buying an ex council house. what should I be aware of?

first_time_buyer.....

Hi All,

I need some advice. I am a first time buyer and planning to buy my first house. I’ve been looking at private owned property in the past and been let down twice. The owners accepted my offers and decided not to sell it.

I found another property but the problem with it is this property is an ex-council property. I am not familiar with the area but the area seems ok. I’ve asked some local friends who have some ideas about the area and some told me that mosley common is a nice area. They used to be council houses but they were all privately bought years ago. I’ve checked the crime rate on the internet and it seems good compared to the previous 2 privately-built houses I was going to buy.

The last sale on the street was £95k in dec 2013. The asking price for this ex-council house is £114,500 and they accepted my offer of £110k. We negotiated directly with the vendors after we went for second viewing. At first they said that they cant accept £110k, they can offer £112k but after that they accepted £110k. They seems to be nice but I am not sure and tried to do as much research as I can but it feels like I’ve not done enough. The estate agent said that the owner assumed that 85-90% of the houses on that street is private owned now but I checked on council-housing.findthebest.co.uk and there are 22 council houses available on this website out of 42 houses. Does that mean over 50% houses are still council houses?

Another problem I find it quite strange is the vendor said that he bought that house from a private owner in 2009 but I couldn’t find any sale history of the house at all. I’ve checked almost all website including land registry.gov but can’t find anys ale history at all.

Can anyone give me any advice regarding to this property? Any advices will be much appreciated

Thanks

ellie27

I cannot advise in any way however when it comes to you selling it on, it would put some potential buyers off. I wouldnt buy a home in a street where there are 50%+ council houses on it, and I am sure many folk would feel the same. If you have no intention of selling it on in the future then there is no need to worry about that one though!

Cautious_Optimist

Have you knocked on doors and spoken to others in the street?

You could LR search every house in the street, but that would cost you £4 / house.

I'm not sure what difference it makes if the other houses are council owned now or not.
What is your concern?

first_time_buyer.....

Cautious_Optimist wrote: »

Have you knocked on doors and spoken to others in the street?

You could LR search every house in the street, but that would cost you £4 / house.

I'm not sure what difference it makes if the other houses are council owned now or not.
What is your concern?

my only concern is like what many other said, it might be hard to sell in future. I am planning to sell it probably around 10 years later. I like the fact that the house is bigger compared to many privately owned house and the area looks OK. I haven’t knock on any neighbours’ house but I will do it tonight. I’m planning to drive around that area tonight and tmrw night.

SnooksNJ

When I first moved to the UK my husband owned an ex council house. Ownership was a 50/50 split. I had the best neighbors and some of the worst. The best ones looked out for me, made me feel at home ect. The worst ones were the mean girls, totally rude and full of resentment. Because the rooms were big for less money than the surrounding area we sold the house with no problem.

Cautious_Optimist

If you're planning to live in the house for 10 years, I wouldn't worry too much about resale value.
The most important thing is whether you will be happy living there.
No one can predict what will happen to your local market in 10 years.

Some areas without any council housing go downhill. The owner occupiers leave and the houses are bought up by private LLs and let out to bad tenants. You have no control over this.

Your house will sell in 10 years, but only for the market value at that time.
You should be paying less for it now, than you would be if it wasn't ex-council, so you shouldn't lose out.

Pixie5740

Just because people live in council houses it doesn't mean that they are criminals.

The main thing to watch out for with ex-council owned properties is service charges but as this is a house rather than a flat in a council managed building that shouldn't be an issue for you.

stator

Are you sure it's "traditional construction" depending on when it was built some old council houses were prefabricated and it's not always obvious from the outside? A full survey is a must in my opinion

Nothing wrong with buying an old council house, not everyone would want to live on a council estate, but that's why the prices are cheaper and you get more value for money! If you set the price right you won't have any trouble selling it on, as long as it's in good condition.

I find a lot of council houses have good room for extensions too, since they were built when houses were built with gardens, so there's often room to add value.

first_time_buyer.....

Cautious_Optimist wrote: »

If you're planning to live in the house for 10 years, I wouldn't worry too much about resale value.
The most important thing is whether you will be happy living there.
No one can predict what will happen to your local market in 10 years.

Some areas without any council housing go downhill. The owner occupiers leave and the houses are bought up by private LLs and let out to bad tenants. You have no control over this.

Your house will sell in 10 years, but only for the market value at that time.
You should be paying less for it now, than you would be if it wasn't ex-council, so you shouldn't lose out.

Thanks for your advice. The price for privately built house is around £125k, some better street nearby would be around £150k. the first house(with conservatory and garage) I almost bought was for £110k but after I was let down by the owner, the estate agent told me that the property is in one of the worst area in that area. Before that she was telling me the house is beautiful, area isnt bad etc. The estate agent said because the area is rough that's why it's only £110k for a 3 bedroom semi detached

This council house is £110k as well, bigger rooms but no conservatory. What do you think?

Cautious_Optimist

stator wrote: »

I find a lot of council houses have good room for extensions too, since they were built when houses were built with gardens, so there's often room to add value.

Would the restrictive covenant permit an extension?

first_time_buyer.....

stator wrote: »

Are you sure it's "traditional construction" depending on when it was built some old council houses were prefabricated and it's not always obvious from the outside? A full survey is a must in my opinion

Nothing wrong with buying an old council house, not everyone would want to live on a council estate, but that's why the prices are cheaper and you get more value for money! If you set the price right you won't have any trouble selling it on, as long as it's in good condition.

I find a lot of council houses have good room for extensions too, since they were built when houses were built with gardens, so there's often room to add value.

The vendors arent sure when it was built. They think that it was built in the 1930s