We found the house we r buying is ex-council just a week before exchange. What to do?

societys_child

MM64 wrote: »

If I thought I was buying a private house and found out at a later stage it was ex-council I would pull out as well.

For me it's a matter of principle, - I fail to see how it is fair that a tenant can buy at a massive discount and then sell on, pocket 10s of thousands and walk away.

So you're assuming that the current owner/ vendor bought from the council at a massive discount and is now making a fortune.

Just maybe the house has changed hands a few times since it was council owned and the current owner is not making tens or hundreds of thousands profit.

I live in ex council. It had 4 different owner occupiers before I bought it so I really don't know if anyone made a fortune out of it, I don't care, great house, great location, large gardens, loads of off street parking. Should I not have bought it, because someone may have made some money out of it many years ago?
It's not something that bothers me. Sorry if that offends you :rotfl:

marksoton

Trying to use the fact the house is ex council as leverage to lower the price isn't going to cut it. And nor should it.

Chances are you're getting a better built, more generously proportioned property for the money.

As for the assumption the area must be undesirable because of adjacent council properties,well that's just snobbery.

I fail to see why reducing the sale price compensates you for living in an area you're not happy with. If you don't like it walk away. If i were the vendor and you tried to reduce the sale price on this basis i'd have the property back on the market that same day.

mrginge

alchemist.1 wrote: »

Indeed. And make sure you don't ever pop into Starbucks, buy anything from Amazon, have a contract with Vodafone etc etc.

The original comment you quoted made the point that we should direct blame at the party that made the rules rather than the party who exploited them.

Your comment above suggests the opposite.

Therefore you have either failed to understand the original comment or you did understand it and believe that anyone who disagrees with RTB should point blame at the tenant/buyer.

Can you clarify what you actually mean?

thorsoak

In the early 50s and 60s, council housing was not just for the socially deprived. Decent housing for decent people was the ethos.

csgohan4

Re: alchemist.1


Capitalism and greed.


We are all guilty of greed in some form or another. Wanting to provide more for our dependants, wanting more of x,y,z.

cavework

MM64 wrote: »

I'm going to go against the tide here and say I agree with the OP.

If I thought I was buying a private house and found out at a later stage it was ex-council I would pull out as well.

For me it's a matter of principle, - I fail to see how it is fair that a tenant can buy at a massive discount and then sell on, pocket 10s of thousands and walk away.

I would have no problem whatsoever if the tenant purchased at "market rate" from the council or the discount was paid back when sold.

I know of someone who lived in a council house who was a single mum, paid no rent for over 10 years (no problem so far). She met a new partner who had a well paid job. (You know what's coming). They had the house valued, THEN got it done up at our expense and bought it at the ORIGINAL discounted price.

5 years down the line sold it for a massive profit. (Well over £150k) and emigrated to Australia.

It is for this reason alone that I personally would never entertain buying an ex council house.

But not all ex council houses are bought from tenants with the right to buy.
We bought ours in the 1990's , it had had 2 previous owners after the one that bought at a discount.
We live in a village with a school so sought after that many parents travel 3 miles from the nearby town just so their children can attend.
We have open views of countryside to the back of our large garden .. we have parking for 3 cars on the drive and a larger than normal brick built garage. Our home was extended by the first owner , so we have 3 double bedrooms.
We have the best neighbours and community any one could wish for
We placed it on the market a few years ago when OH was made redundant and had a sale within 4 days.. luckily we managed to keep it.
We moved here from a 4 bed new build in the local town.. boring ,mass produced, new estate with approx. 4 ft between each house.
I love living here

alchemist.1

mrginge wrote: »

The original comment you quoted made the point that we should direct blame at the party that made the rules rather than the party who exploited them.

Your comment above suggests the opposite.

Therefore you have either failed to understand the original comment or you did understand it and believe that anyone who disagrees with RTB should point blame at the tenant/buyer.

Can you clarify what you actually mean?

Its alright Ginge you dont need to worry yourself. i understood the original comment perfectly and agree with it.

The second comment was me going off on a tangent on whether it was really about principles or just bitterness.

MM64

The point I am trying to make is that I have no problem with council houses being sold off. It's the discount I have a massive problem with.

There's also anothe argument that's way too complex to go into to here about demographics and housing shortages from councils not rebuilding the discounted houses they sold off.

Surely it has to be a fairer and more logical solution to sell council stock at market rate and the council would then have the funds from the sale to replace the stock.

If this was the case I would have no problem in buying a council house.

csgohan4

The other thing is it isn't easy for regular joe to get a council house, when you do get it, you have to wait for a certain amount of time to maximise the discount for Right to buy.


During that time, the flat/house you live in may not have been in the best condition or have neighbours who are friendly.


Perhaps there is a higher crime rate or more undesirable characters around. But then that comes with living in a council estate. Do you really want to live in a council house, renting, just to get a large discount, in the meantime trying to get the council to repair x,y,z after your umpteen request.


It's not all easy living in a council house while renting. Perhaps the discount is all relative, who knows. I certainly do not miss living in a council house.

cavework

MM64 wrote: »

The point I am trying to make is that I have no problem with council houses being sold off. It's the discount I have a massive problem with.

There's also anothe argument that's way too complex to go into to here about demographics and housing shortages from councils not rebuilding the discounted houses they sold off.

Surely it has to be a fairer and more logical solution to sell council stock at market rate and the council would then have the funds from the sale to replace the stock.

If this was the case I would have no problem in buying a council house.

I admit have to agree with this..
a home was provided for someone who could not afford to buy..
Social housing
the home was then maintained by the landlord because the tenant paid rent..
Why would a discount be applied just because someone has been a tenant for x amount of years?