New homes for free...!

BornSloppy

I'm too in love with old houses to ever buy new build unless the price was cheap.

Dylanwing

The Government design Social systems to protect the poor and needy. These systems have rules, and if you can play the rules to your advantage, you can abuse the system. MSE has pieces about taking advantage of commercial offers, same principle, use the rules to your advantage. Minimising tax, again, using rules to ones own advantage.

The classic case is the single parent issue. It was a problem, the Government "sorted" it. But it soon got abused as it became most profitable to claim as a single person and have your partner registered as living elsewhere. We huff and puff about this, but is it any worse than tax avoidance? Or the Government selling the Inland Revenue buildings to a Company based in a tax haven?

Until a Government is prepared to tackle welfare reform and tax avoidance (And stop using overpaid consultants and rip-off PFI), those of us who are working will keep paying.

Guy_Montag

Alternatively you could squat one - that's proper money saving:money:

krishna

Lots of people buy ex council properties, so I can't see any problem here. Where we currently live it's not a council estate. We bought our house on the open market and the immediate neighbours on both sides are both council tenants. They've lived here for years and have been great neighbours. Didn't affect the value of the property. We are just in the process of buying another place in a different area. This was built as a council estate in the 1920s. About half the estate are council tenants and the other half owner occupiers. Most properties are well maintained and everyone seems very friendly regardless of whether they are tenants or owners. Of course one way of identifying the council properties is that they all have new roofs!

It is a requirement in many places in London at least that new developments must include a proportion of social housing. The proportion is higher in areas with low amounts of social housing. So if you buy new build you can be almost certain that a proportion of your neighbours will be paying a lot less than you. Doesn't make them bad neighbours. Actually on our current street the houses most people are concerned about are the privately rented ones. Those are the ones that:
* have too many people living in them
* are badly maintained
* fall vacant and into disrepair
* landlord tries to build or modify without planning permission/buildings control.

zappomatic

The "social" housing required in new builds is often shared ownership or keyworker housing. I'm not a housing association tenant or in receipt of any benefits, but just because someone is entitled to rent from a housing association does not make them the antisocial scum of the earth.

If it repulses you to live near people who who might be less well-off than you and have been savvy enough to get some help, go and live in the middle of nowhere.

CHR15

I seperated from my ex after 15yrs. She still lives in the marital home with our lovely girls.

At over 40yrs old and on a salary of over £40K I simply cannot afford to get a 100% mortgage on any kind of decent house. Doesn't seem right to me but it's a fact.

I am hoping to get housing association help on one of these schemes just to enable me to have a reasonable house. Needs to have two double bedrooms for the girls to visit me.

It won't be as good as the three bed semi I enjoyed with my family and had paid for over 15yrs but better than a park bench!
There is no way I would consider myself a Chav or benefit cheat, just a victim of circumstance.

epz_2

CHR15 wrote: »

I seperated from my ex after 15yrs. She still lives in the marital home with our lovely girls.

At over 40yrs old and on a salary of over £40K I simply cannot afford to get a 100% mortgage on any kind of decent house. Doesn't seem right to me but it's a fact.

I am hoping to get housing association help on one of these schemes just to enable me to have a reasonable house. Needs to have two double bedrooms for the girls to visit me.

It won't be as good as the three bed semi I enjoyed with my family and had paid for over 15yrs but better than a park bench!
There is no way I would consider myself a Chav or benefit cheat, just a victim of circumstance.

on 40k a year i think you will be so far down the council list that you will likely be dead let alone retired before they even contact you.

my mate signed on the list at 16 (at his folks behest)and as a single guy it took the council 11 years to offer him somewhere, and this is glasgow not exactly south london. funny thing was he had totally forgotton about it and got offered it 2 months before he was due to leave the country for good for a decent life lol.


as to new build flats populated by single mums with screaming kids, god i would rather live in a field, at least it would be peaceful.

CHR15

I know what you are saying....

I am not looking for a (what I understand to be) council house.

Just to take advantage of Open Market Homebuy, Shared Ownership or any one of the other schemes on offer.

My problem is I have no deposit to speak of (£10k but thats to completely furnish somewhere and pay the fees).
In my area a simple 2 bed house goes from £160k upwards.

I have always worked, never been on any kind of benefit.I went direct from school into the same job I am in 23 years later.

I could afford a small flat (no good to take my 2 girls to), or an ex authority house in a cess pit of an area, I don't think I am being too vain in trying to get a decent house with a little help.

astonsmummy

Chris you go for it, that what these schemes are there for, dont let anyone make you feel like your being a ponce for it.

nollag2006

Pssst wrote: »

I wonder if those who are working and swaeting to pay the mortgage on one of these are told when they buy that there will be a mix of social housing? I wonder if the even know when they move in? I'm guessing that it won't take long to notice!

Anyway,to get one for free,get yourself on the housing association list, make sure your not working for some reason or other and thats it,jobs a good 'un as we say up here in Manchestoh.

Perhaps some would say that we shouldnt have social apartheid anyway but then doesnt that go hand in hand with the capitalist system? We cant have it both ways can we?

Can I clarify your point Pssst??

We should retain all housing for those of us who are non-Chavs, have attended public school, and know how to spell difficult words like "sweating" and "superb" properly !!

:rotfl:

This sort of Daily Mail attitude to the weakest members of society trying to better themselves by purchasing a home is really appalling.

:mad:

You should be ashamed