rtb

Guy_Montag

I think you'll find the people most upset & yes, jealous, of you have little or now debt.

What we find offensive is we (mostly) privately rent. The rent we pay is higher than council rent; we get no security of tenure; we get no right to buy, let alone a discount for doing so.

At the same time we see people like you taking properties out of the system, making it less likely that we will get the relative luxury of council housing. You are lucky that you are able to do this, it doesn't make it fair & it doesn't make you popular - though really it's not your fault

flint_2

I must say tab99_uk, you are coming across as the one with the attutide problem:

all the decorating furniture i have spent and u want me to move and not get a discount why the hell are all you people jelous as u people dont even have a life and are in debt get alife.

Not everybody on here is in debt! I have a decent job and work very hard. But I cannot afford a mortgage in my area as the house prices are insane.Counsil houses were built so that people less well off had somewhere to live.You have lived in one for 5 years, paying much less rent than people who cannot get a council house and have to privately rent, and now you are able to buy the house at a greatly reduced price. Nobody is blaming you for this, but you must understand how frustrating it is for people like me who do not get any help whatsoever and are stuck renting.RTB takes away the whole point of council houses. If you can afford to buy then do you really need a council house in the first place??It's also like a slap in the face for doing well as I am considered to well off to get a council house but I cannot afford to buy.

epz_2

tab99_uk wrote: »

i dont know why u got attitude problem to if u got nothing constructive to post dont post and hassle the councill and goverment to change the law ok i dont make any laws i want to a future in my life with 2 small kids.

all the decorating furniture i have spent and u want me to move and not get a discount why the hell are all you people jelous as u people dont even have a life and are in debt get alife.

the attitude im referring to is you thinking that decorating a place gives you a right to 24k of tax payers money, let alone slagging off those in debt (of which im not)when they have likely been subsidising your rent through taxes.

frankly i dont give a monkeys if you take the discount or not, i would never get a council house so not my problem thought if you think what fun it would have been had the council not given you that place then realise some other poor sod is going to be in that situation now.


i personally think the council should just have a few short term houses for emergences and a set rate for anyone on a list in SERIOUS need and its up to them to find a house on that money, no red tape and probs for the tax payer. but then im really right wing and think most local govenment could be privateised.

Running_Horse

tab99_uk wrote: »

i dont know why u got attitude problem to if u got nothing constructive to post dont post and hassle the councill and goverment to change the law ok i dont make any laws i want to a future in my life with 2 small kids.

all the decorating furniture i have spent and u want me to move and not get a discount why the hell are all you people jelous as u people dont even have a life and are in debt get alife.

Why would buying furniture entitle any tenant to a discount? The only debt in my life is a stonking great mortgage because I had to pay the market rate for my house. I don't blame you for playing the system, but not all of us are lucky enough to be given a low rent followed by a discount on the market rate to buy.

And I will post my opinions whether you like it or not.

sparkster902

epz wrote: »

the big problem with rtb is the councils never built any houses to replace the once sold, now i agree in theory with the rtb as it transforms traditional council house gettos into mixed estates and hence provides a benifit to social cohesion.

that said i dont agree with the op's attitude either, they dont automaticly have a right to £24k of tax payer money after enjoying discounted rent for 5 years and can well see why people would get upset when it takes 20 years to get a house if you arnt a junkie or single mum.

I don't get that you believe in social cohesion / inclusion but are so prejudiced about the clientele that live in council houses. The first point is spot on and the joseph rowntree foundation have published research saying that mixed tenure estates work better , however council housing is not for 'junkies' or 'single mums' but predominantly for people who are unintentionally homeless or possibly disabled or have mental health problems or have substance use issues or child rearing issues or are elders and priorities are awarded based upon these jeapordies or combinations of jeapordies.(because belive it or not life is harder) I've read a couple of threads on RTB here and it seems that there is a bit of overall prejudice about income - I'm in council housing , have always paid my own rent and have bought under RTB . It is possible to have a 'stigma' and a supportive employer - it doesn't necessarily mean the condition or issue is easier to bear - given for example a disability. The £24K 'automatic right' of taxpayers money is a misnomer , in part as it is as much payed for by working council householders and in part as 'taxpayers money' is a duff rationale for anything the government operates. Like it or not , it is automatic as it is the law. You seem to be implying that socially affordable housing is a bad thing - but i do not see subsidised 'key worker housing' getting the same criticism.

epz_2

sparkster902 wrote: »

