Mortgages
for ex-council / former Local Authority flats and Houses
Ex-council
property tends to offer more space for your money
than privately built property.
Generally
they were built to a very high standard. They were well designed
by enthusiastic architects with good use of space. The quality
of materials used was also high.
This
matters because common issues with flats such as problems with
noisy neighbours are often not as bad as in some private developments.
During
the building works for council houses and flats there was stringent
quality control at every stage. But with private developments
there was usually less quality control - that went with the
desire to make a fast buck.
Despite
this some lenders are not keen on properties previously owned
by the local authority.
What
you have to bear in mind is that mortgage lenders are very conservative.
They move slowly and could be said only recently to be just
about catching up with the idea that people could buy their
council properties.
Their reservations are to do with the ‘construction
and marketable value’ of the property. With some high
rise flats the concrete after 50 years may now be an problem.
The
other major factor is how many other owner-occupiers
there are in the building will also be taken into account.
Much
depends on the particular property you are buying: decisions
tend to be made on a case-by-case basis so
it's important to do your research carefully before choosing
a property.
Low-rise blocks with a high proportion of owner-occupiers
shouldn’t be a problem but if you want to buy a high rise flat
with plenty of council tenants in the block you might struggle
to find a lender who will give you a mortgage at a decent rate
Advice from a mortgage broker about which lenders to approach
could make all the difference.
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