Snobbery towards Shared Ownership/Social Housing

Newbie78

bobobski wrote: »

I live in a block with social tenants and will actively avoid doing so in future. All of the stereotypes are true. I live in a prime location in a "posh" town, yet this family - where the mother does not appear to have a job and is constantly having screaming matches with this week's boyfriend (swearing prolifically for all the neighbours to hear) and the kids are always running riot, walking on the roofs, breaking into the car park and damaging cars/stealing bikes/breaking the electric gate etc - gets to live here for next to nothing. It's not snobbery, it's a simple sense of the lack of fairness. My friends with good jobs, who would be good tenants, cannot afford to live here.

Maybe that's true but the example I explained was that our friends had the money and the house lined up to buy but they chose to pull out. My post wasn't about what's fair with social housing.


And OP, perhaps this part is snobbery: please learn the difference between the past tense of "bring" and "buy" - it would make your posts a little easier to read.

Ha, now that did make me laugh!

Jon_B_2

I pulled out of a new build purchase as we were going to slap bang opposite 8 social housing homes.

I'm sorry, but when spending well over a quarter of million pounds on an asset - I want to take the smallest of risk feasible.

As it happens the new build estate we have bought on, you can spot the social housing like a sore thumb. Sofas outside, toys littering the garden and the tenants smoking/drinking at the front door all hours.

People have stereotypes for a reason.

neilio

Agree with Jon B. And a good reason why private owners of flats in particular get so angry when there are social tenants in the same block. I understand the logic why new developments contain a mix of full sale, shared ownership and social housing, but it's the lower end of the scale that will let the neighbourhood down; rarely do you see good behaviours rubbing off on those who don't care.

kimbyanne

I would disagree with some of the comments but then again, I live in a Shared Ownership house on a new development.

The S/O on our development are all well presented, looked after and everyone who purchased a S/O property had to be assessed to even be given the opportunity to purchase a property. The S/O are all together and our area is very quiet!

HOWEVER, there are also HA properties on the other side of the development and SOME of these are definitely homes to the "stereotypical" HA tenant which is really unfortunate as then it makes a bad name for all, which really isn't the case.

Saying that, some of the most antisocial behaviour comes from the privately owned properties.

I don't think it matters if they are private, S/O or HA, you can get bad neighbours in any of them.

As I said, ours is a S/O house and the properties joining our garden are private. One of the houses really doesn't like the fact we are S/O and we even overheard them before they moved in discussing where they would re-locate their patio so the "social housing people" couldn't look at them....

Ironically, they cause more problems for their neighbours than we have ever done!

neilio

Yep, it's a shame. If anything, it's the shared ownership people who aren't taking for granted what they have, and appreciate it more.

martinsurrey

kimbyanne wrote: »

I would disagree with some of the comments but then again, I live in a Shared Ownership house on a new development.

The S/O on our development are all well presented, looked after and everyone who purchased a S/O property had to be assessed to even be given the opportunity to purchase a property. The S/O are all together and our area is very quiet!

HOWEVER, there are also HA properties on the other side of the development and SOME of these are definitely homes to the "stereotypical" HA tenant which is really unfortunate as then it makes a bad name for all, which really isn't the case.

Saying that, some of the most antisocial behaviour comes from the privately owned properties.

I don't think it matters if they are private, S/O or HA, you can get bad neighbours in any of them.

As I said, ours is a S/O house and the properties joining our garden are private. One of the houses really doesn't like the fact we are S/O and we even overheard them before they moved in discussing where they would re-locate their patio so the "social housing people" couldn't look at them....

Ironically, they cause more problems for their neighbours than we have ever done!

Just to help people understand.

Most development plans only have "AFFORDABLE HOUSING", and not "affordable rent" and "S/O" split.

So when reserving you don't know if the gray houses on the plan (which affordable usually are) are S/O or affordable rent.

Right or wrong, I agree with peoples reservations about buying near affordable, I've seen bad neighbors in private/shared ownership/affordable rent, but affordable rent is about 10-15% of properties, but about 75% of serious problems (not my personal properties, but the developments I've been involved with which number thousands of plots).

Newbie78

kimbyanne wrote: »

I would disagree with some of the comments but then again, I live in a Shared Ownership house on a new development.

The S/O on our development are all well presented, looked after and everyone who purchased a S/O property had to be assessed to even be given the opportunity to purchase a property. The S/O are all together and our area is very quiet!

HOWEVER, there are also HA properties on the other side of the development and SOME of these are definitely homes to the "stereotypical" HA tenant which is really unfortunate as then it makes a bad name for all, which really isn't the case.

Saying that, some of the most antisocial behaviour comes from the privately owned properties.

I don't think it matters if they are private, S/O or HA, you can get bad neighbours in any of them.

As I said, ours is a S/O house and the properties joining our garden are private. One of the houses really doesn't like the fact we are S/O and we even overheard them before they moved in discussing where they would re-locate their patio so the "social housing people" couldn't look at them....

Ironically, they cause more problems for their neighbours than we have ever done!

Haha we have found everyone to be lovely so far.


I guess it's more than snobbery in some cases, sounds like they should be lucky to have neighbours like you!

Newbie78

Ironically, they cause more problems for their neighbours than we have ever done![/QUOTE]

neilio wrote: »

Yep, it's a shame. If anything, it's the shared ownership people who aren't taking for granted what they have, and appreciate it more.

Couldn't agree more


I guess the reason for my initial post is, our "friends" know how good and respectful we are with people and our home and how much we wanted to get out of renting yet they look down on S/O and tar us all with the same brush


I grew up in a council house and my parents were none of the bad stereotypes listed

Jon_B_2

To be fair, when I am talking about affordable housing - I'm talking social rented not S/O. You can see which ones are S/O on the council planning portal. Don't take issue with these and they seem to be as well kept as private housing.

To clarify - I grew up on a council estate and I know what the majority of tenants are like!!!

gg234

We bought (6 years back) shared ownership flat where we have some flats reserved for social rent.I would never ever buy again this is just my experience