Council flat right-to-buy

missbunbury

Hi everyone, I am posting on behalf of a friend who has a council flat she has lived in for ten years. It's a nice flat in a nice area which she waited 15 years for and is very happy there. She is looking into the possibility of buying it and finding the information she is getting from the council to be sadly lacking in clarity - they won't or can't tell her for definite how much she would pay unless she comes to them with a mortgage in place, apparently, which seems like madness to me. Of the two people she knows on the same estate who have bought their flats, one got it for £38k when the market valuation was around £75k and one paid £106k at a time when the market value was £90k - this sounds crazy and of course with these two examples, my friend is mightily confused!

So, to cut a long story short, can anyone point me to a good source of information about right-to-buy please? Googling has turned up an awful lot of sites that seems to be companies offering to do it all for you, but my MSE-honed scam radar is twitching at those!

savingmummy

Normally the council will give you a pack with all the information regarding buying the property, then arrange for a meeting to discuss the finance part.
I know a lot of councils have capped the discounts now, so what one paid x amount of yrs ago may differ now.

I don`t think you could find an accurate price on the internet it needs to come from the council who owns the property, SO maybe contact someone different in relation to having a meeting to discuss it, if this fails then i would go to CAB and see what they advise.

I am not aware that a mortgage needs to be in place for the information to be given, but some councils do work differently!

Amara

Hi
It seems daft tome they wont give her details unless she'll come with mortgage, are you sure that's correct? Discount amount varies from area and how long people have been tenants. Perhabs people with 38k flat been tenants a long time, and other valuations is based on "I heard from someone who knows someone". Or, people wanted to sell quickly , hence small price. Discounts for council houses are no longer as big as they used to be, now the biggest one is about 36k ,it depends in which part of country she lives.
Also, now, when many coucil properties have been sold, autorities are not interested in selling anymore, maybe that's why they're makig harder? Anyway, my advice is call council again.

Matt1977

Buying a council flat might not seem like such a bargain...

If she buys her flat then in time if the council decides upon some extensive building work to improve the block, then she will have to contribute to it. If it is in a high rise block with lifts, this can be very expensive and it is not unusual for a five figure sum can be requested.

I recall an episode of 'Property Ladder' where an amateur developer bought a flat in an art deco block Brighton, thought he got a bargain but in time, was chased for c.£70k from the landlord. His poor mother had to remortgage her house to allow him to continue.

grey_lady

They should be able to tell your friend what her entitlement to RTB discount is, I believe that for example London flats its 38k? You might be able to find out on Direct gov's website.

If/when your friend applies for RTB e.g. arranges a mortgage then a surveyor/valuer would come out and assess the value of the property until then the value isnt set in stone.

Santander do RTB mortgages I think, but a broker would probably be the best person to approach.

princeofpounds

Each council has a different policy. You are likely to find some detail on that policy on their website, which may well refer you to specific policy documents.

The person who 'overpaid' I do not understand. It sounds to me like there is some misinformation in the telling of that story. The person who got the huge discount possibly took RTB a long time ago. It's very important to understand that in the early days the discounts were very large, essentially for political purposes, and now they are not as large typically.

The reason that they cannot give her too much detailed information is likely because they actually need to value her house before deciding how to treat it. But it still sounds like they aren't being that helpful.

Your friend needs to be very careful about exercising RTB. Council tenancies are exceptionally generous to the occupant. They offer security of tenure that is almost as good as owning, rental rates that are below market, paid-for maintenance and various other advantages. Owning is obviously nice but mortgages carry their own risks (especially variable ones), and with many ex-council properties there can be expensive service charges that private leaseholders (property 'owners' in many cases) are liable for. She also needs to be careful it does not affect her entitlement to any benefits she might be receiving.

squinty

I think there is some misunderstanding here. The Council cannot just give her a price for buying - they would need to get a valuation carried out, look at how much they have spent over the past few years, and then work out a discount.

If she wants a price she needs to start the RTB process (there is no committment to buy at this stage). See

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/HomeBuyingSchemes/DG_4001398

The part of the original post about someone paying over the valuation is probably wrong. Why would someone do that? If the original valaution was wrong there is a right to appeal. However, some people BORROW significantly more than the sale price - perhaps your friend is confused.

Richard_Webster

I've never heard of a Councils saying that a tenant has to have a mortgage in place first. She can start the process and doesn't have to proceed. They tell her what they think the property is worth and how much she has to pay taking into account the discount. She can then apply for a mortgage based on the figures given. If she thinks they have overvalued the flat then she can appeal against the valuation.