Ex-council houses - would you invest?

missk_ensington

Lowis - yeah thats certainly true, all people regardless of wheere they live/come from are capable of behaving like idiots, but I can't help feeling as though there is a consistency with council estate kids. Like when I get on a bus (albeit very rarely) I can guess where they are heading just by how they look, and I can tell a mile off if they're heading to the council estates by how they hold themselves, how they talk, how the dress... Yes this is very judgemental and I'm not saying I'm right to judge in this way, but I can't help what pops into my head!

There are a lot of people on council estates who are great people - my best friend Kelly is a wonderful Mum, she works really hard in her job and never behaves irresponsibly where her child is concerned. But I regret to say she is the minority. I saw one girl outside her council house 6 months pregnant and as p1ssed as a fart falling over and smoking rollies, with her baby scan picture in the other hand! To say I was disgusted is an understatement!

seven-day-weekend

My husband inherited in 1997 an ex-Council prefab bungalow (one of those put up as 'temporary housing' after the war) from his mum, who bought it as a RTB in 1992 for £5k. It was on a quiet estate of similar properties.

He decided to rent it out, went to a local agent, who said there was a waiting list 'a mile long' amongst middle aged/elderly people who did not qualify for a council bungalow. Rent was about 1/3 more than the council charged.

We had a fit elderly couple in it within a week and they stayed in it till we sold it in 2003 (when they were given a council bungalow).

We thought we would have problems selling it , because they were classed as unmortgageable, but the same EA said again, they had 'prospective buyers waiting' and we SSTC within a few days. The property needed a new roof and new windows, but this was reflected in the price.

We sold it for £37k (remember it had to be a cash buyer) and bought our house in Spain with the proceeds.

So would I buy an ex-Council house? Yes, if it was the right price and right location.

lowis

missk_ensington - it is easy to use isolated incidents to tar an entire strata of society with the same brush. yes council estates do get more than their fare share of 'rough' types but private housing can get rough types too - in fact i have known some complete horror families in my lifetime who own 'private' houses.

back to the point of the question - looking at the replies to this post i would say ex-LA housing is worth buying if the circumstances are right - it is a simple question of research.

morganb

Just one point to be aware of - it's not necessarily the house but the area that can affect the sell on price of the property.

If the estate has had a bad name in the past then that will be remembered, even though the bad element has moved on and most properties are privately owned.

We own an ex-council house, it's well maintained with large rooms and a big garden, has good local facilities and nice neighbours. Unfortunately it is on the blah-di-blah estate so in not worth as much as much as a similar property 5 minutes up the road.

missk_ensington

Lowis - absolutely, in and around London where property is much sought after, I'd say yeah go for it! But where I live you can buy a 3 bed terrace for under £90k so there isn't a lot to gain by buying ex LA.

I didn;t manage to stick my ten penneth in RE moral issues - I think RTB is the worst thing they ever did. Almost as stupid as the Child Trust Fund! Why should people on benefits get a leg up onto the housing market just for being on benefits and having no money and no job? What anout those working hard who can't get on the property ladder because its too expensive? Why should many benefit bums be handed the opportunity to buy their house for £15,000, paint it and sell it for £100,000! Its just wrong, especially when these houses aren't being replaced with new ones, so the next generation and generations to come who really need a home won't get one because demand will outweight supply, particularly in sought after areas.

smallblueplanet

Do your research for ex-LA the same as for private, if its what you want where you want, go for it.

However keep an eye out for covenants that might restrict future 'alterations' ie perhaps some estates have to stay open-plan, no front fences?

We've bought two different ex-LA's and both had had work done (a lean-to conservatory and a garage/utility extension) that should have had seperate council permission (can't remember the exact terminology atm - senior mo!) but hadn't. One was achieved retrospectively by the sellers and one had an insurance policy taken out. Both houses were exceptional value and allowed us to live in areas where we couldn't afford to buy 'private' housing.

But beware there can be some unexpected covenants where-ever you buy! Good luck.

Lois_Lane

missk_ensington wrote:

Why should people on benefits get a leg up onto the housing market just for being on benefits and having no money and no job?

I can't believe I'm reading this snobbish, condescending rubbish!

What makes you think that all council tenants are in receipt of benefits or unemployed?

There were many people living in council properties when the right to buy scheme was introduced who were in full time employment.

It's this kind of patronising holier than thou attitude that gives ex local authority houses a bad name and keeps the values down.

LL

missk_ensington

I thought that one had to be a single parent, homeless, on benefits etc etc, to qulify for a Council house in th first place? Perhaps I am wrong, or perhaps this has changed over the years.

The people I know who live in Council Houses only stopped getting benefits and got a job when they realised they could buy their Council house and needed an income to get a mortgage!

browney_2

missk_ensington - Can I ask where you get your information from? As far as I was aware council houses are not just offered to the unemployed. Could anyone afford a mortgage on benefits ? I live in a council house and our annual income is £70,000. Most of the people on our road are young professionals saving to buy their first home, but would prefer to pay smaller amounts of rent and save more. From what I have seen its the privately rented houses that cause more trouble as the unemployed tend to go for these as they do not have to pay rent and usually do not need to save to buy somewhere.


'Why should people on benefits get a leg up onto the housing market just for being on benefits and having no money and no job? What anout those working hard who can't get on the property ladder because its too expensive? Why should many benefit bums be handed the opportunity to buy their house for £15,000, paint it and sell it for £100,000! Its just wrong'

missk_ensington

In my area we have a traffic light system to prioritise housing, Red being most needy. My friend was 8 months pregnant, was sleeping on her mums floor and had nowhere to live, and she was only an Amber! This is because there are not enough houses because everyones jumped on the RTB waggon! So if you're on 70k a year I have no idea how you've managed to get a council house in the first place