Britannia refused mortgage - single skin walls
Discussion
Hi all... looking for a little advice.
We're in the process of moving into a victorian semi and had applied for a Britannia mortgage with a 10% deposit (purchase price is £250k).
All was going ok and we even had a letter from Britannia stating that the mortgage had been approved subject to them receiving all required paperwork, which I took to be our proof of earnings, proof of deposit etc.
I called them today in response to a letter last week for some further info to be told our application has now been declined because "there is only a single skin wall in the first floor bathroom". The valuation was carried out 2 weeks ago, so I'm a little disappointed it took until now for me to find this out.
They've said that they will not provide a mortgage on such a property due to potential resale values - that suggests to me they may not value the property at the £250k purchase price.
So - where do we go from here? Is the single-skin wall the issue, or the value that has been placed on the property?
We really like the property and felt the value was good (it went on the market in March for £300k, and a similar property is currently marketed at £275k - the problem is it's a small village without much to compare it to price wise).
Will another lender have the same issues do you think (there aren't many that will do a 90%ltv mortgage as it is).
Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatfully received.
Many thanks
We're in the process of moving into a victorian semi and had applied for a Britannia mortgage with a 10% deposit (purchase price is £250k).
All was going ok and we even had a letter from Britannia stating that the mortgage had been approved subject to them receiving all required paperwork, which I took to be our proof of earnings, proof of deposit etc.
I called them today in response to a letter last week for some further info to be told our application has now been declined because "there is only a single skin wall in the first floor bathroom". The valuation was carried out 2 weeks ago, so I'm a little disappointed it took until now for me to find this out.
They've said that they will not provide a mortgage on such a property due to potential resale values - that suggests to me they may not value the property at the £250k purchase price.
So - where do we go from here? Is the single-skin wall the issue, or the value that has been placed on the property?
We really like the property and felt the value was good (it went on the market in March for £300k, and a similar property is currently marketed at £275k - the problem is it's a small village without much to compare it to price wise).
Will another lender have the same issues do you think (there aren't many that will do a 90%ltv mortgage as it is).
Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatfully received.
Many thanks
sleep envy said:
sounds like they don't want your business
my house is built entirely single skin and Abbey have never questioned its construction
Single skin as in 4 and a half inch bricks, or single skin as in thick solid walls common to pre-war properties?my house is built entirely single skin and Abbey have never questioned its construction
Most of the house we are attempting to buy is the latter, but it's the bathroom that is potentially the former which Britannia have an issue with.
Ok, just got a little bit more info (basically a few statements from the surveyors valuation report).
The surveyor has simply said that the bathroom is single skin brick construction, which would need further investigation (presumably by way of a full survey?). Britannia have just said straight they won't mortgage the property on this basis.
So...
Am I likely to be able to get a mortgage on this property and is it just Britannia being fussy?
Should I be concerned by this construction? Britannia have advised that the issue is that it is a living area, and will be subject to damp and coldness etc. Is this necessarily true?
If I were to go ahead and buy this property, what would be required to rectify this (I assume a second skin built up on the inside of the bathroom?). What is the likely cost of this for a 10 x 9 bathroom? Are we talking a few grand? Tens of thousands?
Any further info much appreciated
The surveyor has simply said that the bathroom is single skin brick construction, which would need further investigation (presumably by way of a full survey?). Britannia have just said straight they won't mortgage the property on this basis.
So...
Am I likely to be able to get a mortgage on this property and is it just Britannia being fussy?
Should I be concerned by this construction? Britannia have advised that the issue is that it is a living area, and will be subject to damp and coldness etc. Is this necessarily true?
If I were to go ahead and buy this property, what would be required to rectify this (I assume a second skin built up on the inside of the bathroom?). What is the likely cost of this for a 10 x 9 bathroom? Are we talking a few grand? Tens of thousands?
Any further info much appreciated
One wall of one bedroom in my house is single skin. Northern Rock mortgaged it in 1996. Standard Life in 1999. In both cases the surveyor was aware and included it in their report. When I moved the mortgage to HRBS I never saw their surveyor and certainly didn't let them in the house, so no idea what they thought.
My LTV is fairly low though.
My LTV is fairly low though.
