house that may never be worth anything now.

I feel sick!

The house I owned was non standard construction (Vic Hallam) I got my mortgage from The Halifax.

@Holls81
You should have had a survey when you bought. What did that say?

I think you must establish the construction of the wall. DH has been very clear that 2 storey single brick (4 inch) wall construction is not safe. For a single storey outbuilding it’s normal for this age of construction. So maybe a first floor was added mirroring the ground floor construction? Rendering does nothing for safety. If the wall is solid brick, 8ins, as is standard for 1890, then it’s probably perfectly ok.

The blocks used on the ground floor might be an attempt to make it cavity wall. However this probably will not help safety if the wall is single brick thick m. It’s an unusual addition for a solid wall at 8ins thick. Single brick walls are considered insufficient to take the load of the roof and floors down into the supporting foundations. Often they buckle and bulge as they are overloaded.

So get the construction checked by a structural engineer because you need to know. If the walL is not fit for purpose you need advice on what you can do. DH said this type of construction for a building with a first floor would be almost unheard of. Therefore are you sure about the construction?

@TizerorFizz the walls
downstairs are solid, at least seemingly so.
when we’ve had work done before and plasters been taken off walls, it revealed solid brick on the original back and front walls.
i’M now wondering, after having read all these comments, if the side wall was perhaps single skin, built on the cheap back in the day, and somewhere along the house’s 130 year history, there’s been a row of blocks added to support the wall thus making it now 11+ inches thick. But now, we’ve found out that the thickness of this wall does not continue up to the first floor.
The room isn’t colder than the rest of the house.
The wall in question is rendered and always has been.
it seems about 7 inches thick although when you tap the inside, it’s not solid, like the feel of downstairs.
we didn’t have a detailed survey done when we moved in (sigh and sob) as we’ve always had older properties and know they always come with problems. However, I’m inclined to agree with your husband (not that I know much) but ii’m finding it really hard to understand how something like this would go unnoticed for so long, up to now. The house has always been lived in so bought and sold many times. We bought it and mortgaged it and then re mortgaged it, no problem.
we’re not sure of the structure at all. This is all new to us. I’ve not slept this week!
we’re only going on the word of the mortgage
company. We’ve requested the recent survey report and want to know why when they initially
let us mortgage it with them, why nothing was picked up then.
once report is back, we’re going to get a structural survey done as I want to know what’s going on.
the house has been here for 130 years so I’m not worried that it’s going to collapse tomorrow but feel I need to do the best by my home. Feeling a bit sad, overwhelmed and incredibly stupid.

You know what makes me sick, people that have several properties and still complaint about cos crisis and their mortgages! Some of us are struggling to pay one mortgage and might end up homeless with kids.

Hope you get it sorted OP.
Your location in the country might make a difference. I've previously been told single skin would be a problem for lenders in Scotland but not England. Don't know how accurate that is.

Ah well if it was in the papers then it must be true!!!!

Looking at the way we are going economically most of these green pledges will go by the wayside anyway. I would lay a large wager it doesnt go ahead like most of these things.

Our single skin part of house is about 6 inches thick and when I tap it it doesn't sound solid like the cavity walls, when it was done it had battens and insulation put on the inside, it never feels damp or particularly cold in there, there has never been any damp since it was done in the 1990s.

You are probably getting problems now because as years have gone by all the regulations have tightened up and banks are much more careful what they want to mortgage now, it doesn't necessarily mean it isn't safe though. It is wise to get that wall looked at though in case it needs any remedial action and it will also put your mind at rest.

@Holls81 I would actually engage a structural engineer yourself - reporting to you . Surveyors often refer difficult cases to them anyway! So get one to look at it and get them to suggest remedial works if any are necessary.

A mortgage surveyor would probably not look beyond the rendering. They are not experts on structural safety.

Years ago people built cheaply. There were no building regs. They didn’t necessarily do the right construction and in your case, might have covered it up with render. A decent engineer will advise on what you can do. They might also be unable to unpick the history of building in terms of construction methods.

This sounds pretty much like ours. Is yours safe? And you have/ or have had a mortgage presumably? Is it downstairs or up? Sorry for all the questions!!

@TizerorFizz yes, that’s the plan. Definitely reporting to us! Just need to find someone locally who’s good.
like I said; all new to us!
I just want to know what’s going on now to be honest.
thanks so much for asking your husband. I’m just hoping that whatever’s going on under there is safe and in worst case, fixable.

@Holls81 Ours is downstairs and is not an integral part of the house and only the ground floor, its a bit that sticks out at the back with a pitched roof and yes it is safe, if we put our house up for sale I would maybe expect problems on the survey and some lenders may not be happy to mortgage it but I can't envisage it being a big problem. We had it done so already had the mortgage which is paid off now. The problem with your is because it's on 2 floors or maybe just an upper floor and does seem to be a main wall in the house.

Yes, only a small percentage of the house I would think, but the upstairs side wall

@User538765 That is normal. The “outhouse” on the back. Years ago this was the working part of the house and not considered a living area. Single storey single skin is usually ok.

This was exactly as our previous house was.

@Holls81 I live in a tricky house (listed) and was self employed for years. Would you like me to pm you my brokers details? He's really excellent.

Oh yes please! Thanks so much.

Done @Holls81 😊

❤️

You would be surprised. I saw a rental the other day that was exempt. It was around a 1990s build. Electric heating including electric immersion for HW. Reason exemption was granted: it would cost more than £3,500 to get it from a G (the lowest EpC rating) to an E (the legal threshold rating). Therefore it was just issued an exemption certificate. And whomever rents it (circa 2000sq ft) has an estimated energy bill of 5k per year, according to the certificate.

EPCs legislation is just a bunch of smoke and mirrors absolute bullshit.

So probably no one will want to rent it then.

You obviously are not a renter! DD has just spent a month looking for a rental property (outside London). Luckily the son of a friend of her flatmates mum had a a btl flat. They were getting desperate.

Please could you kindly send me your brokers’s details too? Thank you.

@Holls81

Even if you did not have a survey done when you purchased the property there would have been a mortgage evaluation done which you should have a copy of, sometimes they have very basic information on, such as construction type.

Before you spend any money on surveyors or structural engineers, ask the existing mortgage company for proof the property is single skinned - from the information you have provided, I do not know how they can say it is single skinned, they have not visited and the house is rendered. Yes there are ways of looking a window reveal depths etc, but for a motgage company to state something they have to prove it. So the easiest first step is to ask them for the proof. It may be the original valuation when your purchased the house, did state parts of the house were single skinned, if it did you should have a copy and it gives you something to question what has changed.

If your neighbours have similar properties and you have good relationships with them, I would be tempted to ask if any of them has a copy of a survey.

In the nicest way, you seem to have accepted the information given to you about single skinned with no proof.

Did you mean the ones that were kindly sent to me earlier?