Should we go ahead?

sandraa_2

Hi everyone...

My husband and I are in a tricky situation and really could do with some sound advises!

We are in the process of buying our first home, the offer has been accepted, mortgage arranged, solicitors are working on our case and we are waiting for exchange of contract.

THE PROBLEM:

This is a 2 bed terrased house in a "nice" estate in surrey. Well we though nice but we just realised by speking to neighbours that it is actually about 50% owned by the council. AND the houses on both sides of the properties are still owned by the council.

We contacted estate agent about it and discovered that it is in fact an ex-council house. And we were not told before, neither was it spotted during surveying.

We are now thinking about pulling off has we believe it is a risky investment and it is over priced.

It was on the market for £212000 and our offer was accepted at £206000.
But we did not know that it was an ex-council house in a council estate!

Should we lower our offer? If so by how much?
Or should we just pull out?

PLEASE HELP WE ARE SOOOOOO CONFUSED!!!!


Thank you for your time. :A

mr.broderick

Be careful with your choice of words, a lot of people on here live in council, ex-council houses and may feel you are in a roundabout way saying that they are beneath people who dont. I do agree that maybe somewhere a long the line you should have been informed it was an ex council property but reading between the lines it sounds like you like the house/location and hence shouldn't be put off however the decision is yours.

sandraa_2

I don t think anything bad about people living in council house... I would love to live in it myself if only I could get one!!!!!!
The problem is we are concerned about it as an investment.
We are already streching ourself to the limit and we don t want to take a risk.
We are seriously considering carry on renting (current rent is £650 a month) and wait to see what happen in the housing market. In the mean time we could aim to save a bigger deposit...
CONFUSED CONFUSED and CONFUSED

going2die_rich

I personnally wouldn't want to buy an ex council property if the other houses next door or near to it were still partially council owned.

Not to sterotype but many of these will be of a poorer background therefore are more likely to be the sort of people you don't want to live next to.

Look else where would be my advice, no point in chancing living next door to neighbours from hell. Saying that, that could happen in rich areas too but it is far less likely than in council estates.

mr.broderick

Ive never bought a house as an investment, always as a home.

victory

Look around first as Sarah Beeny says, is it an up and coming area with coffee shops popping up, new shops opening etc? Council houses always have the advantage of being bigger, sturdier than the ones they build these days ,trying to cram into the tiny little space a house with small bedroom, small windows, small everything, these days a plot of land can be made into a flat complex as builders only have to adhere to the minimum requirements for space. xxx

JonathanA

I think you'll probably find that the house is very well built (most council houses were) & will definitely stand the test of time. You need to ask yourself what the area is like. If it's good (and it probably is) & if other houses in the area sell without any problems, that is probably your answer. What drew you to that house / area in the first place? If it is just to get on the housing ladder and you've taken the first thing you can find, then yes, I would stop and reconsider. But I'd say that irrespective of the house or its location.

Buying a house as an investment is always a gamble - first and foremost it needs to be your home, a place where you can be happy. If you're stretching yourself to the limit, you need to be comfortable with that fact, especially given that mortgage interest rates are likely to increase certainly in the short term. What other property is available in your locality in your price range - how does it compare?

In my view, the fact that is is a former council house is irrelevant - more so if the neighbourhood is decent. Have there been similar properties sold in the area - & at what price? Check on somewhere like nethouseprices.com and look at rightmove to see what else is in your area if you haven't already.

Remember if you pull out, you will lose the costs you've already incurred. But you do need to ensure you have peace of mind.

Good luck with your decision!

AndrewSmith

My first house was an ex-council terrace in one of the most notorious estates in Southampton.

I never had any trouble and the neighbours couldn't have been nicer.

Traditional council houses (standard construction) tend to be well built, good sized rooms and have larger than average gardens.

If I had not bought the house when I did I would not have been able to move up the property ladder to the house I now own.

You tend to find now that most older council estates are privately owned in the majority anyway so what is the problem? You could move to a brand new Barratt housing estate into a brand new plywood house on a supposedly 'posh' estate only to find that a 'landlord' has purchased houses on the development near yours and lets them on contract to the DHSS.

A home is what you make it, just check out the area to your own satisfaction beforehand.

Andy

mr.broderick

going2die_rich wrote:

I personnally wouldn't want to buy an ex council property if the other houses next door or near to it were still partially council owned.

Not to sterotype but many of these will be of a poorer background therefore are more likely to be the sort of people you don't want to live next to.

Look else where would be my advice, no point in chancing living next door to neighbours from hell. Saying that, that could happen in rich areas too but it is far less likely than in council estates.

I agree sir might end up living next door to an idiot like you ...

sandraa_2

The house is nice but not really big... We spoke to the neighbours on both side and they seemed fine. The one on the left sid has a very old/rusting car with a very bad looking cover on it. It is just 5 metres from our driveway and does look soooooo bad.

I just spoke to my husband on the phone and we are thinking about lowering our offer on the basis we were not told it was ex-local.

Now how much should we lower our offer from £206 000 to ....?

We are thinking £190000????

By the way thaks everyone for helping!

mr.broderick

mmm thats interesting thinking about a £16000 chip cause of an old car parked in neighbouring drive, my mum is currently selling her house for £357000..next door has a g reg nissan micra what the old lady uses to go to the shops gonna tell my mum to get her to shift it !!