Newbie - Housing association help

readytofly

Hi all, i am a newbie after some advice. I hope im posting in the right section!

My fiance and i are looking to get onto the property ladder - we both have full time jobs and live with out parents. Today we visited a IFA for some advice, and basically he told us we cant really afford to buy our own property (we have an 11000 for deposit,fees etc) which is nowhere near enough to cover a 10% deposit and fees on a property in london/Hertfordshire! So he suggested we contact housing associations to find out about part buy/part rent and government assisted mortgages. Has anyone had any experience with this, or anyone who can offer me advice/tips? All we want is our first home, 1 bed flat/apartment, in an area we will not be surrounded by people who are housed for free and have no respect for the building/area.

McKneff

1 bed flat/apartment, in an area we will not be surrounded by people who are housed for free and have no respect for the building/area.

My first thought is that this statement is very offensive to all people who live in social housing. i would suggest you edit your post or you are going to get slated.

Maybe people who live in social housing wouldnt want someone like you living among them, buying up much needed social housing which is much needed by families who arent lucky enough to be able to save up money for deposits
to own their own houses.

readytofly

I didnt mean offence - This is what i was told by the IFA. How are we supposed to get on the property ladder? I live in an area that houses many people who dont work here, and we are paying the tax that supports them. It is my understand that many, NOT ALL, people who find housing through such associations do not work, pay their own way so why would they respect the area/house if they dont pay for it.
I am sorry if i cause offence to anyone - but i cant afford to live in a nice leafy suburb with pretty houses and schools, but nor do i want to live in a run down area where crime/vandalism is high.

cavework

WOW that is one huge assumption regarding H/A tenants.
You might be suprised to know that in the area I work in I daily come across the people you find it so easy to all tar with the same brush. I also come across home owners and private tenants. Know what ? Most people in H/A housing have a lot more consideration for the property they live in and their neighbours.

terryw

Basically, fill the forms in with the HAs and just wait until they eventually offer you something in the areas that you have selected. The system that they use for selection will be with the paperwork and quite open.

Jowo_2

To play devil's advocate here, I once lived in social housing and was surrounded by the mentally ill, the unemployed, addicts as my fellow neighbours and their health/welfare problems did not make them great neighbours.

Its a fact that needy tenants tend to qualify for social housing allocation and needy people with certain problems or background don't always make ideal neighbours.

Its not to say that all social housing tenants or those receiving LHA are anti-social, that's ridiculous, as is any assumption that all owner-occupier neighbourhoods are problem free.

However, while the OP could have put it better, having concerns about the neighbourhood because of a high amount of social housing or benefit claimants is valid. My experience of social housing, and some of my friends (including the one whose entire furniture was stolen by someone within the same building), have been very negative.

readytofly

Well then i apologise to all those who live in housing association buildings - i suppose i would not like it if someone suggested i would not look after my property with respect - i can see how people would be upsety by my original message.

I am just very sad that we cannot get onto the ladder on our own its not the way i imagined things to be and would love to be able to afford a deposit.

Please forgive me for my insensitive comment - please dont think that i am a bad person,i am not! Just frustrated that i may not be able to choose where to live and that i may still be living with my parents for a long time

cavework

The comments were a bit insensitive , but I do understand your concerns..
Please believe me we visit areas where the H/A,s properties are beautifully kept and stand out amongst the ones that are owned.
Research the area you are considering .. there are some really lovely places out there.
Don,t forget H/A,s have properties on new build sites..
Good luck
xx

SingleSue

Although your first comment was a tad insensitive, I do know where you were coming from.

There are so many horror stories about council/HA properties and their tenants which grab the headlines, meaning that it is automatically assumed that virtually every social housing tenant will be the same.

As in owned properties, you get good residents and you get bad residents....we were lucky and live in a good HA street of houses where all of us respect our properties and our neighbours (and the vast majority work too)....but we could just as easy have been housed in the bad HA estate, locally known as mini Beirut!

If you do go for shared ownership, all I can advise is research, research ,research!

kindofagilr

Unfortunatly thats the way it is at the minute, you just have to save more of a deposit, which yes I know totally sucks.

poppysarah

You can't afford to buy so don't.

Simple as.

Write to your MP about the state of the housing market and the insanity of house prices. You might get a reply if they're not too busy looking after their own BTL portfolio built up at taxpayers expense.