Dilemma - Councill built Vs private built

thisisgazza

Hey everyone,
I’m in the process of buying my first house with my partner. We are firsttime buyers and are looking for a chain free house.

So, here is my dilemma. There are now many council built properties thathave been sold off with there tenants buying them for very little. Once theycome to sell, what is there property actually worth? Should a council propertybe the same market value as an equivalent private build?

I have an house in mind, a nice council one, good sized rooms, nice gardenand in an area where very few council houses still are owned by the council.Very quiet and no trouble/noise in site... an ideal location dream for privateand council builds. Does this effect price considerably, making council/privateeven priced?

I’m just worried whether come 10/20 year’s time, did i pay too much andwould I struggle to get what i paid back.

Thanks for your help

Gazza

McKneff

From experience, Ive found that council houses are a lot more solidly built and often bigger.

It depends on what yu want.

If you like the house and it suits you, in future years someone like yourself will come along and it will suit them.

Fire_Fox

It's not a case of what an ex council house 'should' be worth, they are worth what someone will pay, based on the size, condition and desirability of the area. Research land registry sold prices for the estate and area.

Soot2006

As above - they are often well built/sturdy, often modernised (double glazing, CH, etc) ... Have mostly had what they needed over the years.

Around here, they are worth the same as any other equivalent sized house in the same area and quite rightly so. Often nice big plots, too!

RocketRobin

Are you saying you think it should be cheaper becasue it was bought at below market value?

If its a nice house in a nice area nad its what you want then I'd go for the council house every time, as previous poster said big rooms, well built in most cases. I'm looking at an ex council house as my next move.

thisisgazza

Hey, thanks for the reply.

Yes, my Dad is a builder and has told me storys about the quality control officer that only came round on council builds. They always demanded perfection, otherwise the wall would have to come down and start again from scratch. Something hes says didnt realy happen on private builds.
So I pretty much understand that council houses were built to last forever.

I was just a little worried about the stigma attached to council builds, and whether I would me limiting buyers when my time has come to sell the property.

I ofcourse I dont have this stigma, the house is brilliant and has a better spec than most around. Just got to think about the sell on as its a massive investment.

cheers

Gaz

Soot2006

To be honest the stigma will depend on location.

If the house is on a dirty estate with scum on every corner, then uhm... yeah, I wouldn't recommend buying it - council or private lol!

If the house is nice and in the right location, then I think few people carry too much stigma. With population movement these days, many people wouldn't even know how to recognise an old council house (namely me! I only found out I was buying one because our survey said so ... lovely neighbourhood, avenues with trees on both sides, big gardens, parks, etc etc, can't complain!)

Fire_Fox

thisisgazza wrote: »

I was just a little worried about the stigma attached to council builds, and whether I would me limiting buyers when my time has come to sell the property.

I ofcourse I dont have this stigma, the house is brilliant and has a better spec than most around. Just got to think about the sell on as its a massive investment.

cheers

Gaz

Depends on the specific street/ estate. I used to own a period property originally built as a workers cottage but went into council ownership in the seventies. Only two were owned privately IIRC and those were the most run down! Lovely neighbours who kept the gardens neat, desirable leafy village with a good school, great public and road transport links, facing thatched properties. Prices and viewings no different to anywhere else in the village. There was a standard council estate at the other end of the village, again the few that were in private ownership sold well, due to the school and the general demand to live in that village.

Everything will sell at the right price, the problem only comes if you are trying to sell the best house in the worst street or you have loads of competition locally. There is always a buyer who can only afford a two bedroom but wants/ needs three beds, so will look at the less desirable areas. If this house is a bargain now for the amount of space and build quality, you can afford to price it realistically when you come to sell.

thisisgazza

Thanks everyone.

So i guess the general consensus is that given a good area, a council built house will match the price of the area, private or council built.

Cheers

Gaz

breadlinebetty

thisisgazza wrote: »

Hey everyone,
I’m in the process of buying my first house with my partner. We are firsttime buyers and are looking for a chain free house.

So, here is my dilemma. There are now many council built properties thathave been sold off with there tenants buying them for very little. Once theycome to sell, what is there property actually worth? Should a council propertybe the same market value as an equivalent private build?

I have an house in mind, a nice council one, good sized rooms, nice gardenand in an area where very few council houses still are owned by the council.Very quiet and no trouble/noise in site... an ideal location dream for privateand council builds. Does this effect price considerably, making council/privateeven priced?

I’m just worried whether come 10/20 year’s time, did i pay too much andwould I struggle to get what i paid back.

Thanks for your help

Gazza

Ex council properties always, always fetch less than privately built.

Always.

breadlinebetty

thisisgazza wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the reply.

Yes, my Dad is a builder and has told me storys about the quality control officer that only came round on council builds. They always demanded perfection, otherwise the wall would have to come down and start again from scratch. Something hes says didnt realy happen on private builds.
So I pretty much understand that council houses were built to last forever.

I was just a little worried about the stigma attached to council builds, and whether I would me limiting buyers when my time has come to sell the property.

I ofcourse I dont have this stigma, the house is brilliant and has a better spec than most around. Just got to think about the sell on as its a massive investment.

cheers

Gaz

Council regulations will mean that the building has to meet certain criteria for safety etc, but they scimp on certain things. They use the basic plain materials (cost exercise) which is why you won't get all any of the lovely details private houses often have : lovely windows, doors, bannisters, plasterwork etc......council houses are built in a very basic fashion.

They're not all large than private houses are, either. Of course, some private houses are small, but then some are big. It depends. But you'll never find a big grand council house.....

But there's diffeent types of council housing - some estates are well kept and look nice while others look disgusting. But unless the council have bought private houses to let out and eventually sell, you can usually always tell if a property is council as soon as you go down the street.....

I think there is still a slight stigma to owning a council property, which is another reason why they sell for less,