Buying a council property

pickledonionspaceraider

Hello there all

We have decided to 'put in' to buy our council owned house. Has anyone any advice, or things I need to be aware of?

Please bear in mind, my knowledge of mortgages etc is zero having never brought a house before

steve4mandy

Ours is going through at the moment, as far as the process goes 'Right to Buy' is fairly straight forward, Submit your RTB1 form, the house then stays at this value from that date.

Look on Rightmove, land registry & Zoopla to gauge the price of houses like yours over the last 12 months. There is an appeals process if you feel the council over value your house.

The whole process is very easy, my council have been quite on the ball, but they don't rush into doing anything lol.

Cant offer advice on mortgages, I went via a local broker who has been brilliant.

Your discount is used as a full deposit, legal fees, broker and mortgage fee costing me approx. £1500, no stamp duty on my house as valued at 125k.

My mortgage payment is £5 more a month than my rent today, my rent wont go down next year lol.

Good luck.

amnblog

The process is not complex but you should see a broker as many lenders will not do RTB.

If you have a poor credit record you may have a problem.

ADiva1

pickledonionspaceraider wrote: »

Hello there all

We have decided to 'put in' to buy our council owned house. Has anyone any advice, or things I need to be aware of?

Please bear in mind, my knowledge of mortgages etc is zero having never brought a house before

Some councils do take their time in responding to you, so keep good tabs on them.

It is best to have a rough idea about what your house price will be.
Check your credit status to see whether they have noted whether you are on the electoral register and other related matters.
Do you need to borrow extra for home improvements?
Seeking advice from a mortgage brooker is also helpful.Gather information on your income. You will also need utility bills, the proof of the valuation for the brooker.

I am also in the process of applying to buy my council house. I am just awaiting the value of the property. Fingers crossed!

Keep us posted with your progress and I will do the same.

Goodluck.

Riddar

steve4mandy wrote: »

Ours is going through at the moment, as far as the process goes 'Right to Buy' is fairly straight forward, Submit your RTB1 form, the house then stays at this value from that date.

Look on Rightmove, land registry & Zoopla to gauge the price of houses like yours over the last 12 months. There is an appeals process if you feel the council over value your house.

The whole process is very easy, my council have been quite on the ball, but they don't rush into doing anything lol.

Cant offer advice on mortgages, I went via a local broker who has been brilliant.

Your discount is used as a full deposit, legal fees, broker and mortgage fee costing me approx. £1500, no stamp duty on my house as valued at 125k.

My mortgage payment is £5 more a month than my rent today, my rent wont go down next year lol.

Good luck.

Hi, hope you don't mind me asking you a quick question regarding your above post.

When they valued your home and worked out the discount, how much did they deduct from your discount for work done in the last 10 years to the property? I read that any work in the last 10 years, they add up that cost and take that out of the discount. How did this effect you?

I'm going to be sending off our RTB1 form next year but just worried how much discount would be reduced due to new kitchen/bathroom and work done to the roof etc...

Hoping you can help

Thanks.

To the OP:

As far as I'm aware, they will take money from the discount your entitled too for all the work done to the property in the last 10 years. Something a lot of people are unaware off it seems.

ADiva1

Riddar wrote: »

Hi, hope you don't mind me asking you a quick question regarding your above post.

When they valued your home and worked out the discount, how much did they deduct from your discount for work done in the last 10 years to the property? I read that any work in the last 10 years, they add up that cost and take that out of the discount. How did this effect you?

I'm going to be sending off our RTB1 form next year but just worried how much discount would be reduced due to new kitchen/bathroom and work done to the roof etc...

Hoping you can help

Thanks.

To the OP:

As far as I'm aware, they will take money from the discount your entitled too for all the work done to the property in the last 10 years. Something a lot of people are unaware off it seems.

When I applied for RTB, I listed all of the things that I made improvements to, which included the kitchen, bathroom and living room. I fitted a new kitchen, added a shower and also new toilet. I also installed a new fire place in the living room.

The lady who came to do the valuation took account of all of this and told me that all of the improvements would be taken into account, i.e, she will value the property as if they were not done. She said that she would also add that I had a very small back garden and that the stairs creaked. They have until 28th November to let me know!

I qualify for the maximum amount in my area which is £75,000.

Riddar

ADiva1 wrote: »

When I applied for RTB, I listed all of the things that I made improvements to, which included the kitchen, bathroom and living room. I fitted a new kitchen, added a shower and also new toilet. I also installed a new fire place in the living room.

The lady who came to do the valuation took account of all of this and told me that all of the improvements would be taken into account, i.e, she will value the property as if they were not done. She said that she would also add that I had a very small back garden and that the stairs creaked. They have until 28th November to let me know!

