We work with lenders who are genuinely comfortable with listed and thatched homes, and we get the specialist insurance and paperwork in order before they ask, so your purchase keeps moving.
One-minute enquiry. A specialist adviser calls you back, usually the same working day.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
If you're buying a listed or thatched home, you may already have found the mortgage isn't as simple as it should be. The house might be in excellent order. It might have stood happily for centuries. It might be exactly what you've been looking for. But because lenders treat listed and thatched properties as non-standard construction, some become cautious, some will lend less, and some won't lend at all.
The frustrating thing is that these homes are far from unusual. There are around 400,000 listed buildings in England, and the vast majority are Grade II, the ordinary homeowner grade. The difficulty is that lenders don't all treat them the same way. One will be perfectly comfortable with a well maintained property. Another will worry about the thatch, the age of the property, the cost of rebuilding in original materials, or what the valuer says in the mortgage valuation.
A few things tend to slow these purchases down. Alterations made by a previous owner without listed building consent can hold up the legal work. Thatch usually needs specialist buildings insurance, and a lender will want to see it's in place before releasing funds. And with few similar properties to compare against, valuations can come back on the cautious side. None of this needs to derail a purchase, as long as it's handled early. Knowing which lenders to approach, and what they'll ask for, is exactly where we come in.
At Bluebell Mortgages, we help people arrange mortgages on properties that don't always fit the standard high street lending box, including listed and thatched homes. We take the time to understand the property, your circumstances and the lender's criteria before recommending where to apply. We know which lenders treat a well maintained property as an ordinary period home, which will want a chimney or thatch report, which cap how much they'll lend on thatch, and which will only consider Grade II* and Grade I through a specialist route.
A lot of the work is simply getting things in the right order. We'll help you line up the specialist insurance before a lender asks for it, check the consent history early so anything missing can be put right, and place your case with a lender that's genuinely comfortable with the property. Done that way, a listed or thatched home is far more likely to be accepted first time, rather than stalling part way through.
You deal with one named adviser throughout. We handle the lender research and the paperwork, keeping you updated at every stage.
Fill in the one-minute form with a few details about you and the property.
A specialist rings you back, usually the same working day, to understand the grade, the thatch and your plans.
From 100+ lenders, we shortlist those genuinely comfortable with your property and line up the insurance and reports.
A dedicated team handles the paperwork and liaises with agents, solicitors and insurers, right through to completion.
Over 100 lenders, from mainstream names comfortable with a straightforward Grade II, to building societies that underwrite by hand, to specialists for Grade II*, Grade I and trickier condition or consent cases. Using the right lender from the start makes your application far more likely to be accepted first time, rather than declined or capped.
We know how lenders and valuers assess heritage homes and what they will ask for. Once we have reviewed the grade, the thatch and the consent history, we can point you at the lenders most likely to consider it, avoiding unnecessary credit checks.
Specialist buildings insurance is one of the most common reasons a heritage purchase is held up. We help you get a suitable thatch or listed policy quoted up front, so the lender has the proof it needs, when it needs it.
We regularly help people whose bank has said a listed or thatched property isn't acceptable. A decline from one lender doesn't mean the property is unmortgageable. We review why, then assess whether another lender takes a different view.
You deal with a real person throughout, never a call centre, so you don't have to explain your case to several different people. Your adviser explains what's needed, why it matters, and which lenders may consider your particular home. We can communicate via video call, phone, email or face-to-face, whatever suits you.
Fill in the one-minute enquiry, or call us and speak to an adviser directly.
Fill in the one-minute enquiry and a specialist adviser will call you back, usually the same working day.
Prefer to talk now? Call 01473 213312 and speak to an adviser directly.
Pop your details in, a real adviser will call you back, usually the same working day.