what is a waites style prefab house

[marsaday]

a house is being sold locally and looks fine. it is prefab and it says "waites" style.

has anyone any knowledge what this is?

i assume the house is made of concrete sheets.

 

[stuart45]

Wates houses are on the designated defective list. This makes them very difficult to raise a mortgage on in their standard form. They are a PRC system built house. As with quite a few PRC houses built after the war they are now suffering from a number of problems which frighten off the lenders. There is remedial work which can be done to improve them.

 

[marsaday]

are the defects stuff like the bolts rusting which hold the panels together.

a house is coming up for auction and is very cheap at £40k currently. it is likely to go for no more than £25k at auction. it looks in good nick because i think it has been under some council scheme before.

 

[stuart45]

I'm not an expert with Wates houses, but with PRC houses in general its often the re-inforcing bars in the structural columns that has failed. There are companies that specialise in the remedial work who can give you a rough idea of the cost. I know with Cornish houses it was about £30,000 5 years ago. You could just pay cash and still live in it. Many of the houses on the list are only really suffering by the coast because of the salt air.

 

[^woody^]

This is what is known as "system built" construction, and means that it is not of traditional construction, but rather of a specific form of construction designed by the Wates building company

There are lots of these system built properties around the country, built by different builders to different designs.

System built properties have been investigated over the years and will have known problems, defects or experience specific issues.

However, this does not automatically mean that an individual property will have some or all of the possible problems. It just means that a survey should be done and the surveyor will pay particular attention to known issues.

Some lenders wont advance a mortgage on system builds as they consider them a risk if the purchaser defaults, but that is not a reflection on the property, merely a commercial decision by the lender.

 

[^woody^]

duplicate post deleted

 

[jeds]

Seems odd to me that they describe it as a Wates 'style' house. It is either a Wates - or it isn't? I wonder if they are using 'Wates' as a kind of general description of a prc type non traditional house. If so it could be some other type of prc house.

It's important because, as Stuart says, a standard Wates prc is designated a 'defective' house type. Be aware though that there is also a thing called a Wates 'Low-rise' which is also a non trad house but is not on the defective list.

 

[marsaday]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property...tirement=&auction=false&partBuyPartRent=false

this is the link to the house in question. any comments

 

[stuart45]

Its got quite a high RDSAP rating for a system built house of its age. It must have had a fair bit of work done on it such as loft insulation and a new heating system. The glazing is probably post 2002 as well. It could also be that the DEA got it wrong.
It depends on the area as regards the price. Even in good condition the lenders will be worried if its on the list.

 

[TonyB22]

Regards you earlier comment Marsaday, do you think that the property will go to auction? I've spoken to Dacre,Son and Hartley and they are still showing people around although they advise that a mortgage would be difficult to obtain.

 

[marsaday]

yes they are showing lots of people round (or there is interest) but she said it was probably going to go to auction. she has my email address and will contact me if it does go to A.

it may sell now rates are low again, but i wouldnt buy it above £30k.

 

[stuart45]

marsaday,
If you are interested I can get my daughter to e-mail you the BRE structural report of Wates houses which is about 26 pages.

 

[^woody^]

The BRE reports are irrelevant to buyers, and will only confuse or needlessly put them off. It will be a case of "a little information is dangerous"

The specific property needs to be looked at and the surveyor will refer to, and interpret the information available from the BRE and other sources to comment on the specific house

 

[marsaday]

the property has an offer of over £30k, but is down for auction at guide £25k. it sounds like it will sell at this price as they have a lot of offers in at around £30k. it is a bit shabby inside apparently. no one will lend on it.

 

[mattylad]

I think it was one of these that Melinda Messenger was fixing up on "Cowboy Builders" only t'other night.