I'm a property expert that still remembers the days when having broadband was a selling point! My articles cover issues that homesellers face in the UK and answer the questions we're all asking. I've bought and sold properties and helped others do the same, so my writing comes from years of experience.
Read Full Bio >Hearing that your property or a potential new purchase is unmortgageable may feel like a property death sentence for many but there is hope. Here at Springbok, we deal with unmortgageable properties frequently. In this guide, we will cover what could force a lender to refuse a mortgage on your property and just how Springbok can help.
Flooding
Has the home been flooded recently and is this a common occurrence? Not only will this massively increase insurance costs on the property it can also lead a lender to refuse lending. You can check to see if the property has any history of flooding and if there is a substantial risk through the environment agency here: https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk
No Kitchen or Bathroom
This might sound rather odd for a property to not have either of these everyday essentials, but it does happen and unfortunately if your property is missing either than we are sorry to say you won’t be getting a mortgage anytime soon. Hopefully, a fairly easy problem to fix however.
Non-Standard Construction (NSC)
A home that has been built using materials that do not conform to an industry standard is an NSC building. Many lenders will not finance a property built with using such materials and unfortunately, this is a very hard problem to fix.
Low Value
If the property value is below £50,000 chances are your lender won’t fork out the cash. Lenders won’t deem it worth their time to provide finance on such a little return. If you are trying to sell the property it might be worth trying to add to the value to make it more appealing to buyers.
Location
If your property happens to be near a landfill, mining works or an area of subsidence you can kiss that mortgage goodbye. These properties are deemed very high risk and as such property lenders won’t touch them with a barge pole. These factors often affect the value of the homes massively too but thankfully these issues don’t crop up overnight, so you should be aware in advance. The downside is there is nothing you can do to change it.
Short Lease
If your property has a lease of less than 70 years you will struggle to get finance. The best thing to do in this situation is to try and extend the lease if possible. This will cost you however so it is something to bear in mind if you plan on selling.
These are just some reasons why a mortgage provider might refuse lending. If you can you should try to rectify the issues. If there are factors out of your control you will unfortunately have to accept that your property will be worth less than without and will be harder to sell. Thankfully, here at Springbok we deal with these cases frequently and have a large database of cash ready investors and buyers who could see your property as the perfect purchase. If you would like more advice about your property or a free-no obligation valuation simply click here.
