WillowBarn Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Hi all, we have a bit of a dilemma. We have an offer accepted on a steel portal framed barn and land, with the benefit of Class Q being granted. We can just about afford to pay cash for this if we need to with the help of family borrowing and releasing equity in our current house, but would much rather have a self build mortgage in place as it can help towards the purchase of the barn and land as well as the build stages so this makes much more sense. We started that application process 5-6 weeks ago, through a broker, provided a lot of paperwork, answered all the questions promptly and have held our breath ever since, all whilst the sale and contracts have been moving along. Last week we were asked if we were keeping the steels or replacing them. The structural report we have indicates these steels are in good condition so should be fine, so we said yes, the plan is to keep them. The next day, we were told we have been turned down with our application because we are keeping the steel and that we would be refunded the valuation fee (as they never went out to value it) but would keep the £500 application fee. Case closed. No further opportunity to discuss replacing steels, reinforcing steels or the fact that the report by the engineer indicates they are fine. Has anybody else had such a strange (and frustrating not to mention stressful) experience like this? Can anyone help us understand the rationale and if there is anything that we can do here? Our only real options now are: A) continue and pay cash; we are worried though that we won’t be able to get any sort of mortgage to fund the actual build now B) find another self build mortgage (timescale wise this may not be very feasible as the current owners want to sell ASAP) C) walk away from the sale (which we really don’t want to do having invested six months of our lives to it now!) Thanks all for reading, hoping that someone has some advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Is the mortgage classed as for new builds but by leaving the steel they think you are doing a conversion. I would go back to them and point out a few things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowBarn Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 No, it’s definitely a self build for conversion mortgage and they have known the plans since the start. It’s very odd and even the broker has said this is a big surprise to them as they have had preliminary conversations with the lender and didn’t raise any issues. It is the first time that they have experienced this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 I'm doing a conversion and have found that there can be a lot of variation in advice and recommendations from structural engineers. A conversion can have some drawbacks which you have to get round creatively and may make you tear your hair out, as you are finding. For that reason I'm finding it a lot more expensive than a new build would be, so you have to trade off the desirability of the location. Where I am they are like hen's teeth, and I love the place, so it's worth it. Good Luck. BTW I'm trying to raise the money elsewhere to avoid complications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 35 minutes ago, WillowBarn said: ... Thanks all for reading, hoping that someone has some advice! You haven't wasted six months of your life if you walk away. You have a wealth of experience that nobody can take away from you now. 20 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said: ... I would go back to them and point out a few things. By that, perhaps Russ meant be persistent. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowBarn Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 Thanks all. We are persistent, it just seems quite illogical to just say no and close the case that swiftly. We would definitely consider other options like another, very detailed structural report. We could discuss reinforcing the steels if needed or even worst case scenario, replacing them completely as we don’t think it would render the project unviable, from a budget perspective. It just doesn’t make sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacP Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 Which company was it? We tried different companies to get a mortgage. generally people on here have issues with BuildLoan but get great service from Ecology. We certainly found this to be the case. good luck! Even if it doesn’t come off you’ll be in a better place for next time, but personally I’d persevere, but do your best to get finance in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowBarn Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 It was actually Melton BS, who we thought would understand things and be quite reliable, but it seems not! Just blown away by the lack of any desire to engage in a conversation about it, it seems odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacP Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 2 hours ago, WillowBarn said: It was actually Melton BS, who we thought would understand things and be quite reliable, but it seems not! Just blown away by the lack of any desire to engage in a conversation about it, it seems odd. Go elsewhere then. They don’t deserve your business IMHO. There will be someone who can help. Just explain to the sellers and explore other options. Try Ecology, they seem well regarded by many here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 13 hours ago, WillowBarn said: No, it’s definitely a self build for conversion mortgage and they have known the plans since the start. It’s very odd and even the broker has said this is a big surprise to them as they have had preliminary conversations with the lender and didn’t raise any issues. It is the first time that they have experienced this. I'm 99% sure that keeping the steels led some idiot to conclude that the final building would be "non-standard construction". https://limitlessmonks.co/non-standard-construction-property/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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