Homes Under The Hammer's Martin Roberts refused mortgage on Welsh farmhouse for 'hilarious' reason
Next time you are thinking about applying for a mortgage or remortgage and the chartered surveyor comes out to value and check on your property you might be completely speechless if you get turned down for the most bizarre of reasons.
This has been the scenario for Martin Roberts, property expert and popular presenter of BBC's Homes Under The Hammer when he was refused a remortgage on his Rhondda Fawr valley farmhouse, and he couldn't believe what he was reading on the application form.
Martin told WalesOnline: "I am remortgaging the farm to get a better rate and the valuer came out and came back with his report and he said that the property was unmortgageable and unmarketable and the reason why was not because it's listed, it doesn't have Japanese Knotweed, it doesn't have neighbours from hell - the reason the surveyor put in an official report to the mortgage company was that it was unmortgageable because it has ghosts." For more property, renovation and interior design stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
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Martin says when he found out the reason for the decline he asked to be sent a copy of the form and he says there it was written on the form that the house is unmortgageable because the house is haunted, because of the possible potential of paranormal activity.
He says: "We obviously market it as having ghosts because it does as far as I'm concerned, I've never seen them but people have and I believe them, but you can't really scientifically say they are there, but I know they are there, and they are very friendly and I love them. We actually say on our marketing that the house is allegedly haunted so please respect the ghosts, and it's all quite fun and no-one has had a bad experience in it - obviously, there's no horrible spirits there.
"So what am I supposed to do? If you had subsidence you'd get the problem fixed and you'd get a certificate, if you had damp you'd get a damp proof company in and they'd give a 20 year guarantee on their work, if you had Japanese Knotweed you would have a specialist firm come in and sort it out and give you a certificate.
"So what do you think I should go and get to pacify the mortgage company? Shall I get the local vicar to come along and waft holy water around, shall I get an exorcist to pop along to check there's no blood oozing from the walls and check there's no poltergeist infection? What is my next step?"
Martin bought the historic Grade II listed farmhouse near Treorchy in 2021, saying at the time: "I saw this place and I just walked in and I went 'I have to own this property!' This is a magical house. It's the oldest property that I've ever owned, and when you think 1650 when it was built - this house has lived through so much history."
The property has been completely renovated by Martin and his wife Kirsty to create a warm and welcoming house packed with period features combined with sympathetic modern additions which the couple now run as a popular Airbnb. Find out what it's like to stay at Martin's farmhouse here.
It became apparent quite quickly to Martin after buying the property that the house still had four residents remaining - the spirits of Margaret Edwards, former owner Bill and two mischievous children called Nathan and Bryony - and he has always insisted that they were welcome in his house.
In 2022 when asked about the non-rent paying residents he said: "I'm not about kicking out a spirit that's living here in peace and has got some history with the place - I'm a custodian of this place for a relatively short period of time but I am doing my bit while I'm here (by renovating it). I'm here to help and they are welcome to stay as long as they want."
The claim of the house being haunted by a number of people led to it featuring on TV's 'Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted' on discovery+ in 2021 and Martin says since then they do get people coming to stay at the farmhouse because they want that potential haunted experience. However Marin says although he believes the house has spirits, but it cannot be scientifically proven. Find out about the farmhouse on the show here.
Martin is currently baffled and bemused that the suggestion that his farmhouse is haunted has crossed over, as it were, into the financial world. He says: "It is off the scale funny except it isn't - I have never, ever heard of anything like it. Surely it can't put it into an official report and actually stop the mortgage being given on that basis? In all my property experience, it's a new one. But what will they accept now as the problem being sorted, what shall I do, who am I going to call; Ghostbusters?!"
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