Neighbour maybe doesn't realise house is concrete WWYD?

[lineylines]

My neighbour has put their house on the market. It's a normal ad.

However, their house is concrete construction. Definitely - not only is ours, and the houses look the same, but theirs in a semi and the one next door (that it's atttached to - effectively the other side of the same house) sold last year, and the ad clearly said "cash buyers only as concrete construction".

The price they're asking is normal for a standard construction house round here, but they're not going to get nearly that for a conrete house. The one next door sold for £75K less than they're asking.

I'm trying to work out whether I should say something to them.

If they already know it's concrete I guess it's none of my business really. It's very unlikely a buyer won't find out as the houses on this road are flagged as "possibly concrete construction" and it will be hard to get a mortage. Unless someone buys cash, I guess?

But if they don't know, then it's going to be a nasty shock - they may find out once they've offered on a new place and then their buyer's mortgage falls through when the lender finds out it's concrete.

Lots of people here don't realise about the concrete I think as this is an ex council estate and some of the houses were bought ages ago and passed down families.

I don't know them well, they keep themselves to themselves.

Should I say something to be neighbourly? Or stay out of it? WWYD?

@lineylines and @Hatsoffto I wonder if the local authority might have details of construction , possibly in their archives?
Even a newspaper reference to a new estate being built using innovative materials might be useful , give the name of the architect.
It's surprising how much local authorities do have on file.
There is often a local group that enjoy and research the history of an area and they might have pointers.
All this to say that there might be details out there to spell out construction.
Concrete isn't at all a negative if used correctly.

If they sell that house for 75k over its value then that sets a new ceiling price that is advantageous to you when you come to sell your concrete house. Keep shtum!

Well no, because it isn't being sold as a concrete house, is it.

And you can get a house for that price that's not concrete.

When I sell mine, I won't be hiding it's concrete, so I won't be trying to sell at an inflated price.

There would be no point. Why would a seller buy concrete when they can get any of dozens of other houses on for sale at the same price that won't cause then massive hassle with mortgaging and resale?

Depends on the construction method using concrete. Was it poured on site (the better ones) or concrete slabs transported to site as they could be damaged on route with problems arising years later.
I think I would give them the heads up

Possibly. I had a Google a few times when I was trying to work out if mine was concrete. I found some interesting history of the place and maps of the area over years as it was being built.

But the problem is not all houses on the estate were built the same way so I couldn't find anything definitive that way.

I haven't tried approaching the council about their archive, or local history groups though. That's a good idea thanks, I may well do that when we're nearer putting ours on the market.

The walls are really thick, yes. And tough! They've killed a few drills!

But it was definitely built between the wars.

If they know, just aren't mentioning it at this stage but aren't trying to pull a fast one, why would it be £75k overpriced?

How do you know it’s 75k overpriced? Are you a local property expert?

A surveyor will point this out pretty quickly on survey .

A basic survey is unlikely, and even a Level 3 might miss it. Some houses are obviously of a type, but others less so. They also won’t necessarily know what work has been done if it’s been rendered or overclad. It’s why I’d always recommend getting a local surveyor - they will often know a lot about a house just by telling them the address, as they’re familiar with that area and typical constructions used.

Exactly. It’s not like some huge secret that only the OP knows. And I thought the really rubbish ones were built post WW2 so it might actually be a fairly decent one.

It's a rough estimate based on what the IDENTICAL house next door sold for.

I keep an eye on the local property market so although I'm not an expert I'm reasonably in touch with current market values.

The price they have it on for, is a standard price for brick houses round here.

Well then they will find out that people won’t want to buy it for that price and will be advised to lower it. It’s a buyers market at the moment.

A decent one, yes.

A not so decent one doing only a basic survey, possibly not (see the comments from experts on this thread).

It will probably come out from the mortgage lender though, as the street does have a marker on it of "possibly concrete".

This is one of the oddest threads ever. Why so many nasty responses?

Right so the lender who does a really basic survey (by a surveyor) and sometimes just a drive by one will spot it but not the surveyor who would have access to exactly the same local information about concrete houses and would do a more detailed inspection?
chill OP, it will come out. You’re not the one holder of the concrete secret.

I know, it's weird isn't it.

There are a load of people on MN who really just want to have a go, I don't know why.

It's always had a reputation for being a nest of vipers, but we seem to have swung from sarcastic, tell it like it is but with a sense of humour to just people having a go. It's a shame :(

Sadly they will realise soon enough that concrete houses smell of lemon when it rains and the walls often emit a distinctive sound in high winds.

If you'd paid attention to what I've been saying, the whole point is it may come out at survey and be a huge disappointment plus a waste of time and money for everyone involved, that could have been avoided if they knew earlier.

Never noticed that! Must be a different type 😂

Oh dear op. Look you clearly really want to go and tell them. Even though it is overwhelmingly likely they know. So maybe just go and do it

I am sure there is some charities you can volunteer at or focus your energy on doing some other good in the community, channel this obsession to something else

I've already said what I'm going to do.

I'm basically going to leave it to chance - if I bump into them I'll say something, but I'm not going to go knock on their door.

So you mention to the neighbors that you don’t talk to, that the house is concrete. They reply ‘Yes, we know. We’ve lived in it for 20 years’.
What’s your next move?

😂

I don't know why this thread is bringing the vipers out, it's like with extra venom too.