Ex council properties

Red-Squirrel_2

Is there anything in particular to be aware of when looking at properties on what was obviously originally built as a small council estate but now seems to be entirely privately owned?

The houses seem sound, the room sizes are more generous than most of the local comparable houses (particularly kitchen size) and the area is now definitely 'up and coming' with a school rated outstanding round the corner.

The houses on the old estate still seem to sell for less than the 'private' red brick semis nearby though. Is that just a historical hangover? Is it about external appearances?

Looking at past sales, most seem to have been bought in dire need of refurb/redecoration, maybe that's a reason for low selling prices? I'm just a bit wary in case there's some fundamental reason why ex-council aren't as desirable in case I do go for one and end up regretting it!

dirty_magic

They do always seem to sell for less. I don't think it would stop you selling it though, in fact they might be more attractive to first time buyers because of the lower price, especially if the others are all owned. I find that ex council houses around here usually have huge gardens and bigger rooms too.

It would put me off if the others weren't owned though because I think this would make it more difficult to sell. I don't think council houses have much kerb appeal because tenants don't do anything to improve them and they're all built the same, whereas if they're owned people tend to improve them. As long as the area is nice I don't think you'll have problems.

kaya

Hmmmm, beware the council house bodgers, we brought ours a few years back, looked pretty but everything in the house had been bodged by the previous owner who brought it from the council, not sure if it was done after they brought it or when they were buying but it was a nightmare where wiring and plumbing were concerned, they clearly wanted the cottage feel so added chopped up scaffold boards to the ceiling instead of beams, filled the gaps between said boards with about 3" of plaster Instead of artex, didn't know how to Do a dropped ceiling so added 10" of concrete over the entire ground floor to get a similar effect, made fake wall panels by adding some beams they made from concrete, I could go on forever but needless to say it cost a small fortune to rectify

rosie383

We were going to buy one last summer, great size, most houses now privately owned etc., but there tend to be restrictive clauses which can be problematic. For us it was no possibility of extending the property, unable to put a dropped kerb for parking and a couple of other things. Can be changed but we jumped through every hoop possible and ended up having to walk away. All may not be like this, but it is something to bear in mind.

AlexMac

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Is there anything in particular to be aware of ... (1) houses seem sound, the room sizes more generous

... (2) the area is now definitely 'up and coming' with a school rated outstanding round the corner.

...(but, 3) still seem to sell for less than the 'private' red brick semis nearby though. Is that just a historical hangover? Is it about external appearances?

...(4) most seem to have been bought in dire need of refurb/redecoration, maybe that's a reason for low selling prices? I'm just a bit wary... in case I end up regretting it!

If as you say, the area's on the up, your experience will hopefully mirror mine (2 little ex-Council flats I bought as BTLs; both little goldmines) and that of our kids (who wanted a 3-bed house with garden for a growing family but could only afford an ex-council semi; sold on after 5 years at a very good price when they had to re-locate). So trust your instinct; if the area is as you say, and you and your neighbours continue to buy as do-er uppers, hopefully there will be constant future demand and you'll sell on OK for reasons 1 & 2 above.

As regards your Q 3; that's just the way the UK property market is. Property, class, aspiration and status seem inextricably linked in the British psyche so there will always be a perceived differential between ex-Council developments (even the attractive cottage estates of 1930's, 40's and 50's semi's which proliferate in our area) and 'private' houses. But its not as if you are considering buying a system-built tower block flat with potential future mega-expensive shared bills for repairs to roof and structure?

Re 4, as most people who exercised their Right to Buy were able to buy cheap, and as even when they sold on, the homes are at the bottom end of the market, poor repair is probably just a factor of owners not having a lot to spend. In the case of our kids street, above, it was the 50% of houses which were still in Council ownership which were well-maintained; with new roofs, windows and external insulated re-cladding, whereas some of the bought-out ones looked positively shabby.

But as they sell on, they tend to be improved as house prices rise and the cost of maintenance seems less relative to the cost of the asset.