I qualify for the maximum amount in my area which is £75,000.

£75,000 is a helluva lot of money, fingers crossed you get the full whack.

Sorry if I've confused you or maybe misunderstood you, but when I commented on new kitchen/bathroom, I meant that the council has had to improve all the homes under some new act and that included new bathrooms, kitchens etc... I read the work they did to the property will be taken out of the discount offered. I'm very curious to see how much they actually deduct of people for these improvements.

It sounds like you have it the opposite way round, you have done the improvements yourself therefore leaving you with more say as to what the property is valued at. Don't forget, you can always dispute the valuation if you feel they have valued it too highly.

All the best to you mate

ADiva1

Riddar wrote: »

£75,000 is a helluva lot of money, fingers crossed you get the full whack.

Sorry if I've confused you or maybe misunderstood you, but when I commented on new kitchen/bathroom, I meant that the council has had to improve all the homes under some new act and that included new bathrooms, kitchens etc... I read the work they did to the property will be taken out of the discount offered. I'm very curious to see how much they actually deduct of people for these improvements.

It sounds like you have it the opposite way round, you have done the improvements yourself therefore leaving you with more say as to what the property is valued at. Don't forget, you can always dispute the valuation if you feel they have valued it too highly.

All the best to you mate

Ah, got you now Riddar, sorry about the confusion. Sorry to the OP for going off the discussion also.

It would be unfair if they took those improvements into account! Give them a call before you apply.....They haven't been to bad with regard to answering my questions so far.

Mokka

I read that any work in the last 10 years, they add up that cost and take that out of the discount. How did this effect you?

I'm going to be sending off our RTB1 form next year but just worried how much discount would be reduced due to new kitchen/bathroom and work done to the roof etc...[/I]

You are talking about so called 'cost floor'.
Basically what they will deduct depends on much they've spent. Only the council can tell you how much- no point asking other posters as they would have completely different work done. The Council will tell you in your Section 125 Offer notice.
A quote for the RTB booklet:
'Reduction of discount to take account of the cost of work carried out by your landlord on your home (cost floor)
Your discount may be reduced by a special rule called the cost floor. This may apply if your home has recently been purchased or built by your landlord or he has spent money on repairing or maintaining it. Under the cost floor, the discount you receive must not reduce the price you pay below what has been spent on building, buying, repairing or maintaining it.
9
If the cost of works carried out over the 10 year period is greater than the market value of your home, you will not receive any discount. This period is 15 years if your home was built or acquired by your landlord after 2 April 2012.'

Riddar

Mokka wrote: »

I read that any work in the last 10 years, they add up that cost and take that out of the discount. How did this effect you?

I'm going to be sending off our RTB1 form next year but just worried how much discount would be reduced due to new kitchen/bathroom and work done to the roof etc...[/I]

You are talking about so called 'cost floor'.
Basically what they will deduct depends on much they've spent. Only the council can tell you how much- no point asking other posters as they would have completely different work done. The Council will tell you in your Section 125 Offer notice.
A quote for the RTB booklet:
'Reduction of discount to take account of the cost of work carried out by your landlord on your home (cost floor)
Your discount may be reduced by a special rule called the cost floor. This may apply if your home has recently been purchased or built by your landlord or he has spent money on repairing or maintaining it. Under the cost floor, the discount you receive must not reduce the price you pay below what has been spent on building, buying, repairing or maintaining it.
9
If the cost of works carried out over the 10 year period is greater than the market value of your home, you will not receive any discount. This period is 15 years if your home was built or acquired by your landlord after 2 April 2012.'

Thanks for this Mokka

My only reason for asking other posters is to see what their council has actually charged them for, for example: Do they add on every time I've called repairs to fix my boiler etc...

I've heard people who have had their homes completely re-done top to bottom not have to pay any cost floor yet obviously they should have. Just looking for other peoples experiences.

To the OP:

Keep us updated with the progress in your application and I wish you all the best

steve4mandy

In answer to your question -

Market Value £135000

Minus my own home improvements £10000

Purchase price £125000

Minus 52% discount

Mortgage Price £60000

Via broker, through Nationwide, 5 year fixed, £419 Per month, £5 more a month than rent (which goes up again April '14).

Council works/improvements not mentioned, I've had new boiler & Velux windows installed in last 2 years. our house is a 3 storey town house with off road parking for 2 cars, with a small gated drive!

Houses down my road were selling at this price in 1999/2000, in effect we've managed to turn back time.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to purchase a house for this price, when you see the struggle some people are having getting a foot on the ladder.