good idea or not ?

Legacy_user

for a variety of reasons we are considering selling our house clearing all debts and applying for a council bungalow [disabled dependant] .
has anyone done anything similar ?

poppysarah

Are they are rare as rocking horse poop in your area?

Are you adequately housed at the moment?

Werdnal

Depends on the availability of such properties in your area and the council's criteria. Many councils will only house people who are un-intentionally homeless, so by selling your property you may not be given a priority.

Not sure how the disability aspect works or if it will help you, if you just sell up and throw yourselves on the council's hands to house you.

System

i know someone who has put their house on the market and has moved into a council flat so it isnt an issue wheather it is possible im just looking into the pros /cons.

Tiddlywinks

Why should you be made a priority over others that are waiting when you would have made yourself intentionally homeless by selling up?

Caveat_Mortgagor

Hmmmm, so you have the means to provide for yourself in terms of somewhere to live, yet you wish to sell up and deprive someone else of the chance of being housed by the council.

Dont want to sound harsh, but there is a chronic council housing shortage in the country and it seems like you want to exacerbate it because you think you are entitled to jump the queue!

System

thanks for your input ! you dont know my finacial situation apart from anything else , im assuming you cant offer any input re the actual question .

Tiddlywinks

My question is relevant to your postion - why do you think you should be able to jump the queue by selling up and making yourself intentionally homeless?

serious_saver

Caveat_Mortgagor wrote: »

Hmmmm, so you have the means to provide for yourself in terms of somewhere to live, yet you wish to sell up and deprive someone else of the chance of being housed by the council.

Dont want to sound harsh, but there is a chronic council housing shortage in the country and it seems like you want to exacerbate it because you think you are entitled to jump the queue!

They did say they were going to use it to pay off their debts. It could be that their debts are very high and likely to become unserviceable. Better this than bankruptcy right?

Sorry CHRISSYG, unfortunately I don't have much advice to give but I thought I would reply to this post above. My only thought would be to contact you local council / housing association to see if they have any policies on this. Get this in writing and then you have a record should you sell your house and then have problems.

BitterAndTwisted

You need to find out exactly how this other person achieved the unachievable. Do not sell your property until you understand how or whether you might qualify for council housing. It's my understanding that most local authorities are coping with a demand that they cannot meet, so need to apply very strict criteria in order to help those that they must. This means that those who are currently adequately housed or make themselves voluntarily homeless will not be helped. it seems to me that selling your home would put you straight into the category of voluntary homelessness.

JimmyTheWig

What are the waiting lists like?
I'm guessing they may be quite long (as with most council properties).
If so, what would you do if your house sold and you're not top of the list for a bungalow?

Sounds like a very risky plan to me. Just depends on your circumstances how risky the alternatives are.