Council House-should I buy ASAP or wait?

Rafal35

Hi everyone!!!

I am planning to buy my council house in near future,but still can't decide if should I do it asap or wait .That is how it looks:

1- I will be 6 years council tenant in april 2015,that is my nearest time i want to buy the property

2- Still got some debt (around 3k in total) planning to be debt free by end of this year which means if I apply for RTB in April my deposit will be small(2-4k the most)

3- My emergency savings also will be small or none by this time

4-With more deposit I can get better mortgage deal

If I look on this it looks like is better to wait,but looking on this from other perspective:

1- houses prices are rising

2-I am living in this property only a few months now,(I have had council flat for last 5 years) and it will need renovation within next 4-5 years but really wont spend fortune for renovation if its not mine,also not sure if this not increase house price?

3- still dont know what to expect with house price and discount,some people paid for simillar property 100k ,some 120k

4 house is close to gatwick airport and for now noise level is absolutely acceptable but as gatwick probably will be expanded and new runway will be build it will be much closer to our house and of course much noisier.Will this affect house price?


My other question is :

If I apply for RTB next year mostly to check how much it would cost me ,and decide not to buy or coudnt get mortgage,can I apply in near future again?Or is it one chance only?

Any advice and sugestions on this thread would be much appreciated.

Also I do apologise for my english and other writing mistakes as it might be hard to understand,its not my first language and it takes me an hour to write it down:D

Have a good weekend everyone

HappyMJ

It doesn't really look like you can afford to. I might be wrong though.

You really need to have no debt whatsoever and some sort of savings.

You need to pay the mortgage no matter what including unemployment. if you lose your job how will you pay the mortgage? The DWP will only pay the interest after a long waiting period and only for a short period of time then expect you to sell. If you remain renting the council pay the rent for you indefinitely and from day one.

If the airport is expanded it may affect the value of your property...but that's only if you plan to sell it for a profit. If you stay in the house then it's value has no meaning.

duchy

The extra runway will also increase the demand for property in the area as it will create more employment -considering property prices in that area and nearby and the fact you are buying at a discount it's not a major issue.

Rafal35

Thanks for your replies,I know there are lenders on the market with RTB mortgages and no deposit but I am sure the apr will be much higher which means higher repayments.Before applying I would deffinetely be debt free.When i repay the loan i shoul be able comfortably save 500-600 a month so waiting about 2 years could be a good option,as even if the prices go up i should have around 10% deposit to put on towards mortgage.any more ideas anyone?

Rafal35

About extra runway:I read somewhere on the internet that properties really close to airports (like mine would be if gatwick expands)are usually cheaper for about 10-15% because of noise level,but not worry too much about as even if they decide to build runway it takes about 10 years,so could sell it before and move somewhere else

happycomper22

can i just check something do you have to be living in the property you want to buy for 5 years, or just have been a council tenant over the 5 years in various properties?

leveller2911

happycomper22 wrote: »

can i just check something do you have to be living in the property you want to buy for 5 years, or just have been a council tenant over the 5 years in various properties?

Its how long you have been a Council tenant. So basically anyone who has been a tenant for 5yrs (I thought it was down to 3 yrs but there you go) can buy their Council house for a nice big discount.

Does this includes anyone from another EU country? I'm not sure if it does but I assume any EU resident can come to the UK and be eligable for Social housing (after a few weeks of qualifying period) and then buy up the council Housing when they have lived there for 3 or 5 years.

I wonder if we can go to say Poland or Latvia and do the same?. I quite like the idea of buying a Council house in Spain for at least a 30% discount off the market value...

Damn I love the UK, its the land of milk and honey

Rafal35

Ive been living in previous property for 5 years (flat) and in April I moved to 3 bed house.Its the same council landlord,and as far as I know you dont have to stay in the same property for 5 years,hope I am right

KMMT

Posts like this make me very mad. Social housing is for people who can not afford to rent/buy. It should not be there for people to try & make money. Rant over.

Rafal35

Its all the same for EU,I know foreigners who bought their houses and flats,so I am not worry about that.Leveller2911 as far as I know not only foreigners getting council properties.Would you not take it /buy it if you could?Since I moved to UK 10 years ago,I have never been without work even a single day,always paying taxes etc.As a real life example in block I have been living for last 5 years there was another 7 families ,1Portugese,another six british families.Me and wife working full time + overtime ,one english family 1 person part time worker, rest of families not working just on benefits. so now after 5 years ive paid more rent than the whole block to the council,or maybe two?!!That is why i think i should have Right to Buy with discount.Also if i buy let say for 120k council have 120k to build something.as example with people from my previous block how much council will get?

michaels

I expect Labour to scrap/severely restrict RTB very quickly if/when they are elected next May.