Swapping a council flat

Perciival

Hi all,

Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question. I am living in a 2 bedroom housing association flat in the North East. I am hoping to stay here while I study towards my degree - I desperately want to go back down to London when I have finished.

Realistically, what are the chances of being able to swap this flat for a one bed down in London? Do people even do swaps as long a distance? It would be amazing, but really, it does sound very unrealistic.

I was just wondering if anyone had done a mutual exchange in a similar way?

Thank you :beer:

Teamocil

There are websites that help with this and your housing association might even recommend one. There's always a chance there's someone in London who's desperate to move back to the North East.

Bossypants

You may need to be patient and flexible with exact location, but it should definitely be doable. People have very different preferences and there might be someone with a one bed flat in London who would prefer your current location for some reason (usually family, background, job or school related).

Cakeguts

There will probably be someone prepared to swap with you. However there is one thing you might like to consider and that is that if you are thinking of getting a job after your degree you will have more money to spend if you stay where you are than if you move to London.

t0rt0ise

I did a house swap a few years ago. People swap from all over the country, all sorts of distances. Best site to use is https://www.homeswapper.co.uk .

davemorton

Am I the only one wondering how you managed to get a housing association flat when you moved up north to do a degree?

Cheeky_Monkey

No, you're not dave

Red-Squirrel_2

davemorton wrote: »

you moved up north to do a degree?

What makes you think that's what happened?

They could have ended up there for all sorts of reasons, got a council house THEN started a degree. Seems more likely!

dimbo61

With the massive demand for council/social accommodation in London you may struggle with finding someone willing to give up the big smoke to live in The North.

gomer

Perciival wrote: »

Hi all,

Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question. I am living in a 2 bedroom housing association flat in the North East. I am hoping to stay here while I study towards my degree - I desperately want to go back down to London when I have finished.

Realistically, what are the chances of being able to swap this flat for a one bed down in London? Do people even do swaps as long a distance? It would be amazing, but really, it does sound very unrealistic.

I was just wondering if anyone had done a mutual exchange in a similar way?

Thank you :beer:

I'm in London. I had an enquiry from someone in Hull last year asking if I'd like to swap. Wasn't for me but if you register on somewhere like homeswapper you might be lucky.

Balabalabala_and_Volare

davemorton wrote: »

Am I the only one wondering how you managed to get a housing association flat when you moved up north to do a degree?

It's rarely mentioned in the press, but there are parts of the country where you can get social housing in a matter of weeks, if not days. And they're not all in the north, either!