And having been brought up, first in a series of dodgy B&Bs, HPUs and hostels, then a council flat in Brixton, I'm the last one to be snobby about Council properties... as obviously are you.

My view is go for it

Red-Squirrel_2

rosie383 wrote: »

We were going to buy one last summer, great size, most houses now privately owned etc., but there tend to be restrictive clauses which can be problematic. For us it was no possibility of extending the property, unable to put a dropped kerb for parking and a couple of other things. Can be changed but we jumped through every hoop possible and ended up having to walk away. All may not be like this, but it is something to bear in mind.

That is something to be aware of, you're right! The house is advertised as freehold so no lease to worry about but I suppose there could be covenants still. I wouldn't have thought I'd need to make any major adjustments to it anyway, but I suppose you never know what the future holds.

Thanks for the tip!

Cash-Cows

rosie383 wrote: »

We were going to buy one last summer, great size, most houses now privately owned etc., but there tend to be restrictive clauses which can be problematic. For us it was no possibility of extending the property, unable to put a dropped kerb for parking and a couple of other things. Can be changed but we jumped through every hoop possible and ended up having to walk away. All may not be like this, but it is something to bear in mind.

Why did you walk away, did the Council say they were going to enforce the covenant. Seems very unlikely if they have no interest in the land anymore.

Red-Squirrel_2

AlexMac wrote: »

But as they sell on, they tend to be improved as house prices rise and the cost of maintenance seems less relative to the cost of the asset.

And having been brought up, first in a series of dodgy B&Bs, HPUs and hostels, then a council flat in Brixton, I'm the last one to be snobby about Council properties... as obviously are you.

My view is go for it

Thanks, no I'd be daft to be a snob about council properties, my parents grew up in them as did loads of working class people round here. However I must be honest and admit I wouldn't want to live on an estate that was still mostly council owned, based on the experiences of friends and family members in more recent years. The experience of living on an estate seems to have changed for the worse as fewer and fewer are still available, unfortunately.

Glad to hear your good experiences! I wouldn't be buying with an eye to making a profit, I want somewhere to live for the foreseeable future, but obviously nobody wants to get stuck in case things change and a sale is needed.

elvenlomadia

We're just waiting to exchange on an ex-council property. A couple of roads away there are estates that are still majority council houses, but all the houses on our road are now privately owned and it's a lovely area.

As FTBs, we were originally looking at 2-bed houses as we thought that was all we could afford, then we stumbled upon this 3 bed house with an asking price similar to, if not less than some of the 2-beds!

They do also seem to benefit from good size rooms and we have ended up with an enormous garden, bigger than a lot of the much pricier houses I've seen! Though a lot of work and modernization is going to be required.

I think one of the reasons ex-council are cheaper is that there is still some stigma attached and people can be snobby! I am very happy we have found a family size home as FTBs, and hopefully will have added some value if we do decide to sell in the future!

tom9980

Large Plot size and generally well built in my experience. We chose wisely the age of most residents meant a lot had used RTB, most of the worst families had been shipped to another part of town. The reputation of the estate was wrong and 5 years living there told me my assessment was right. That is not to say there are bad apples around however.

They built a hundred more houses next to the estate recently and want 200k for rabbit hutches with tiny gardens when you can pay 130k for a better plot and build quality 100 yards away. The larger posh houses are 400k+ It makes little sense to me given kids sharing the same school, doctors and living space.

firebird082

We bought last year as FTBs an ex-council house in a situation very similar to what I think you are describing. Having now been there for 6 months, I suspect that some of our (not direct) neighbours are ex-council tenants who exercised RTB, but we have no problems with the area or neighbours.

Mind you, we didn't find it any cheaper than non-ex-council, as it's now a very desirable country village with decent transport links and a good school! Much better than a new build though, which cost £150k for less house and less garden

On the covenants front, ours did (does) have quite a few, including one about "structures in the garden". However, we contacted the council about this, and they seem to be pretty reasonable, so we're not too worried. However, definitely worth checking all those kinds of things with your solicitors.