Buying ex council properties

Arsenal2019

Hi 

currently in the process of looking / buying a house and have come across a few houses which I THINK are ex-council houses

ive heard nothing but bad things in the past about them and to stay away from them.

but why? What’s so bad about them.

the garden space is much bigger and so are the rooms within the house. Additionally ,  I’ve had a look around the nearby area and it seems to be nice and quiet and is relatively in the country side. There is a rough estate around a two minute drive away but this cannot be seen from the property I am interested in.

ive never lived in one myself so I don’t know much about the subject. 

I want to be able to not have an issue when it comes to re-selling in the future.

can anyone please share their experiences with me and any pro’s / cons .

thank you 

user1977

Arsenal2019 said:

currently in the process of looking / buying a house and have come across a few houses which I THINK are ex-council houses

ive heard nothing but bad things in the past about them and to stay away from them.

but why? What’s so bad about them.

We don't know what "bad things" you've heard. You need to ask the people saying the bad things!

I suppose if it's an estate still largely occupied by social housing tenants, some people don't like having them as neighbours. Can't see it makes any odds if it's mostly now owner-occupied though.

Soot2006

My first house was ex-council and it is the most solid house I ever owned. It was 1940s build and significantly better build than my currently "lovely" bungalow in a posh neighbourhood lol.

Arsenal2019

.

We don't know what "bad things" you've heard. You need to ask the people saying the bad things!

I suppose if it's an estate still largely occupied by social housing tenants, some people don't like having them as neighbours. Can't see it makes any odds if it's mostly now owner-occupied though.

I guess I’ve just been brought up with everyone around saying bad things about council estates - but I’ve never questioned it. I know of course you can have really rough council estates (I’m a police officer and know this), but equally, you can also find rough areas that are not within council estates.

i don’t know if this particular house  I’m looking at is in fact a council house - don’t even know hot to check. I don’t even know if the majority of the area is privately owned or rented too- again, I don’t know how to check

Myci85

The bad press they get is probably a mixture of that some may be in 'rough' areas, and lots of them are non standard construction so very hard to get a mortgage on. However, the brick built ones like people have said are usually very solidly built and have bigger rooms than most new builds. We are in the process of buying a brick built ex council house, it is in a small cul de sac on the edge of a village I know well, mostly privately owned now and all the gardens are well maintained which says a lot to me. The only council ones left are a few flats/bungalows down one end that I think mostly house elderly people. 

Arsenal2019

Soot2006 said:

My first house was ex-council and it is the most solid house I ever owned. It was 1940s build and significantly better build than my currently "lovely" bungalow in a posh neighbourhood lol.

May I ask, how easy was it to sell on your ex council house when you moved? Did you find any issues and was it recently or a while back 

user1977

Arsenal2019 said:

.

We don't know what "bad things" you've heard. You need to ask the people saying the bad things!

I suppose if it's an estate still largely occupied by social housing tenants, some people don't like having them as neighbours. Can't see it makes any odds if it's mostly now owner-occupied though.

I guess I’ve just been brought up with everyone around saying bad things about council estates - but I’ve never questioned it. I know of course you can have really rough council estates (I’m a police officer and know this), but equally, you can also find rough areas that are not within council estates.

i don’t know if this particular house  I’m looking at is in fact a council house - don’t even know hot to check. I don’t even know if the majority of the area is privately owned or rented too- again, I don’t know how to check

You're a police officer but you don't know which areas are social housing?

I'd have thought it's local general knowledge which areas were built as council housing.

swingaloo

I bought an ex council house in 2001.  Loved it but then needed to move near family. Sold it easily and have since bought another which we now live in.

 In between these 2 houses we bought a new build. Never again! 

I love my ex council house, big garden, big rooms and decent soundproofing between us and next door.  Its right on the edge of a council estate and almost all the houses are now privately owned but you couldn't pay me to live on the  other side of the estate. 
Whenever a house comes up for sale within the estate around us it is gone within a couple of weeks. My sisters partners mum has recently died and hers was put up for sale. It was very unloved and needed renovating and is also on the rough end of the estate but it sold very quickly. The couple that bought it said they had been trying to get  one for some time but had lost 2 nearby others to higher offers.  

Im also confused as to why you cant tell if it is a an ex council house as they are usually quite uniform with the surrounding houses in terms of the brickwork or masonry finishes.

Calidad

They’re usually aesthetically quite unattractive, but as you point out they tend to be solidly built, have good sized gardens and well proportioned rooms. I’d be mindful if there’s a high tenant rather than owner occupancy rate though, as there can sometimes be issues with anti-social behaviour or unkempt properties/gardens. 

Grizebeck

Soot2006 said:

My first house was ex-council and it is the most solid house I ever owned. It was 1940s build and significantly better build than my currently "lovely" bungalow in a posh neighbourhood lol.

My second house was
Massive corner garden plot
Good well built house. Very solid.
Some people are just snobs..

Arsenal2019

Myci85 said:

The bad press they get is probably a mixture of that some may be in 'rough' areas, and lots of them are non standard construction so very hard to get a mortgage on. However, the brick built ones like people have said are usually very solidly built and have bigger rooms than most new builds. We are in the process of buying a brick built ex council house, it is in a small cul de sac on the edge of a village I know well, mostly privately owned now and all the gardens are well maintained which says a lot to me. The only council ones left are a few flats/bungalows down one end that I think mostly house elderly people. 

Thank you for your response. I’ve had a look in the nearby area at the house I’m interested in and it looks okay!& the gardens look well kept - except from mine but that can be easily fixed,
souks you mind if I private messaged you with the link to address I’m looking at and see what you think about it being ex council house. However, don’t feel like you have to!