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A Wates house is a certain category of prefabricated property that used concrete for the construction, and could be more susceptible to structural problems. If you are the freehold or leasehold owner of a Wates home, you may experience additional barriers when trying to sell it, but this guide offers advice on how to still attract a fair and swift offer from a buyer.
- What type of freehold or leasehold property is a Wates house?
- The potential structural problems with a Wates home
- Barriers for buyers getting a mortgage for a Wates property when you’re selling
- Why buyers might be hesitant to purchase a Wates house
- Deciding on whether to repair your Wates house before selling it
- Your options when selling your Wates property
- Top questions and answers about selling a Wates home
What type of freehold or leasehold property is a Wates house?
Thousands of homeowners throughout the UK have leasehold or freehold Wates houses, which are a specific type of prefabricated concrete non-standard construction property.
More than 20,000 Wates houses were constructed throughout the UK between 1947 and 1956, according to the consumer advice website Home Selling Expert. The name for the property derives from the Wates Construction company that developed the design.
As with other prefabricated, or prefab, homes, concrete parts of the property were built off-site and then assembled along with steel reinforcements. This type of construction was cheap and speedy, and helped satisfy the demand for new homes after World War II.
During the years that Wates houses were built, there were five available types:
- Type A: This category had a vertical joint between the window panes.
- Type B: Most Wates houses are this version, made with mitred corner panels.
- Type C: These properties were built with ring beams that were narrower.
- Type D: For this type of home, a new concrete wall structure was used.
- Type E: Similar to Type D Wates houses, but with pre-cast concrete window units.
But, as this guide explains, problems with the components used in Wates houses soon became apparent, which led to them no longer being built from the late 1950s onward.
There are many reasons why you might be looking to sell your Wates house, such as needing to raise funds for your retirement, wanting to downsize to a smaller property, moving elsewhere in the UK or other explanations. Whatever the justification for the sale of your property, this guide walks you through the possible challenges and outlines how best to attract a speedy and fair offer.
The potential structural problems with a Wates home
One of the main reasons why Wates houses ceased construction after the 1950s is the fact that they were found to be more susceptible to structural defects than standard-build homes.
The UK government, through a law known as the Housing Act 1985, designated Wates properties as one of many different categories of prefab and other homes that are considered defective. That’s because the steel and concrete involved with building this type of house can corrode, which may result in many problems that affect the home’s structural integrity.
Structural flaws at a home can range in size from relatively minor and easily remediated through to large-scale issues such as subsidence, cracks in the walls and more.
Whether your Wates house is freehold or leasehold, you might discover that the possible structural problems with this category of home could make selling it harder – and a later section of the guide elaborates on this potential complication, along with information on how to possibly overcome it.
You’ll also be able to read a section of this guide that explains how you could potentially remove the concerning elements of a Wates home before selling it, or sell the home "as is" without making any repairs yet still be able to attract a competitive and rapid offer from a buyer.
Barriers for buyers getting a mortgage for a Wates property when you’re selling
Although there were five different types of Wates house constructed from the 1940s to the 1950s, they all used prefab concrete in their construction, according to the website Non Traditional Housing .
As a result, all five categories of Wates property could be at risk of the structural problems that can affect this type of home, and this could make it hard for a buyer to obtain a mortgage in order to fund the purchase of your leasehold or freehold house because of those issues.
When an individual private buyer needs a mortgage to afford purchasing a home, the loan provider will assess the potential future resale value of the property. They do this to account for the outcome where a buyer might get a mortgage, purchase a home with it, but then default on the monthly mortgage repayments. If that happens, a lender can move to repossess a property and then resell it, using the resulting proceeds to recoup the outstanding debt owed to them.
For that reason, a mortgage provider could be hesitant to approve a loan for purchasing a Wates house because they might doubt the property can be sold for a profit in the future, if it becomes necessary to repossess and sell the home once the buyer defaults on the loan.
Don’t worry that your Wates house will be impossible to sell because private buyers may be unable to get a mortgage to purchase it. You have other options, such as contacting LDN Properties or another quick home buying company that has the funds available immediately to purchase houses, flats and other residential leasehold and freehold properties without having to obtain a mortgage.
It can be a simple, no-stress and zero-hassle solution for selling your Wates house, with the additional advantage that legitimate quick buyers will never charge you any commission. And they should be able to finalise the purchase of your home within a few short weeks, making them often the speediest selection possible for selling almost any type of property.
Why buyers might be hesitant to purchase a Wates house
As you attempt to sell your Wates home, you might find that some buyers are reluctant to make an offer on the property for one or more reasons.
If your house is already showing structural damage as a result of the construction material, this could make some potential buyers lose interest entirely. That’s because they could calculate how much money and time it would cost them to fix the damage as the next owner of the house, and decide that it is beyond the budget that they’re willing to spend on such repairs.
