right to buy confusion

gingercordial

daffas6688 wrote: »

Think I have opened a can of worms here. I really don't want to be stuck in London area when I retire. Unfortunately it isn't always a point of being happy in the place you live as you can't actually choose your council property. My boyfriend has his own one bedroom place too that he has nearly finished buying. Our places are not very large and we hoped to marry and move well away to a property a bit bigger to accommodate both our stuff . Maybe a pipe dream but we all dream . I will contact a broker as have some extra cash to put forward to lower what I borrow.

You've explicitly said that you want to exercise RTB, hang on to it for the minimum five years, sell to access that lovely £93k profit and use it to go and buy yourself a place in the countryside with your boyfriend who is presumably doing the same thing.

You seem to see that £93k as a cash asset that you're entitled to and just need to "unlock" by jumping through the right hoops. It is not. Why should the taxpayer give you £93k cash?

I have some sympathy for those who want to use RTB because they mistakenly think it'll give them security in the house they've always lived in (they're wrong of course). I don't think your plan will get much sympathy here.

Norman_Castle

gingercordial wrote: »

I have some sympathy for those who want to use RTB because they mistakenly think it'll give them security in the house they've always lived in (they're wrong of course).

Regardless of how a property is purchased they will be as secure as any home owner.

Windofchange

I sometimes just feel I should quit my well paid and stressful job, go knock someone up and turn up at the council saying I need a house mate coz I have children now. Sit around for a bit, use my savings to purchase under right to buy and live happily ever after.

The extra kick in the balls for me is that I can't afford to buy these ex council 1 and 2 bed flats in London because I don't earn enough.

The UK. A nation of house flippers on the back of an ever increasing asset bubble. 93 grand in 5 years for sitting in a house, or just under 20k per annum - pretty much equivalent to what a junior doctor earns. It really is quite depressing.

bluesnake

daffas6688, you should have done this 25 years ago. Fair dues, you have been living there along time, probably easy to get to work, but like many of us older folk realise the cost of a city is too much, stairs are killers, and you most likely can't afford a bungalow where you live. You are not doing any different than others, but some people here or their parents did it sooner.

I would think at your age it would be hard for you to get a 5 year mortgage of any kind, especially the cheaper deals, and in this time of uncertainty, and possibility of falling house prices plus a rise in interest rates.:( This may not be that disastrous for a young couple who are able to afford the repayments and have 30 years to pay.

I would also ask you to think about trying to get a 15 year or longer mortgage, because you often can pay it off sooner, and as my 57 year old friend (retires at 67) on 50K pa found, she could not get a mortgage with anyone. She wanted a 270k house, had 200k deposit, but existing company were willing to transfer her current mortgage to the new premises with increased payments until the old termination date.

If the block is high rise, then I would ask you to think again especially if it is an older block as the service charge, lift maintenance, and scaffolding rental component etc, can come to multiple of tens of thousands, as per example below. Southwark are also notoriously similar for applying expensive charges as mine is nearly 18k + 3k normal charge.
http://www.buildingconstructiondesign.co.uk/news/oxford-city-council-slaps-50-leaseholders-with-50k-bills/

Secondly the repayment side and interest could be more than your salary, as I am sure you have worked out.

You had better be in excellent heath, both for a mortgage,and of you fall sick no one will bale you out, because you have assets which you can sell. In my 40's for 200k I had to get a health questionnaire filled in by my gp. Also on that for was a generic test, but the loan had to be for more than what i asked for this to come into practice..

You may be able to do a house swap with your London flat as more people currently want to come to London, than leave. Hopefully your flat is also in a town where people want to buy into too?

I have never known a period where without owning property which you live in, you could get an interest only deal, but in past have known some people who claim there dodgy mortgage broker got them a deal while they themselves live in a council house. No matter how dodgy your broker is, you are the one that will have to make the repayments, and for some people defaulting on their payment and becoming bankrupt could cost them their job too.

If you have a pot of money, it could be a very good investment.

teddysmum

Lioness_Twinkletoes wrote: »

Yes, you can. Mutual exchanges are an excellent way of exchanging your current home for one in another area. You can even upsize or downsize.

They are nowhere near as easy as they used to be.


My son has had to wait over two years to get a three bedroomed house (looks by d!cor that an old person has either died or gone into care), yet people are reported to be desperate to downsize to save paying 'bedroom tax' and this is in an area where many are on benefits.


The only offers of exchange were for houses in terrible condition or with big problems because of location.

gingercordial

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Regardless of how a property is purchased they will be as secure as any home owner.

Well, yes. Which is much less secure than being a council tenant!

da_rule

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

Your last point is an interesting one. Do the council, if wishing to buy it back from you, have to meet your asking price....or is there some 'rule'?

They don't need to meet your 'asking price', they have to pay the market price (Section 36A Housing Act 1985). You won't be able to sell it without offering it to the council first as, even if they don't want to buy it, they have to issue a certificate authorising the sale.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

teddysmum wrote: »

They are nowhere near as easy as they used to be.

It's never been easy but I will concur it's harder now.

daffas6688

Been on the list for 8 years , the council won't let you upsize only like for like . So the only people who would want to swap are high rise flats.

bluesnake

daffas6688 wrote: »

Been on the list for 8 years , the council won't let you upsize only like for like . So the only people who would want to swap are high rise flats.

you may be able two swap with a property in another town as there was such a scheme in existence.