single brick wall

[lizjwebb]

I am trying to sell a 2 bed victorian house, been having problems as one wall is single brick and scares off buyers and mortgage comapany...any ideas on what i can do?

 

[NT]

Theres no reason this should scare them, these are perfectly serviceable. Perhaps if it were battened and insulated there would be a lot less concern, as bare 4" walls are real heat sinks.

NT

 

[lizjwebb]

I believe the wall is already battened, insulated , damp proofed and rendered on the outside wall. There are also tie bars in the loft to prevent movement , however our buyer could not secure a mortgage with Nationwide and he has now pulled out.

 

[Penners]

Single brick thickness walls are not that unusual in Victorian properties. There must be companies who will lend against them.

I've never tried this, but have you considered talking to a local mortgage broker yourself, and seeing whether he feels he could secure a mortgage on the property? If so, then you could pass his name to potential purchasers.

 

[lizjwebb]

Do you think that there would be any need to get a up to date strutural survey done as we had one done 4 years ago and the work above completed.
Would it be recommended to have major building work done as building regulations are alot stricter now?

 

[lizjwebb]

Does anyone have a similar problem or know anyone who does? Help!!

 

[NT]

I think the solution is for your potential buyer(s) to use a more sensible mortgage company. As already said, 4" walls are common on Vic houses.

Do you think that there would be any need to get a up to date strutural survey done as we had one done 4 years ago and the work above completed.

Theres not normally any need to do a struc survey, unless your buyer has a specific reason to want one.

Would it be recommended to have major building work done as building regulations are alot stricter now?

to achieve what?

I cant see any reason you need do anything. There are always some buyers that will be scared off by nonsense, and some mortgage cos that lay down senseless conditions. Its all part of PP ownership in an ignorant world.


NT

 

[lizjwebb]

I thought you could make it double skinned?? or something?? it sounds like alot of work though??

 

[MdB]

The front wall of my house is single skin and this was raised in the survey. I spoke at length with the surveyor about it and it was his recommendation that it was improved but there was no great rush as there were no signs of problems. It does however, lose heat and suffers from damp so we plan to get a second wall + insulation + cavity built over the summer. Rough price for this + new foundations + moving windows and extending roof to cover it was £10k. Picture here http://www.scitec.uk.com/junk/house/outside.jpg House is about 3x wider than shown.

Hope this gives you some indication of what cost will be.

 

[NT]

I thought you could make it double skinned?? or something?? it sounds like alot of work though??

You can do but theres really no point. The big downside of 4" walls is heat loss, and you've solved that.

The other difference is less stability, but if there isnt anything wrong with it the difference is so small as to be academic.

I'd wait for a buyer / mort co / surveyor combination that have a bit more idea what theyre doing. To refuse to buy based on a wall being 4" doesnt make any real sense.


NT

 

[Me!]

I think it depends on the % value of the mortgage against the value of the house as well. I've got a Nationwide mortgage, but it was only for about 30% of the purchase price of the house. With that margin of security cover for their money they really didn't seem at all worried about problems that were a lot more major than a single skin wall!

 

[lizjwebb]

hi

ok so you got a mortgage with Nationwide on a single skinned walled house?

 

[lizjwebb]

HI Mdp

Thanks for picture i can see what you have done was all the work done externally?

 

[Penners]

Would it be recommended to have major building work done as building regulations are alot stricter now?

A change in the building regs doesn't affect existing structures. You only have to comply if you're building a new house or extension, or making modifications to your house.