Been offered a council house advice needed

wherediditallgo

debby1c wrote: »

You are very fortunate. After private renting for two years since my divorce from RAF prat. I was offered a top floor flat. It had no windows in the living room other than velux type my view was the wall and the second bedroom was a shoebox, no room for a teenage daughter, the neighbours were immigrants, another gripe (politics) and underneath the flats are bought privately* - and I had just moved into a private rented flat with a lease of 12 months at £560 per month. I only earn £954 per month after tax and survive on benefits. I knew I wouldn't be happy there and had to turn it down. Couldn't afford to move again and buy wardrobes and cooker and downsize again.

*Note if you had bought a luxury apartment for £139k and upstairs you had council tenants how would you feel. I felt uncomfortable.

Well, bigger fool you & them then. Personally, I'd feel I'd got a bargain, as you can't get even a one-bedroomed flat in my area for under £200k.

I take people as I find them. I've lived alongside owner-occupiers and council tenants all my life, & I've found good & bad in both groups. As a council tenant myself, some of my nicest neighbours were council tenants & one was the nightmare from hell. At another address, one owner-occupier thought he owned every blade of grass in the communal garden & let everyone know it, but the other owner-occupiers were really nice people to live with. That's life - the place with perfect neighbours is extremely hard to find, & if you don't like being judged, you shouldn't be so quick to judge other people yourself. I've always found that if you treat people the way you would like to be treated, you're halfway to getting along with them. If you think you'll be judged by the other residents because you'd be a council tenant & turned down a home because of that & the neighbours being immigrants, you'll find it harder to be happy. If you're the one doing the judging, maybe you don't deserve to be. Everyone needs a home - some can afford to buy, some can't. I like living in a neighbourhood with a variety of cultures in it, & I don't know whether some of my neighbours are council tenants or not. I couldn't care less either way - they don't cause me any problems, & that's the best any of us can hope for.

And your neighbours were immigrants. So what? This country has had a sizeable proportion of immigrants for hundreds of years, thanks to taking over foreign lands & subsequently inviting people from those then British colonies to live here. Again, there's good & bad in all nationalities. You say you knew you couldn't be happy there. Perhaps you find it difficult to be happy period.

I totally understand turning down somewhere because it's not the right size, doesn't have easily-accessible schools etc. But if you're going to reject somewhere because of an apparent difference in status & race from other residents, you'll be a long time looking for your ideal home. The neighbour you get on with now won't be your neighbour for all time, & you could find yourself living next to/above/below/opposite someone from the same race as you with the same residential status as you, who makes your life an absolute misery.

arthur_dent_2

Councils have a tendency not to think when they are allocating accomodation. When I was a teenager and my brother younger still we were in the unfortunate position of having to be rehomed. We had 3 cats and had asked for a garden and for it not to be in the druggy area of town. We were offered and my mum and dad are still unlucky enough to live in, a top floor maisonette with no garden and not in the specific druggy area we mentioned but still in crime central. Councils, espescially now when there are even less housing stock, simply don't give a monkeys where they put you. If the OP is lucky enough to have been offered a decent location and a decent basic house, she is very fortunate. The cats by the way were rehomed with the cats protection leaugue. My own two cats were adopted from the same charity.

squinty

arthur_dent wrote: »

Councils, espescially now when there are even less housing stock, simply don't give a monkeys where they put you.

Always good to throw in a sweeping generalisation now and then !!

melt71

travelchick wrote: »

I have had fab ideas all day and am now thinking of this place as my perfect blank canvas. I will be taking the house whatever the council do to it, so its shabby dirty overgrown and needs sooooo much work BUT its in a perfect village in a nice area and with a hugh garden everything Ive always wanted and a fresh start.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with these two comments - you should be thinking 'blank canvas' not 'oh no, it's a craphole'! and also the fact that it's location is good is THE most vital thing. You cannot change the area/neighbours but you can change the kitchen and decorate it however you like.

The only thing I would worry about is the safety aspect of the garden because you just don't know who has lived there before, look out for anything sinister (not talking rose thorns here!) in the garden before you let your children lose to play in it.

Good luck and I'm glad you're feeling more positive about the move after the replies on this thread.

Mojisola

travelchick wrote: »

The power digger looks good but this garden is about 8ft high it looks like many years ago it was landscaped full of trees and bushes.

If it looks as if it was a good garden at one time, don't be in too much of a hurry to clear everything to ground level. Have a look at how expensive mature plants are to buy - you may have some really good shrubs and trees already there. If you clear a bit for the kids, as others have said, and keep an eye on the plants this Spring, you may find some lovely plants. Tie something round the ones you want to keep and then get the army lads in to clear the rest.

DKLS

You may be on the list for a refurb, it may take some time, but will happen, he small estate at the end of the road, have had new kitchens, bathrooms, and the tenant has been given choice of colours, tiles, cupboards etc.

As for the garden lucky you, freecycle should be able to suply you with most of your needs, car boots can be good for cheap tools and plants. Dont be daunted, you can tackle it bit by bit. Good luck with the new house

arthur_dent_2

squinty wrote: »

Always good to throw in a sweeping generalisation now and then !!

Not a sweeping generalisation, just an opinion based on all dealings I have had with the council over housing.

yellowmonkey

Hi

Council Tenant myself and have had a few neighbours in my time.We now have the best neighbours in a long time and they are immigrants.

ym

maytaurus

RE Tassotti
Quote
‘’Through my business, I deal with a lot of people like you.
You, your ex pays nothing in tax towards the state, but expect a good home. When you get one you moan...

UNBELIEVABLE.

Think you should be on the streets, if thats your attitude’’

''What's a mixed feeling?
When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your new car. ''


I just had to wonder what Tassotti’s business was ????
A quick flick through previous threads .........
And quickly found these to give me some insight .......
Hmmmmm ?.........

P'raps he's the one who should be on the streets,if that's his attitude

15-11-2006, 8:33 PM
Tassotti
Serious MoneySaving Fan
Join Date: Feb 2006

Hi Anon
Don't be discouraged by a few posters who have no real idea about how to make money.
May be better investments out there at the moment,but the saying always holds true 'safer in bricks and mortar'
I will probably get slated for this but I am a BTLetter who makes a decent profit (even in thses days)
Time to raise the rents

16-11-2006, 8:43 AM
Tassotti
I will admit though that I no longer purchase property unless it is significantly below market value (30%)
I am investing elsewhere at the moment and my returns are 156% per annum

17-11-2006, 12:51 PM
Tassotti
You can view a list/add tenants to a list of bad tenants at
http://www.latip.co.uk/
It is £50 to register.

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Tassotti this is for you



Nice mother -in-law (joke?) by the way

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travelchick this is for you;


Don't forget,...there are lots of websites about decorating and furnishing cheaply,you can choose all the things you like and keep notes and photos etc for your projects and ......
It may take a while,but every time you complete something,
I'm sure it will give you great pleasure
Just take your time and as long as the garden is safe for the children,
do the inside jobs first and the garden when the weather gets better ....my first priority would be making the bedroom comfy ....
You're going to need your sleep with all that work ahead ! :eek: :heartsmil

maytaurus

RE Pipkin
Quote
'' .....I have to reply to this! :mad:

My husband is in the armed forces, and we hopefully will be offered council housing soon.

I can assure you that all forces personel do pay tax, just the same as you do, as well as paying national insurance and a whopping great lot of council tax, every month, even when we do not reside in the country.'

HEAR HEAR !