The Surveyor said it has 'single skin construction'? That's appaulingly inaccurate. The Tower of London is 'single skin' as is my shed. I know which one is still going to be standing in 60-years time.
I'd be interested to see how many Victorian properties that aren't solid wall construction. Sounds like Britannia don't want your custom. I'd look elsehere for the mortgage.
If the single skin is four and a half bricks thick then I don't see any reason - structural or mechanical - to form a cavity on either side
of it.
I'd be interested to see how many Victorian properties that aren't solid wall construction. Sounds like Britannia don't want your custom. I'd look elsehere for the mortgage.
If the single skin is four and a half bricks thick then I don't see any reason - structural or mechanical - to form a cavity on either side
of it.
eps said:
More info needed!
First floor (not ground floor) bathroom has single skin wall, if so how thick.
Our whole house is single skin, but back and front are double brick bonded and gable ends are brick and stone (500 thick). It's Victorian btw.
I'm still waiting for the surveyor to get back to me or a copy of the report to turn up, but I believe the whole house, including the kitchen, is 9" thick solid walls. The bathroom (which is over the kitchen) is supposedly 4.5" "single skin".First floor (not ground floor) bathroom has single skin wall, if so how thick.
Our whole house is single skin, but back and front are double brick bonded and gable ends are brick and stone (500 thick). It's Victorian btw.
mk1fan said:
I'd be interested to see how many Victorian properties that aren't solid wall construction.
Now that's an interesting question as I've just sold my 1866 Victorian house with 9" solid brick walls and bought an 1892 Victorian house with cavity walls.I queried this with my local conservation office (as I had a planning query) and was told that cavity wall construction was considered acceptable building practice from the late 1800's, but that the additional cost meant that only the more expensive (and consequently larger) houses were constructed with this method in Victorian times.
Apparently.......you can generally tell if a wall is a cavity wall or not by the way the bricks are laid.
If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
bleesh said:
Apparently.......you can generally tell if a wall is a cavity wall or not by the way the bricks are laid.
If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
yep, if you see an end, (aka a header as opposed to a stretcher) then it crosses through to the other side and ties it in.If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
You'd often see these every 5th brick, and if a regular brick goes into the wall, then it won't have a cavity.
TheEnd said:
bleesh said:
Apparently.......you can generally tell if a wall is a cavity wall or not by the way the bricks are laid.
If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
yep, if you see an end, (aka a header as opposed to a stretcher) then it crosses through to the other side and ties it in.If you can only see the sides, i.e. the long rectangle it is likely to be a cavity wall - but if you see the ends of the bricks, i.e the shorter rectangle, it is likely to be a non-cavity wall (singe skinned).
Waits for correction.....
You'd often see these every 5th brick, and if a regular brick goes into the wall, then it won't have a cavity.
If you really like the house then you may be able to strengthen the wall by adding an inner stud wall.
Thanks for all the comments so far.
Having spoken to the vendors (via the Estate Agent), they are adamant that the kitchen and bathroom are both part of the original construction, 9" solid walls, and that the bathroom is no different to the rest of the house.
I'm waiting for a call back from the surveyor/Britannia as I want to find out if the surveyor has got this wrong before I go any further.
Having spoken to the vendors (via the Estate Agent), they are adamant that the kitchen and bathroom are both part of the original construction, 9" solid walls, and that the bathroom is no different to the rest of the house.
I'm waiting for a call back from the surveyor/Britannia as I want to find out if the surveyor has got this wrong before I go any further.
apguy said:
Now that's an interesting question as I've just sold my 1866 Victorian house with 9" solid brick walls and bought an 1892 Victorian house with cavity walls.
I queried this with my local conservation office (as I had a planning query) and was told that cavity wall construction was considered acceptable building practice from the late 1800's, but that the additional cost meant that only the more expensive (and consequently larger) houses were constructed with this method in Victorian times.
Now that is cutting edge designed property!I queried this with my local conservation office (as I had a planning query) and was told that cavity wall construction was considered acceptable building practice from the late 1800's, but that the additional cost meant that only the more expensive (and consequently larger) houses were constructed with this method in Victorian times.
Just to clarify a 4.5-inch thick wall is one brick thick. And should be sufficient for a one-storey bathroom. Again, it sounds like Brittania don't want your business or at best the person working on your application doesn't know what they're talking about, look elsewhere.
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