Defintion of Kitchen,Bathroom,Habitable

[Greg MacD]

Hello, after originally having problems getting a residential mortgage i've been

granted more time to get things in order. The original Abbey valuation said that the

house wasn't habitable as it didn't have a proper kitchen or bathroom or heating.The house i'm buying was basically

empty. To make it habitable does it have to have radiators in every room, including kitchen and

bathroom and hall? Are electric heaters ok? I'm installing a kitchen and bathroom. Just wondering what the proper

definition of such is(haven't got much joy in forums). Does a kitchen have to have a cooking oven or just a switch for one?

Does gas have to be switched on(presumably could say that a new account had to be set up)? The valuers won't actually

check that the water is being heated?? ....just that the proper system(i.e. combi boiler) is in place? Would they check for gas/electric compliance

certs(just worried as they had seen house empty a few weeks ago.I think I have the bathroom sorted already... hot and cold taps,

in bath and sink, and loo with water.Anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance for quick replies, regards, Greg.

[Kaz]

I've never heard of a mortgage lender using the criteria you describe to classify a house as being uninhabitable. As far as I am aware, in order to be habitable, it just has to have a sink in the kitchen and a toilet.

If it were me and it was possible, I would ditch the Abbey and go to another lender.

[drhouse]

I think the same as Kaz. I have never heard a lack of heating as being an issue.

[Enness Private Clients]

I agree also, habitable is running water, connected to the mains, working kitchen and bathroom and sealed to the elements. Its that the property could be lived in, not that you would be comfortable living there

[The Mortgage Hut]

Abbey are always the same when it comes to properties like this. My suggestion would be to speak with an adviser who has previous experiences with "troubled" cases like this.

Feel free to drop me an email if you need some help, I have as an adviser suffered a simular problem recently.

Regards,

Chris

[ComareTheMortgageMarket]

Kaz is totally right, although the kitchen and bathroom need to be usable. That is the general definition of being habitable. I have never had this problem with any cases I have put through with the Abbey. They always seem pretty good at lending. At worst a retention should be put on the mortgage making you do alterations or improvements with a certain timeframe.