Other buyers might be unwilling to make an offer on a Wates house even if it is not already showing any signs of structural damage. That’s because they could worry about future damage that might occur at the property because of its construction method, and decide that the potential of future structural integrity issues is enough to justify not wanting to buy it.
Yet another reason why you could face challenges in selling your Wates property is the difficulties that buyers could experience with trying to get a mortgage to purchase your home if they couldn’t afford it otherwise, as described in the previous section of this guide.
Thankfully, none of these issues will mean that your home is impossible to sell, because you still have a number of options. For example, contacting LDN Properties or another quick buyer can be a no-stress, straightforward and zero-hassle solution because these businesses make swift and fair offers to buy almost any type of home, even Wates houses with structural damage.
Deciding on whether to repair your Wates house before selling it
If you own a freehold or leasehold Wates property, one decision you’ll have to make as part of the selling process is whether you want to invest in repairing the home before selling.
Such work would remove the problematic concrete and steel elements of the Wates house and replace it with material that meets current UK building standards.
The work has to be carried out by specialists, and they can issue a certificate after it’s completed to prove the issue has been resolved. Buyers could then cite this certificate to mortgage lenders to show that the home meets the latest building regulations, which could help them with getting approved for a loan, as the website NeedingAdvice notes.
Removing the problematic elements of a Wates house before trying to sell it can also eliminate a scenario where a prospective buyer reduces their purchase price offer for your home by the amount of money they believe it would either cost them to remediate the problem as the next owner of the property, or how much any major future structural harm could cost them.
However, there are many Wates property owners who will not have the funds or time available, or even the necessary interest, in starting what could be a months-long and very expensive project to fix flaws with your home. You still have options available for selling the property if this is your situation, for example you could get in touch with a quick buyer like LDN Properties that makes fast and fair offers to buy all types of homes – including Wates houses.
Your options when selling your Wates property
An important choice that you’ll need to make when preparing to sell your freehold or leasehold Wates house is selecting which approach to use in order to try finding a buyer. You can typically pick among selling with an estate agent, selling at a property auction, selling without any assistance or selling to a quick home buyer such as LDN Properties.
There are certain pros associated with some of the four methods, for example you could complete the sale of your property within just a handful of weeks when you get in touch with a quick buyer. And other options for selling have notable drawbacks, such as having to pay potentially expensive commission if you sell through an auctioneer or estate agent.
To assist in finding the ideal method for the sale of your Wates house, start by noting down your main targets with selling, such as your goal selling price, whether you are willing to pay any commission, and how long you can wait before finding a buyer. Then compare these details against the facts of the four options below to find the closest match for your needs.
Selling with an estate agent
Selling your Wates house through an estate agent will not require much effort on your part, as they will handle most of the important tasks. This starts with creating a listing that features photographs of the inside and outside of your home and a description of the property, then advertising this listing in their office, online and in local newspapers. Estate agents also take care of viewings to give people tours of the property, and they’ll hear offers from buyers.
It can take a very long time, often many months, to complete all of these steps, so you should not be surprised if take more than a full year to sell your home. Also, a buyer could make an offer and then withdraw it and not be subject to any penalties, so long as the contracts have not yet been exchanged on your house. This will lengthen the selling timeline even further, because you would have to restart the entire process of trying to find a buyer for the property.
Note also that when you sell your home with an estate agent, you will be required to pay them commission if they’re able to find a buyer for the property. Typically this fee will be charged at between 1.15 percent and 1.40 percent of the home’s eventual sale price, and it will be deducted straight away from the proceeds, which will add to your total expenses.
Selling at a property auction
Auctioneers can also reduce your workload with selling, because they will handle most of the main steps, such as creating and advertising a listing, and hosting the auction.
For this effort, the typical auction house will charge a seller commission at about 2.5 percent of the property’s selling price. This will increase your costs when selling, because the fee is subtracted from the sale proceeds immediately. You could always ask individual auctioneers if they are willing to reduce their commission or have the buyer pay for some of your expenses.
Selling a Wates house or any other type of property through an auction is not the quickest method, as there are some delays involved. You will have a wait of several weeks or months between when you choose to auction your house and when the sale takes place, and then if your home sells the buyer usually has at least a month to complete all of their required tasks to finalise the purchase of your property, such as signing important legal documents.
When selling at an auction, you’ll also need to calculate a suitable reserve price – the lowest value at which you can accept selling your home – because just a single bid at this price is considered a binding legal agreement to sell the property. The winning bidder could sue to enforce the sale if you try to walk away from it, so that’s why selecting the correct reserve price is crucial in order to hopefully ensure some profit from auctioning your home.
Selling without any assistance
Another way to sell a freehold or leasehold Wates property is by doing so on your own, meaning you will have to handle all of the steps to find a buyer. This includes producing and marketing a listing, scheduling viewings and also fielding any genuine offers from serious buyers.
