Concrete · steel frame · prefab

Concrete, steel-frame or prefab? Sell house fast — the lender's view doesn't count.

Built in a way some lenders shy away from, and the buyers who needed a mortgage have drifted off? We are cash house buyers for non-standard homes. We take the house as it stands, make one firm offer and pay for the legal work. Anywhere in England.

Any
Construction type
14 days
Typical completion
£0
Fees to you
Try it with your numbers
Put it right first, or sell as it stands?
£
£

Fix and try to sell via an agent

Sale price£138,000
Repair work−£10,000
Agent, legal & EPC−£5,900
7 months' holding−£4,200
Net to you£117,900
in roughly 9–12 months, if it completes

Sell as it stands, to us

Cash offer£117,000
Repair work£0
Fees£0
Holding to completion−£150
Net to you£116,850
in about 14 days from acceptance
Illustrative. Assumes the repairs are done and a lender is then willing to lend, which is not guaranteed, an 8% discount on the sale price for the construction type, seven months of holding costs, 2% + VAT agency, £1,650 legal, £650 EPC and survey costs, and that the agent sale does not fall through, which can happen. The cash offer is set at 78% of the stated value, so on these figures the two nets are close: the benefit of selling as it stands is speed and certainty, not a higher figure. Repair work can cost far more than shown. This is not a valuation or an offer; your real figure depends on the property.
Types We Buy

We buy any house, whatever it's built from

Plenty of UK homes, especially from the mid-20th century, went up using methods other than brick and block. Many are perfectly sound. Some lenders can still be wary of them, which is a problem only if your buyer needs a mortgage. If you need to sell a concrete house, or want to sell a house fast to someone who is not waiting on a lender, here are the kinds we are asked about most, as a guide rather than a checklist.

1

Precast concrete

Homes assembled from reinforced concrete panels or columns, such as the Airey type. If you want to sell an Airey house or another precast concrete house, we will look at it as it stands.

2

No-fines concrete

Walls poured in place from concrete with the fine sand left out, as in Wimpey No-Fines houses and similar systems. Selling a no-fines concrete house to us does not depend on a lender's view of the walls.

3

Steel-framed

Houses carried on a steel skeleton with an outer skin around it. If you need to sell a steel-frame house, a cash buyer sidesteps the question a mortgage valuer might raise.

4

Prefabricated systems

Factory-made sections craned into place, from post-war emergency builds to later kit systems. Want to sell a prefab house? Tell us what you know about it and we will say what we can do.

5

Timber-framed

A structural timber frame under the cladding is common and often unremarkable, yet some buyers' lenders ask extra questions about particular systems or ages.

6

Flats in concrete or steel-framed blocks

We buy flats for cash too, including in blocks of this kind, and an awkward lease on top is something we have handled before.

How It Works

Three steps from message to money

No survey on the buyer's side to wait for and no agent to pay, so selling without an estate agent is as direct as it sounds, and you can sell house fast without a chain. If you would like to weigh other options, our ways to sell a house fast page sets them side by side.

1

Tell us what it is

Postcode, what you know about how it was built, and any survey comments. Photos are welcome. A short enquiry form does the job, and WhatsApp works too.

2 min
2

Get one firm figure

We look at the house, the construction and the area, then reply with one firm cash figure, usually inside an hour, with no obligation to accept.

1 hour
3

Complete on your date

We cover the solicitors on both sides. Any mortgage is repaid from the proceeds and the rest reaches you, usually around two weeks after you say yes.

14 days
Lender vs Cash

Why lenders hesitate, and why a cash sale doesn't

If you want to sell a house the lender won't mortgage, it helps to see where the sale usually stalls. Some lenders and insurers can be cautious about particular construction types, and a surveyor or valuer who spots a non-traditional build may trigger a refused mortgage or a re-priced offer. As cash house buyers, we are not asking anyone's permission to lend, and we buy any house on those terms. It is the quickest way to sell house fast when the construction is the sticking point. If a survey has already scuppered a sale, the pattern will look familiar.

At this pointWith a buyer who needs a mortgageWith a cash buyer
Who decides if the house is acceptableThe lender, often through its valuerThe buyer, after looking at the house
If the valuer notes the constructionThe mortgage can be refused, or the offer re-priced late in the processNo lender, so there is no valuer's report to wait for
Who can buy itOften a smaller pool of buyers who can borrow against itAnyone with the funds ready
Repairs or reports firstYou may be asked for specialist reports or work before a lender will look againNone needed to sell to us
Selling routeUsually an agent, with fees and a chainDirect, with no agent fees and no chain
Time to moneyMonths, if it completes at allTypically 14 days from acceptance

General guide, not advice on any particular home. Lender and insurer attitudes differ and change, and plenty of non-traditional homes sell on the open market without trouble. Not sure whether yours is one of them? Our unmortgageable house page explains the wider picture.

A local example. Mile Cross in Norwich has steel-framed Dorlonco houses and precast concrete homes among its streets. Our Mile Cross guide shows how we approach homes like these in one real neighbourhood, and the same thinking applies wherever yours stands.
Seller FAQ

Questions before you sell house fast with a non-standard build

Yes. A non-traditional build does not stop a sale, but it can stop a buyer who needs a mortgage. If you want to sell a non-standard construction house quickly, a cash buyer is often the simplest route, and we buy any house as it stands, whatever it is built from.
Some lenders and insurers are cautious about particular construction types, such as certain precast concrete, no-fines or steel-frame systems, and a valuer who spots one can lead to a refused mortgage or a re-priced offer. Policies differ and change, so one lender may say no where another says yes. Many of these homes are perfectly sound.
Often, yes, compared with the same house if it could be mortgaged, because we take on the questions a lender would ask. But fixing things first costs money and months, and the sale can still fall through, so the net figure can be closer than it looks. Try your own figures in the comparator above.
No. We buy as it stands, so you do not need a specialist report or repair work to sell to us. If a survey is what put your buyer off, see our failed survey page. Other snags, such as Japanese knotweed in the garden, are no barrier either.
Yes. We buy flats for cash, including flats in concrete or steel-framed blocks, and flats with other awkward points such as a short lease. Tell us about the block and we will say what we can do.
No. Tell us the age, the street and anything a survey said, and we will work out the rest. If a title question turns up along the way, we have a page on how to sell an unregistered house.
No. You pay no agent fees and no legal fees, because we cover the solicitors on both sides as well. With no estate agent involved, the figure on our offer is the figure you receive, less any mortgage being repaid. Our sell house fast guide has more detail.
Concrete, steel-frame or prefab, anywhere in England? We buy any house like this, so sell my house fast to cash house buyers who don't need a lender's say-so.

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