I don't get that you believe in social cohesion / inclusion but are so prejudiced about the clientele that live in council houses. The first point is spot on and the joseph rowntree foundation have published research saying that mixed tenure estates work better , however council housing is not for 'junkies' or 'single mums' but predominantly for people who are unintentionally homeless or possibly disabled or have mental health problems or have substance use issues or child rearing issues or are elders and priorities are awarded based upon these jeapordies or combinations of jeapordies.(because belive it or not life is harder) I've read a couple of threads on RTB here and it seems that there is a bit of overall prejudice about income - I'm in council housing , have always paid my own rent and have bought under RTB . It is possible to have a 'stigma' and a supportive employer - it doesn't necessarily mean the condition or issue is easier to bear - given for example a disability. The £24K 'automatic right' of taxpayers money is a misnomer , in part as it is as much payed for by working council householders and in part as 'taxpayers money' is a duff rationale for anything the government operates. Like it or not , it is automatic as it is the law. You seem to be implying that socially affordable housing is a bad thing - but i do not see subsidised 'key worker housing' getting the same criticism.

please dont think my social cohesion rational is informed by a we are the world, im my brothers keeper noncence but more expericance of the absolute ineptitude of the council in building and not maintaining some seriously scary gettos (1).

dispersing them would at least reduce the magnitude of the mobs wandering the streets with meat cleavers to policeable levels.

your argument about not being for junkies and single mums doesnt really stack up in my personal experiance or even you admit it in more PC terms a line or two down.

you can make as many arguments as you like about the types of council tenants, overall social housing has gone from a method of raising living standards to a crutch for the underclass nowadays.

think how long it would take for a normal working couple to get a place we are talking about decades and if its the case that productive people are being taxed to provide a service they will never be allowed to use then i dont really see why we should bother.

why not just provide free child care for all like school and limit to get the teenage slappers out to work or cut their benifits. free drugs for junkies as long as they take manditory contraceptives and do some minor work like cleaning the streets till they either get clean and get a job or od and die. that forces the two largest social problem groups into productive activites that should provide them with an income to pay normal rent or at least keep the off the streets freeing up social housing for emergency and genuinely needy users.

(1) i had ferguslie park almost on my doorstep growing up, highest murder rate in europe 7 years in a row and my sunny province holds the claim to fame of having europes 1st arrest for crack!!

reformedEffortMaker_2

I don't understand why people on here always have such a problem with the RTB as if council tenants who bought homes from LA's are the only ones to have benefited from property since the 1980's.

Does anyone complain when investment bankers use a smidgen of their bonus to buy whole floors in a block of flats and raise the average price?

Or when foreign investors/footballers outbid 1st time buyers and buy flats they have no intention of ever stepping foot inside, let alone live in!!

Or like in East London where people have bought property and left it empty for years, hoping to cash in on the Olympics?

Or Middle class girlies who come to London with no intention of working but get mummy and daddy to buy them a crash pad in Kensington just so they have somewhere to store their Louis Vutton handbags?

To the OP
I honestly dont think the RTB is what it used to be. -Selling on ex-local authority is always harder, -you will have to pay the discount back if you sell within 5 years, -the LA will usually have a 'second charge' over your property which means that have a surprisingly big say in any re-finanancing you may want to do i.e remortgaging, you will be forced to contribute a sizeable sum to all major works on the property, whether you are ready to do the work or not (and this could include subsidizing improvements to your neighbours properties), -and even if its only one junkie, you will still have that junkie as your neighbour and their behaviour will frustrate you even more when you are paying more to live there. Most LA's are terrible landlords/freeholders....I would try and find out when the next leaseholder/RTB meeting is, and attend it to find out more about how things are being run by your LA, as it varies considerably throughout the UK....

Ember999

I am sat in bed here in my privately owned (bought on a very large mortgage) home and having just read this thread was so angered by some of the unfair comments I wanted to give my opinion for what it's worth...I state that I am a homeowner, who is quite well off for a reason - I don't live in a council house, yet I am supporting the 'Right to Buy' scheme in the United Kingdom!

I see some of you unfairly criticising a person who wants to better themselves by buying their own home. AND why shouldn't they want to? Every man and woman in this country, if not the entire world (or most of them!) aspire to buy their own home to give them security, self worth and a feeling of achievement throughout their life. Some want to have something of value to leave their children on their death. If someone starts life in a council property due to not earning very much or bad circumstances they are stuck renting for the rest of their life! Should their situation change and they become more affluent why should they not receive a discount for all the rent they have paid to live in that council house? We are all stung monthly by tax, council tax and NIC paid to either the government or local councils....getting some of the rent back in the form of a discount should be the right of all council tenants...by the time a 25 yr tenancy has been completed they have paid probably more than the house cost the council to build and yet at the end of it all they own nothing and the council has made thousands upon thousands from them. For a tenant to be able to buy their own home, give them a FUTURE for themselves and their children in the form of RTB is one of Maggie's greatest achievements on bettering the lives of council tenants. It gives them pride in their achievements, it gives them something so precious that a mere tenancy doesn't and will never give. I believe they deserve a discount for all the rent they have paid. I believe they should be able to buy their homes and good luck to them! and if I rented privately and I couldn't get on housing list I would still say that. Good luck to them!