It’s a large amount of work that will require a lot of your time, and for this reason it’s suggested that you should only attempt selling solo if you have previously succeeded in selling a Wates house, or you have an experienced friend or family member who can help you sell for free. If not, you could be looking at more than a full year before you’re able to sell the property.
Perhaps the only obvious advantage of selling without any help is that you will not need to pay an auctioneer or an estate agent any commission, which will reduce your costs. But you might find that this saving is cancelled out by the funds you have to spend on advertising your home.
But you can get the same zero-fee outcome, and a much speedier sale, by contacting a quick and honest no-commission home buyer like LDN Properties. You’ll avoid paying any fees, but you’ll also get a much faster sale. Usually, quick home buyers are able to finalise the purchase of almost any type of property within a handful of weeks after you first contact them.
Selling to a quick home buyer
Often the fastest way to sell a Wates house is by reaching out to a quick home buyer. These companies, such as LDN Properties, can complete the process of purchasing a property within a handful of weeks, and that includes exchanging contracts and paying you the proceeds.
Quick buyers are able to proceed so swiftly because they have the money upfront available to purchase homes, without needing to wait for several weeks or months to initially get approval for a mortgage that would pay for buying the property, which saves a lot of time.
In addition to the speedy timeline when selling to a legitimate zero-fee quick buyer, you’ll get the additional advantage of not having to pay any commission. This will help in reducing your overall selling expenses, and compares favourably to the fees that you would have to pay when selling through an auctioneer or estate agent, as these are taken out of the final sale proceeds.
Yet another perk of selling your Wates house to a quick buyer is that these businesses are able to make fair and fast offers for almost any leasehold or freehold property, regardless of its age, condition, location, shape, size or any structural damage that might have occurred.
Since launching in 2003, for example, LDN Properties has purchased a broad range of freehold and leasehold residential, commercial and other properties including Wates houses, flats with cladding, homes that have solar panels, properties with low Energy Performance Certificate ratings, houses with red ash, flats that have problem neighbours, tenanted properties and many other situations.
For your additional reassurance, you can also ask individual quick buyers whether they are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO), which is an independent entity that issues regulations to guard homeowners against falling for fraud in the quick buying industry, and all genuine TPO members must abide by those rules.
If a quick buyer tells you they are registered with TPO, you can check this for free and fast by visiting the organisation’s website, clicking on the “Find a Member” tab on the left side of the welcome page, and then entering the name of the company. If they’re truly a member of TPO, like LDN Properties, you’ll then be shown their membership details. If you get zero results then the company isn’t part of TPO and you should be wary of choosing to sell to them.
Top queries and answers about selling a Wates house
If you are a homeowners thinking of selling quickly, you may want to ask us some questions, ranging from the amount of repair work needed before selling through to selling a PRC home. Here are some of the top questions we’re asked when you are looking at selling a Wates property:
Your top questions when selling a Wates property
Wates houses, whether they’re freehold or leasehold, are a certain type of prefabricated non-standard construction property that was built from 1947 until 1956 by the Wates Construction company. They were made using concrete sections that were produced off-site and then assembled, and it’s estimated that roughly 20,000 such homes were built across the UK.
The primary concern with Wates properties is that the prefab concrete and steel materials used to construct the houses can be highly susceptible to corrosion, which in turn can lead to structural damage at the properties. Some of the structural problems caused from this construction method may not be visible, whereas others could be quite prominent.
Although it’s not impossible for a private buyer to get approved for a loan to purchase a Wates property, they still might find it difficult to get a lender who will agree to one. That’s because mortgage providers will have doubts about whether the home could be resold at a profit in the future, if such a move becomes necessary should the buyer default on the mortgage payments.
One option you could pursue is spending effort, money and time on addressing the prefab concrete at your property and any associated structural damage before trying to sell it. This would have the benefit of potentially removing buyers’ concerns about owning a Wates house, but you are not required to invest in such work and you can sell your home in its current state.
Usually, contacting LDN Properties or another quick home buying company will be the most rapid way to sell your Wates house, because the entire process should only take a few weeks, and that includes exchanging contracts and paying you the full proceeds. Selling with an estate agent, an auctioneer or on your own are all methods that can take at least many months.
If you sell your Wates property to a zero-fee quick home buyer or without any third party help then you won’t have to pay any fees. By contrast, you’ll need to pay commission at about 2.5 percent of the home’s eventual sale price when selling through an auctioneer, and between 1.15 percent and 1.40 percent if you use an estate agent to sell your property.
You can ask individual quick home buying companies if they are registered with an independent entity called The Property Ombudsman (TPO). This organisation issues policies, which all members must follow, that help homeowners avoid fraud in the quick property buying sector.
