what is the advantage ans disadvantages of buying a concrete house or flat?

Answer 1

pre fabricated means exactly that, not hand built or bonded in. most were threw up after the second world war and were'nt designed to last more than 50 years. bad investment unless you have the money to rebuild professionally and to spec

Answer 2

Concrete has very poor heat retention but is extremely quick to construct, hence it is used a lot in warm climates like Spain.
Concrete has very poor sound deadening qualities so anything the neighbours do is amplified.
You can rectify both these problems with carpet/underlay and plasterboard to the walls. Otherwise concrete is like any other building material (although in a block of flats it will protect you for longer against a fire in a neighbouring property)
The benefit of concrete is that they also make bridges out of it, so if constructed properly should last a very long time. The bits about the wolf is also true - take note Americans!

Answer 3

I bought a concrete house some years ago then found out about concrete cancer which rendered it unsellable.I was lucky that i got a government grant to have it partially knocked down and rebuilt with brick, this was a ridiculous amount of money, so I would not recommend that you buy it! Also in the winter it cost a fortune to heat as the concrete retained the cold!!!!!

Answer 4

Depends on what your needs are. Any house will need a minimum of $7,000 per year in maintenance costs, inside and out; these costs tend to work out the same regardless of whether you ignore maintenance on something. You skip purchasing or maintaining the heat/water/air system for one year, sure you save the cost in the short term, but then when the system blows you'll incur other damage and the costs will mount, so it doesn't pay to ignore these things. With a newer house, it's likely you won't have to worry about replacing buying new systems for a couple years, but you should always have them maintained. With older homes, often times parts are no longer made for older systems and you will have to purchase new heat/air/water unit sooner. On the plus side, older homes seem to be built much better than newer homes. With a newer home, you've got all the quality and environmental problems that go into it: cheap partical board, and composite finishes that won't last long and will quickly degrade. However, these homes tend to be better insulated and so are more heat efficient than an older home. Not that you can't make an older home more energy efficient, but it's going to cost you, and you will need to also make sure that older homes are free of lead, which is hazardous to health. With newer homes, you will lose the charm and character that an older home has. Also, newer homes, being better insulated from drafts, tend to have more environmental problems (radon, poor air quality) than older home, which are naturally drafty and so don't hold in "sick" air like newer homes do.

Answer 5

Any non-standard construction property (not brick or stone with slate or tile roof) is often more problamatic to arrange a mortgage on. It all depends on how damning the valuation report is so its in the hands of the valuer really. Im a financial adviser and have one sitting on my desk at the moment where the valuer has valued the house at what it is for sale for but has put in his report future saleability is poor and demand in area is also poor so, whilst they look cheap, you may have a problem selling them on in future. The lender in question refused to lend on the property after reading those 2 bits of info on the report, the rest of report is fine so, basically, you may find yourself paying out for valuation after valuation while each lender says no on seeing the report because unfortunately these houses are usually in poor demand areas with poor future saleability. The one I have here, the client also has a meaty deposit, this cuts down the lenders risk a lot but they are still unwilling to lend anything on it so, in short, unless you have an arm and a leg to waste on valuations, a massive deposit (50% or more) or are a cash buyer (in which case my advice would be place your money elsewhere, you may never be able to sell it on!) Look for a standard construction property. Hope that helps :)

Answer 6

Pros,
Cheap to buy

Cons,
Tend to be cheaply made, can suffer from structural problems with the concrete rotting or the re-enforcement bars rusting, hard to get a nail in the wall, tend to be cold in winter, banks don't like them.

Answer 7

The concrete is reinforced with steel which rusts, therefore they are VERY expensive to repair.

Hence they value cheaper, but mortgage lenders tend to shy away from them. Also you'll have trouble getting building insurance for them.

Answer 8

My friend has a concrete house and there is some problem with the mortgage lender!!

I think they can be difficult to sell on...

Not sure though, plus concrete doesnt have a lifetime durability

Answer 9

Used to work for a huge mortgage broker, apparently alot of companies won't give a mortgage on them. Also, the surveyors are of the opinion they are normally structurally unsafe!
So even if you do buy it, and it doesn't fal on your head (which it probably wouldn't), you may be stuck with it when you try to sell!

Answer 10

advantages: no bugs, and fireproof
disadvantages: sitting on cold concrete creates hemorrhoids, expensive to build (re-barring and heating the floors)