Ex-Council Anyone?

MushyPeas

Hiya

I'm in the process of buying an ex-council property. Everyone on my block owns their own house, now a 'good' area. However, the Halifax still refused my mortgage Still some stigma attached, though I don't know why.

Good luck with yours.

amanda40

Some of the ex-council houses in our town are more expensive than the private ones -

Plasticman

amanda40 wrote:

Some of the ex-council houses in our town are more expensive than the private ones -

Same here. The houses on our local big council estate are cheaper but other ex-council houses are more expesive than many private ones. Our house is ex-coucil - one of a group of 6. One is still council owned but the others are now private. The neighbours are great.

HelBot

I bought my ex-council flat 2+ years ago basically because it was practically the only thing I could afford to buy at the time! In my experience so far there are pros and cons. Pros: good value for money, great sized flat nicely decorated with a lovely view! Cons: 99% neighbours are council tennants - 30% of which are a bit 'undesirable'. Plus, I found it really hard to get a good deal on my re-mortgage recently because the walkway to my front door is outside! (Is that absurd, or is it me?!)

Also, not sure if this is a pro or a con (what do you guys think?) - the council have recently decided to demolish the block my flat is part of! New homes will be re-developed by a local housing association, which means I will have to sell my flat to them, and find somewhere else to live. I am told that I will be given the 'going rate' as valued by a local eatate agent, plus 10% of the overall value on top. I want to have enough to buy again, and pay off @ £20k of debt (which I have worked out as just possible).

Can I trust them? Is this a good deal? Can I get more out of this, or is that just being greedy?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated! x

lynzpower

sounds like a good deal to me Helbot 10% over market value! your laughing- make sure you get 3 valuations in writing first, I have heard that sometimes they use thier own "open market" valuations that are anything but.

The reason why banks tend to disfavour these properties

1) over 5 floors, they tend not to be brick in some areas and made of concrete slab construction. As construction hasnt been around for that long, lenders dont have any historical evidence to suggest that it will keep thier invesment ( ie still be standing !) over the 25 years term of the mortgage. This is why many are shown as "investors only"

2) exterior walkways- again a construction , but sometimes a fire safety issue, eg if you have an open walkway to the front- you tend not to have a fire escape at the back

3) some lenders ( cnt remember who now sorry) only lend on a property/ estate if they have lent on it before, some lenders wont lend at all, some will on open walkways but not over 5 floors including ground.

A good broker will know whos who and whos worth approaching. Dare I say it, brokers attached to estate agencies in particular are good for these, as they will know which lenders have lent on that estate before, who wont, and will go to the most likely lender first as opposed to trawling round taking time and stress.

olly300

ftbworried wrote: »

With it being in London you probablly won't have a problem since most properties are out of the league of many FTBs so they are forced to consider ex-council. However, in other areas of the country buyers, faced with the choice, probably prefer to buy 'privately-owned' houses.

On one of my siblings streets and around the area most people don't know which houses are/where council owned any more. Most of them where brought under RTB in the 80's and have been sold on a few times. They are Edwardian terrace houses and some of the people who purchase them aren't FTB.

The thing with council properties is people forget they can be vary from listed buildings to horribly designed 60's/70's developments. It's the type of people who are going to be your neighbours and the number of privately owned flats in a block that makes a difference.

skint_spice

My concern (like Silvercar's) would concern maintenance as here in Scotland if you are in a block where there are still existing council tennants the work is done by the council and costs way over the average private quote.
Regarding neighbours - I've lived in private estates where the neighbours were there on a private let and they were up to allsorts...

leftieM

Our ex-council house hasn't kept up with the price rises in percentage terms with rest of the city. So it's been a poor investment. Happily it's been a great home and we've had a very positive experience.

olly300

skint_spice wrote: »

My concern (like Silvercar's) would concern maintenance as here in Scotland if you are in a block where there are still existing council tennants the work is done by the council and costs way over the average private quote.

All leaseholders both council and private have this problem in England.

It's up to you as a leaseholder to challenge the freeholder about the work being done and the quotes for the work.

There are old threads on this board that have people challenging their freeholders.

mayb_2

I worked for an Estate Agents for a while and on a couple of sales people actually pulled out when they found out the house was ex council. Some wouldn't even go inside a house they had come to view if they realised it was ex council. I never understood why. Usually they are bigger, better built and if houses, have lots of garden.

My son bought one about 5 years ago and has made 100% although he bought and sold it cheaper than similar properties in the area. There is only a row of these houses but about half of them are council owned still. Trouble is the Council came and "improved' them recently by putting some artificial brick cladding over the original bricks (which were very attractive)!!! Why?? My sons house is now looking quite odd as it is attached to one of these. I also read that it is difficult to get buy to let mortgages on ex council houses.

The funny thing is that any private house can be bought by housing associations for social housing and this could happen to your house or the house next door and people may never know. There is nowt so queer as folk!
Helnot I would suggest you look seriously at the offer - check out prices in the area and see what it could buy you - if it looks like it is a viable proposition then go for it. You have everything to gain by getting 10% more than valuation I would have thought.