Ex-council houses - would you invest?

gallygirl

Have to say I agree with (slightly watered down version) missk. I've experienced it 1st hand - when marriage broke up I bought a lovely house - but on mixed council / private estate. Council houses were not looked after - ok you could blame the council for that, but the mentality was 'my banister is loose, and the council won't come & fix it - if my kid falls down the stairs I'll sue, it's a disgrace' - hello???? Screwdriver?????? They were also the ones who had people coming and going at all hours, kids with ASBO's and 1 was a druggie who ended being imprisoned for cruelty to her kids. 2 council houses, 2 crap families. Other 8 were private - 1 person didn't weed outside their house. Fullstop. Have been there recently - both council now private, druggie went long ago. Other family still there - once they bought their house it was transformed and though not perfect she doesn't let them run riot. She also doesn't let them swing off gate, bin store etc, because SHE is responsible for repairs.

And there is an easy solution. Not everyone wants to own their own home, and many are too !!!!less to do so. There will always be a need for 'social housing' - if the councils are not allowed to build then private landlords will step in and meet the demand. Reduce the demand by increasing supply, prices will fall accordingly at bottom end, knock on effect up the chain. Sorted.

Baggiebird1nil

Missk please accept my apologies it was Lady Lea who has the prperties. No offence meant.

livinginhope

miss k I would like to point out that the council estates I was talking about are nowhere near London,I live 150 miles from London in one of the most deprived and forgotten areas of the country,we are now getting a regeneration programme,but through all the hardship here,the council estates are full of decent people,most working hard and enjoying life.i don't live on a council estate now,but did work on one until recently,I live in the very affluent area in a lovely detatched house,I have a family of Kosovan immigrants as neighbours,they are lovely people and only want a quiet life,but with people around with attitudes like yours,I doubt they will get it.
Regarding the ceiling prices on an Ex-LA,ALL houses in EVERY road have a ceiling price,this rises in line with other houses,you can never really lose buying a council house.
I really think miss k needs to get out and experience life a bit more,take her blinkers off and actually get involved with the people who live on these council estates she goes on about,then maybe her fear of these people would disappear and she would realise that they too are just like anyone else,also instead of running them down if she got involved maybe she could do something constructive in making them better areas,instead of moaning.

vinno65

Maggie Thatcher " I know lets flog them houses cheap and get them mortgaged up, also lets make credit available to all, they can run up a few bills there too, NOW LET'S SEE THE !!!!!!!S GO ON STRIKE!"

regards

Plasticman

livinginhope wrote:

Regarding the ceiling prices on an Ex-LA,ALL houses in EVERY road have a ceiling price,this rises in line with other houses,you can never really lose buying a council house.

That's probably the most useful point in this thread. All houses have a ceiling price - I sold a (private :rolleyes: ) flat a few years ago and the estate agent told me the ceiling price for the area was £85K. Now they are selling for £170K. If the council properties are cheaper than private ones now then they are likely to stay cheaper - but the prices will still rise. A council estate near me - which has always had the cheapest properties in the area - has seen prices rise dramatically over the last couple of years because they are the only houses in the area that first time buyers can afford.

sukysue

I would never buy an ex council house in my area.
They are all on very rough estates with drug addicts and asbo kids .
However if the area was ok then I can't see a problem but there is this huge stigma attatched to them especially in my area (south Wales).

Fran

sukysue wrote:

I would never buy an ex council house in my area.
They are all on very rough estates with drug addicts and asbo kids .
However if the area was ok then I can't see a problem but there is this huge stigma attatched to them especially in my area (south Wales).

That's a bit of a generalisation - I live in S.Wales too, it depends exactly where you live (I'm not asking you to say!). I know of some lovely council houses especially the more mature ones. When you say "very rough estates", the trouble is usually caused by a minority, if the majority were as rough as you imply there would be riots continually and no-one would be able to exist like that. It only takes one or two families to upset the balance in an area but most people are ok, the same as most people in non council are ok. Drug addicts aren't confined to a certain type of housing or badly behaved kids.

sukysue

Torgwen ,I dunno where you live my lovely but here it is awful.They seem to have filled up the estates full of drug addicts and boy racers I en exaggerating honest!It is really bad here none of the ppl work and the kids are left to fend for themselves from a young age .I'm sure not every estate is like it in s.wales but here they are the pits!

MissMotivation

lynzpower wrote:

Yet again Miss_K you have come accross as a deeply unpleasant little woman.

Id rather live in a *shameless* style "sink estate" any day of the week than live next door to a hardworking person like you

I second this!! I contribute regularly to these forums and I have never heard such complete and utter tripe from anyone else. I think that before you post anything else Miss_K that you should have some idea of what you are talking about and not just make a broad generalisation based on what you have seen on the TV......Shamless is not factual!

I find your posts absolutely ridiculous!

sal

"I'm sure not every estate is like it in s.wales but here they are the pits!" - sukysue

How ironic?

Back to dear old Maggie, if she hadn't shut the pits and started RTB these estates would be thriving, full of families with jobs, social housing and pride.

Have you been to Cornwall? Little social housing and no-one to fill the jobs with traditionally low pay, e.g. public sector posts that the holiday home owners demand, as families cannot afford to live in the area that they were born into.

But on the other hand, I live in an ex-council house, I didn't even know that it was a council house until I had moved in last year. No regrets, my neighbours are among the best I've ever had, my garden is the longest and quietest and the views are magnificent. Would I have bought it had I known? Yes. It's lovely. But it should never have been sold off in the first place.

sal