I also know several people who live in Housing Association houses and most HA don't allow RTB so they are stuck renting for the rest of their lives and HA rents aren't that cheap compared to privately rented properties. I think all HA tennants should be able to buy their home (and it is their home!) too.

So from me to you, good luck mate! you go buy your council house, get your name on those deeds and feel how good is feels to make something of your life, provide well for your wife and bairns and walk tall and proud and ignore the people who slate you for wanting to buy your home with a discount you have earned by being a rent paying tenant of your local council.

I wish you and your family all the happiness...:T :T :T


Ember xx

reformedEffortMaker_2

tab99_uk wrote: »

been living at house for 5 years how much discout can i expect from the councill leeds are 3 bedroom semi detached house.

Maximum of £24k

tab99_uk wrote: »

and it said on the letter i could get my own surveyor to do an inspection is it worth getting a diffrent surveyor to inspect proerty???

and how much do they charge for this service sorry new to this house buying so dont know alot ???

Yes, it is worth it, it will be more detailed and bank will not lend you money without it.

how much?...will vary on level of surveyor

A Valuation survey - This isn't really a survey at all, it is a check on the property to see if the mortgage lender is prepared to loan the amount you are asking for, and whether they could recoup their costs if you couldnt pay anymore. You can expect to pay about £300 for a valuation survey.


A Homebuyer's survey - All high street lenders will want this. This is a concise report on any significant problems that could affect the value of the property. It will often highlight potential problems but will rarely involve any further investigation. It usually takes a surveyor about 30 mins to complete the inspection. This will cost about £400-£800 depending on level of detail, eg if report is accompanied by photos, whether they do tests for damp, wood rot etc-(although almost all will send you a report with a disclaimer stating that they couldnt inspect in detail because of furniture/carpets etc).


A Building survey - especially recommended for all residential property if it is dilapidated, extensively altered or you are planning a major conversion or renovation. The report will be a lot more extensive and should include investigation and possible solutions for any issues raised.
Its likely that you will have to hire some privately to do this, It usually takes a surveyor at least half a day to complete and will cost about £900

All prices are based on london guesses, i havent got a clue about Leeds

Also, have you looked here for an answer to some of your questions?

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Housing/Right_to_buy/page.aspx

JasonLVC

tab99_uk wrote: »

thanks for reply m8 just had a look at nethouse prices 23/02/2007£115,000Ter.FNo

a house sold for this much about 40 doors away from me.

so i could expect mines to be about in the 90k needs a bit of work doing to it.

so yes i will need a mortgage so does that mean they will have to do another survey to.

The council valuation will be the one the council tends to go with - the surveyor will compare similar properties in the surrounding area to reach a final value based on that, the market and the state of the property.

If you get an independant survey the council may disagree with that and then it will have to go to arbitration and cost even more in legal fees, etc. Save your money.

Comparing on the net house pricves don't work either becuase council houses when sold to tenants are traditionally sold at a lower price than 'true' market value - simply becuase valuers will value a council house less than a private house on the basis a private house will be better looked after - when you look at what the houses sold for on the web that will either be the pre-discount price (ie, the true value of the property as that is what's recorded on the land registry documents) or the re-sale value of that property by the now (ex-council tenant) owners - but either way it'll be higher than the reality.

Finally, bank do not require a full survey all the time, the mortgage lender will send it's own valuer and if it is close to that of the council's valuer then they'll be happy to lend the money provided you are happy with the state of the property - so if you suspect subsidance may be an issue in a few years get the extra survey done - if not, save the cash.

Banks lend easily to RTB's generally becuase the value of the house is 35% higher than the actual loan so should mortgage default, the bank makes a very tidy profit at the expense of the ex-home owner.

Just one thing to mention to OP. You will lose housing benefit (if you claim it) and all future repairs/running costs will be your responsibility - I know that
sounds obvious but I've had many RTB's get into debt after being convinced to buy after seeing once of those ocean finance adverts on TV - owning a house is a BIG debt responsibility. If you lose the house through mortgage default the council has NO obligation to rehouse you at all unless you are on their priority list (wife + child suffering domestic violence, immigrant, etc) - so once you're on the property ladder you're stuck on it....and you must repay the discount if you sell within 5 years so if you do lose your job or whatever, you'll have less room to manouvre in terms of debt handling.

Not trying to scare you - just giving both the pros and cons for RTB.