Viewing an ex local authority flat

NameUnavailable

ahfat41 said:

Flat a block of five at the end of a terrace
Service charge £1200. Not sure whether building insurance is included
 Seems expensive for only the halls and lights



.

It's not just 'halls and lights' though. A good chunk pays for 'management' - someone has to pay the salaries of the staff in the offices. Then there's minor regular stuff like cleaning, changing communal lightbulbs, entryphones/fire alarms, grass cutting etc. etc.

user1977

NameUnavailable said:

ahfat41 said:

Flat a block of five at the end of a terrace
Service charge £1200. Not sure whether building insurance is included
 Seems expensive for only the halls and lights



.

It's not just 'halls and lights' though. A good chunk pays for 'management' - someone has to pay the salaries of the staff in the offices. Then there's minor regular stuff like cleaning, changing communal lightbulbs, entryphones/fire alarms, grass cutting etc. etc.

And the communal parts are going to include things like the roof, which are costly to repair when they need to be. 

TripleH

I used to rent an ex LA flat in London. Only issue from another resident was that someone kept a dog in the building and the poor thing occasionally had accidents in the lift on the way out, other than that occasional whiff of pot but nothing else.

The issue we had was squatters* in empty commercial premises deciding to make everyone's lives hell but that can be a problem anywhere.

* not all squatters are rude and inconsiderate, some actually make nice neighbours.

Newnoel

Watch out for non-standard construction. One of my investment properties has walls which are concrete panels – called a Large Panel System with precast floors and storey height concrete panels dropped into place and then structurally tied together. 

It has made finding a mortgage a little trickier, but not impossible, as many lenders will not offer a mortgage on LPS.

Against that, I get a very generous yield on this property and have had wonderful long term tenants.

badger09

maisie_cat said:

My husband bought an ex LA flat just before we met, it was all he could afford.
Within a year he was forced to pay £5k for 4 windows when the existing ones were perfectly fine and the very quiet tenant upstairs was replaced by the neighbour from hell. Luckily we were able to sell it after a few years, but it was not a nice experience.

And that happens only in ex LA flats because????

diggingdude

Often there is no sinking fund so you can be hit for £1000s, check nothing is planned and if it is its factored into the price you pay 

AFF8879

ahfat41 said:

Flat a block of five at the end of a terrace
Service charge £1200. Not sure whether building insurance is included
 Seems expensive for only the halls and lights

End of terrace? I’ve never come across local authority flats in house-to-flat conversions before