At the end of last year, the UK government announced that it’s prioritising the use of modern methods of construction (MMC). Said to tackle the construction industry’s skills shortage, reduce build time, and promote sustainability, offsite construction and prefabricated (often called prefab) homes could become increasingly attractive options for self-builders.
Mixed opinions of MMC
Not to be confused with the type of economical housing that was erected in Britain in the 40s, prefabricated homes have vastly improved in quality and durability over the years.
The industry is working to dispel the negative preconceptions around prefab – and it seems to be working: in a survey conducted by the Build Show, it was revealed that two thirds of home-builders believe MMC is set to play a key role in new-home supply in the UK. And with one in eight Brits researching how to build a home for themselves, the opportunity to design energy efficient, completely bespoke homes that benefit from both reduced construction time, and stamp duty & VAT savings, can be an attractive one.
It’s the of prefab that still raises concerns amongst lenders around offering offsite construction and prefab mortgages.
Can you get a mortgage on a prefab house?
The definition of standard construction is “a house built from brick and/or block walls” and non-standard construction is anything that deviates from that; MMC, offsite construction, prefab to name a few.
There will be different terms and conditions for self build mortgages, depending on the lender, and every lender has its own approach to MMC. It’s because of this that self-builders may find financing their MMC property a challenge. Those who are in any doubt about which mortgage is best should seek advice from a specialist mortgage broker.
Support for self-builders using modern methods of construction
At Suffolk Building Society, we want to support self builders and homeowners utilising modern methods of construction, so our lending criteria now considers MMC for people who are building their own home via self build mortgage, as well as opening up our standard mortgage range to those purchasing or remortgaging a property constructed using MMC.
Visit our Self Build mortgage product page to find out how we consider self build mortgage applications on a case by case basis.
