Buying in an estate where roads are not council owned (Mortgage application)

henke

Hi,

I have heard after getting mortgage approval in principle that Ulster Bank will not give a mortgage when you are purchasing a house in a housing estate, where there is no owner of the road ie the council.

But surely there is many estates in the country where the council doesn't own the road and people must be getting mortgages in these estates.

Does anyone know the situation around this? Are there some banks more lenient than others on this rule? Hard to get info on this online.

Cheers.

Trish56

I think you should ask your Solicitor.

henke wrote: »

Hi,

I have heard after getting mortgage approval in principle that Ulster Bank will not give a mortgage when you are purchasing a house in a housing estate, where there is no owner of the road ie the council.

But surely there is many estates in the country where the council doesn't own the road and people must be getting mortgages in these estates.

Does anyone know the situation around this? Are there some banks more lenient than others on this rule? Hard to get info on this online.

Cheers.

seamus

"I have heard"

From who? Unless it's your bank or your solicitor who have told you this, take it with a pinch of salt. Everyone has their own anecdotes when it comes to buying a house, their purchase will differ from yours.

Ask Ulster Bank if this is their policy.

henke

seamus wrote:

"I have heard"

Well I know it for a fact as its the reason a sale I know off recently fell through. Approval was given and repeatedly told everything was OK with the application until the solicitor uncovered who was in charge of the roads the application fell through.

coylemj

henke wrote: »

Well I know it for a fact as its the reason a sale I know off recently fell through. Approval was given and repeatedly told everything was OK with the application until the solicitor uncovered who was in charge of the roads the application fell through.

It doesn't sound right. In a lot of large developments, the council will not take over the roads until all the houses are built and the builder has completed the agreed landscaping and tidying up. So how are the people buying the first few houses supposed to get mortgages?

It might be true if the builder has no agreement with the council and therefore long term there is no plan for the council to take the road into public ownership. In which case I'd run a mile because you will have a management company, annual charges, clamping and all the fun that goes with living in an apartment.

my friend

Simply not true. I'll leave it at that

henke

coylemj wrote:

It doesn't sound right. In a lot of large developments, the council will not take over the roads until all the houses are built and the builder has completed the agreed landscaping and tidying up. So how are the people buying the first few houses supposed to get mortgages?

coylemj wrote:

It might be true if the builder has no agreement with the council and therefore long term there is no plan for the council to take the road into public ownership. In which case I'd run a mile because you will have a management company, annual charges, clamping and all the fun that goes with living in an apartment.

These houses are built at least 10 years and the estate is complete. The council aren't in charge of the roads and the reason for mortgage refusal is if the roads are damaged and not repaired it would devalue the house.

henke

my friend wrote:

Simply not true. I'll leave it at that

Which part is simply not true? I'm just looking for info on the topic. Thanks.

coylemj

henke wrote: »

These houses are built at least 10 years and the estate is complete. The council aren't in charge of the roads and the reason for mortgage refusal is if the roads are damaged and not repaired it would devalue the house.

Has anyone tried to get the council to take over the road? There must be a serious problem if none of the existing homeowners have been able to sort this out. What you're effectively saying is that nobody in that estate can sell his/her house except to a cash buyer.

Is the entrance too narrow for the fire brigade? Is the surface substandard? Is there no public lighting?

henke

coylemj wrote: »

Has anyone tried to get the council to take over the road? There must be a serious problem if none of the existing homeowners have been able to sort this out. What you're effectively saying is that nobody in that estate can sell his/her house except to a cash buyer.

Is the entrance too narrow for the fire brigade? Is the surface substandard? Is there no public lighting?

The road seems fine and there is public lighting, access is fine etc. Houses have been sold in the estate which makes me think some people are getting mortgages. I know the council aren't in charge of every estate but I'm sure there is some kind of residency organisation in charge of the roads or something?

Now this is what I was told the reason for the refusal was, perhaps there is more to it. I'd love to hear if anyone is aware of people getting mortgages in an estate where the council is not in charge of the road.

blackbird 49

i have never heard of this , My brother lives in an estate which was only taken over by the council in January of this year and it is built 17 years, there have been houses up for sale in it and have sold, if they are not giving people mortgages because a housing estate has not been taken over, the housing situation would be up more s**t creek than before, it can take years before the council takes over.

henke

blackbird 49 wrote: »

i have never heard of this , My brother lives in an estate which was only taken over by the council in January of this year and it is built 17 years, there have been houses up for sale in it and have sold, if they are not giving people mortgages because a housing estate has not been taken over, the housing situation would be up more s**t creek than before, it can take years before the council takes over.

That's what I would have thought. In the case I was referring the person was told all was fine, everything going to plan, there wouldn't be a problem and then this was the reason given for refusal. I don't want to go through the whole process for this to be to be rejected at the last minute because of this. Judging by this thread it doesn't seem to be the case or common. I wanted to go with Ulster who was the bank in this case. I will go in and speak to them anyway and see what they say.

Trish56

As previously mentioned you should be talking to and taking the advice of your Solicitor on this. Usually the developer of an estate would have to provide a bond or give security to the local planning Authority when getting planning permission for the estate. This would be to ensure the estate is finished and maintained until such time as the local council take over the estate which as a previous poster could be a long number of years. However I think that the bond is the most important issue here but as I said your Solicitor will be the expert here and would also be aware if this is just an issue with Ulster Bank or with all lenders.

henke wrote: »

That's what I would have thought. In the case I was referring the person was told all was fine, everything going to plan, there wouldn't be a problem and then this was the reason given for refusal. I don't want to go through the whole process for this to be to be rejected at the last minute because of this. Judging by this thread it doesn't seem to be the case or common. I wanted to go with Ulster who was the bank in this case. I will go in and speak to them anyway and see what they say.