Non-Traditional and Traditional Properties,

What Are They?

If you would like to talk to a chartered surveyor about a structural survey or a building survey on the property or any disputes that you may have with the builders, party wall issues, boundary disputes, etc, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Traditional properties

Traditional properties very much depend upon where you are in the country and what age of property you are looking at.

Vernacular architecture

Many older properties have what is known as vernacular architecture. This is architecture that is local to the area. This can mean in the form of style but also, and probably mainly, in the form of material used, for example most areas would originally have used timber to build in, as timber was plentiful, then they would have moved onto stone and used local resources such as clay for bricks.

The industrial revolution changed traditional buildings!

With the coming of the transport system in the form of canals and railways materials were able to be transported some distance. This was particularly prevalent in the Victorian era when slates from Wales were transported all over the country. Nevertheless, it was normally still thought of as traditional construction.

After the war years

After World War I and World War II there was a pressing need for accommodation and different ways were looked at to build quickly and economically. This was probably the start of the non-traditional construction era. Properties can look like traditional properties or they can look completely different and are certainly treated differently by mortgage lenders.

What mortgage lenders consider traditional and non-traditional

Most mortgage lenders would consider traditionally built properties to be brick or stone with a tile or slate roof and older properties a timber frame construction with non-traditional construction such as system building construction that appeared after the war, may be deemed not acceptable unless work is carried out, or simply just not acceptable. We have heard it argued that in fact the mortgage companies limit the design flair in this country as if a designer used a system to build that wasn't “traditional” it would be very difficult to get a mortgage upon it and thereby limiting the market, as we believe it is between 80% and 90% of all people and mortgages on their property.

If you would like any further help and advice with regard to a structural survey or a building survey on the property or any disputes that you may have with the builders, party wall issues, boundary disputes, etc, then please call us on 0800 298 5424 and a chartered surveyor will call you back for a chat.

Please note we are independent chartered surveyors.

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

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