Lender's high-rise rule makes things clear for advisers
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I was interested to read the article by Simon White, director of London’s Chartered Surveyors, headlined ’Rooms at the top can be a good bet for canny lenders’ (Mortgage Strategy June 31), in which he says Nationwide Building Society’s decision not to lend on council flats more than five storeys high makes no sense.
As a rule, brokers like to have clear guidelines. For a lender to say it will look at some council high-rises and then turn down an application after the broker has paid a fee usually causes more problems than it saying it will not lend on a certain property type upfront.
Also, underwriters will have differing views on what is a good record with regard to recent sales.
As to location being the most important factor, if you head out of the centre of London to the east along one main road you can see some fantastic high-rise blocks on your right but less desirable council blocks on your left so how do you determine the value of location with varying properties in such close proximity?
I expect similar issues will soon arise with flats near the Olympic site in Stratford.
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