loan deniedCertain types of residential property are seen by many mortgage lenders as ‘difficult’ and many will not lend money against them. If your dream home happens to be classed as ‘difficult’  you may struggle to get a mortgage. That’s where we come in…

Imagine the following scenario: You’ve been looking for months for a nice residential property to purchase and you finally find the house or apartment of your dreams! It happens to be next door to a retail property / public house or is on the 12th floor of a block of flats, but arranging a mortgage for it should be straightforward right? Ah no… You’ll find it’s not straightforward at all.

When lenders consider granting you a mortgage one of their criteria is on the re-saleability of that property, and if your dream home is next to our near any of the following most lenders will not lend –

– Public Houses ( Pubs )
– Off Licences
– Any hot food outlets ( such as Fast Food, Chip Shops, Chinese Takeaways etc )
– Any commercial / retail premises such as hair dressers, nail salons, newsagents, chemists, etc
– Petrol Stations
– Garages

Then there’s the type of property you want and how old it is….

– Don’t assume that every lender will lend on all types of property – lenders will take into consideration both the age of the property, its construction and how much land the property has.
– Properties over 150 years old, thatched cottages, properties with more than 1 acre of land will usually require specialist lenders.
– Any property of non-standard construction will be subject to comments from the lenders valuer (there are various types of concrete and other materials that have been used in the building of houses throughout the country).

mortgageloanapprovedPurchasing an apartment or flat

– When considering buying an apartment the number of floors in the block is also taken into consideration ( even if you are buying on the ground floor ).
– Lenders will usually require that a lift is installed in blocks over 4 floors and will place a maximum number of floors in total – that said there are a few lenders that will not place a maximum on the number of floors.
– Any blocks of apartments that have any retail units at ground level will also restrict the number of lenders available.
Very few lenders lend on freehold flats.
Not all lenders lend on studio apartments / flats ( ie properties that do not have a separate bedroom ) and usually these properties need to have a minimum floor space of 30 square metres.

If you’re in a situation like this then why not let Manchester Mortgages take the hassle out of finding a mortgage for your ‘difficult’ property? Please ring us on 0161 706 0242 or complete the contact form.