Non-standard construction question

[Humph03]

We are considering purchasing a detached dormer bungalow as our new home. One potential issue with the property is that I think the upstairs of the property is entirely timber framed. On the two sides of the property (gable walls) there are windows which have very shallow window sills and walls. On the outside the gable walls are clad with tiles. Again this makes me think that the walls are timber framed and not solid block or brick.


If the second floor is entirely timber framed will that cause an issue with getting a mortgage? I spoke to my mortgage provider and all they could say is that I need a survey to 100% confirm if they would lend against the property. Trying to avoid spending £1,000 if I don’t need to!

Many thanks.

 

[Maundie]

I think if it's non-standard construction you are really going to struggle to get a mortgage especially from main stream lenders, I had to pay for a survey when I bought my house as it used to be concrete block but as it had been replaced with brick they finally relented.

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

Where's the £1000 from? Pay for your own survey

 

[turbot1984]

Why won't they mortgage timber frame? Half the country's new housing is timber frame and it gets an NHBC 10 yr warranty? Ask them why this is 'non standard' construction.

 

[sovietspybob]

Why won't they mortgage timber frame? Half the country's new housing is timber frame and it gets an NHBC 10 yr warranty? Ask them why this is 'non standard' construction.

Timber frames are quite often clad in brick or block. Ours has an outer skin of block for exactly this reason, that way it's classed as standard construction for mortgage and insurance even though it's not even load bearing and the whole frame is timber.

 

[Semple]

Do mortgage companies even do that much of an in-depth survey? IIRC from ours the survey the mortgage company did was purely a valuation, they wouldn't have looked at anything structural. In fact it's likely they didn't even visit the property and would have used sold records from other houses on the street, and a look from Google street view.

We did pay for a structural survey, but the results of this wasn't passed to our solicitor or mortgage lender.

 

[BUDFORCE]

Do mortgage companies even do that much of an in-depth survey? IIRC from ours the survey the mortgage company did was purely a valuation, they wouldn't have looked at anything structural. In fact it's likely they didn't even visit the property and would have used sold records from other houses on the street, and a look from Google street view.

We did pay for a structural survey, but the results of this wasn't passed to our solicitor or mortgage lender.

Yes they do, the one I work for does.

Why won't they mortgage timber frame? Half the country's new housing is timber frame and it gets an NHBC 10 yr warranty? Ask them why this is 'non standard' construction.

Because unlike modern construction, these properties were built typically after the war and were only intended to last a certain amount of time.

Or are just built by developers with poor standards before regulations.

@fastwunz will know more about these

 

[DanTheMan]

Interesting. We live in an area with quite a lot of bungalows and young couples are forever buying them and getting a dormer extension. I would say 80% of the ones I've seen are a timber frame that's then insulated / clad. Is this not the usual method?