Mortgage - 'Non standard Construction'

[E36GUY]

In January we bought a house that we are lucky enough to be able to purchase outright. Now we have started a pretty major works programme of which the first part is getting the older part of the house to a point we can move in. All the bedrooms, hall, stairs, landing, one bathroom and downstairs front room have all been stripped back to the bare frame and are being insulated and re-boarded/plastered and made nice and sparkley new. The back part of the house which was an 80s extension is being left alone until we can mortgage and put on a reasonably large extension. The house used to be a cube until it was extended and is now an oblong. The original part of the house is timber framed and brick skinned with a tiled roof and the later rear part of the house is block and brick with the same tiles.

Phoned First Direct this morning to start the mortgage process only to be told after about 20 minutes that they won't offer a mortgage as the house is of non-standard construction? What's non-standard about a wooden frame and a brick skin??

Anyone got suggestions for Mortgage companies that might get involved??

[worsy]

Standard Construction is brick, block with tiles or slate roofing. Anything else is non standard.

Try another company and/or a mortgage broker.

[Equilibrium25]

Contact Sarnie on here :-)

[Ozzie Osmond]

E36GUY said:

What's non-standard about a wooden frame and a brick skin??

In UK that's a very big problem - everyone wants brick construction with tile roof. Timber framed houses are generally only sellable to cash buyers and they, if they are awake, will often shop elsewhere precisely because of the risk of not being able to sell. These houses often end up at auction in order to get them shifted.

For your extension you may well have to look at personal loans instead of secured borrowing, but I'm not the expert in this area. See reference to Sarnie above.

But watch out - however much you extend the house and whatever building method you use it will still be just as difficult to sell. In fact it might be more difficult to sell because of the higher price and smaller the pool of cash buyers available.

Useful article on this link,
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jul/03/build...

[E36GUY]

Thanks all.

I have since found that HSBC will lend on timber frame houses as will, I'm sure others but it certainly sent a blind panic up for me for a while!

[Ozzie Osmond]

Excellent, that's good to hear.

[worsy]

E36GUY said:

Thanks all.

I have since found that HSBC will lend on timber frame houses as will, I'm sure others but it certainly sent a blind panic up for me for a while!

First Direct part of HSBC as well :|

[E36GUY]

worsy said:

First Direct part of HSBC as well :

The irony was not lost on me