Would you buy an ex council house ?

[LovelyYellowLabrador]

They seem good value for money and often big gardens

Yes
You can buy any house that suits you. Unless you have some snobbery level why would it bother you if it is an ex council or HA house if it is the right house for you?
Solid houses and decent gardens compared to new housing

Bizarre post

Buy whatever house you want

Depends, we have some nice areas and some council areas I wouldn’t want to walk around in at night time. I’m sure there was a council estate in Nottingham that had armed police.

So I wouldn’t be put off if it was an ex council house, more the location, neighbour, schools etc

I have had an offer accepted on a ex council house, it is in a good area, it is on a road of similar properties they are now all privately owned .
My mum is completely against it, she is such a snob! We are going to end up falling out about it, tiring of her snide comments already.

Absolutely not!

No I wouldnt because I didnt agree with selling them in the first place.

No. Wouldn't even consider it.

No I wouldn't. There are some quite nice houses on the ex council estate near me but they don't sell well. They take ages to sell. I wouldn't want to buy a house that no one else would want.

Would completely depend. The village I live in has some 1950s semi-detached council houses which are now sought after. In the catchment for Outstanding schools, large gardens, close to the park, stroll to the village centre. Large rooms compared to the Victorian housing stock, large gardens compared to the 1960s and 1970s private houses built close by. Space to the side to extend. One has been extended, rendered and with new replacement windows, plus attic extension too, and is worth close to a million now (it sold for that not long ago).

The exact same houses closer in to town, in an existing estate, aren't sought after and people sell them for literally a third of the price, when they come up.

As with everything it really boils down to location and gentrification.

Yes I would and was going too. However not going to lie I'd check if the house either side was also now privately owned. We had a septucalar bellend living in our village who had armed police and helicopter out putting the local schools into forced lockdown. Dont want to risk someone like moving in next door. They was awful. Made neighbourhood life hell until they was evicted. I know a private owner could be like that too but problem.tennants do seem to be shifted around more than owners. Anyway call me a snob but it's a consideration even if quite unlikely

Never again. Bought one in Sunbury on Thames in the mid 90s. The house was fine, the road was a bit shabby, but the neighbours were shocking.

Couldn't use our own garden because of the fighting going on on one side and the rave music blasting out of the other.

One side tried to break in when we were at work but our German Shepherd, who was rarely there alone, frightened the crap out them. Another nice neighbour saw them fleeing.

We lasted two years. We managed to sell it back to the council and ran out of that place.

A year later one of my neighbours from that street saw me in a shopping centre and loudly berated me for causing a non-white family to get the house. (They were council tenants themselves).

Horrendous experience al round.

I already did. There are 10 1950s semi detached council houses on our street the rest are a mix of 1930s two and three bed houses. The council houses are cheaper but larger. Ours is around 130sq m which is larger than most 3 bed semis here and our back garden is 12m wide and 25m long.

Like others have said, it makes moving difficult. I'd like to move to a detached house but finding something the same size with the same amount of outside space would triple our mortgage.

Ps: I was raised on a council estate in Ireland so I assumed I would have a similar experience.

I did not.

Why?

I bought one for my first home, it was massive, well insulated & well built. Most ex council homes are already fitted with cavity wall & loft insulation, in mine we only had the heating on for 2 hours a day even in the depths of winter because it was so warm.

Overdon - exactly the same here! Mum being sniffy but I'm looking forward to the bigger rooms, lovely kitchen, bigger garden, central location and (much) smaller mortgage of our future 1920's end of terrace ex-council house.

In a heartbeat. Ours is ex council between two council tenants. Solidly built. Big rooms. Significantly cheaper than the much smaller new builds going up down the road. Good soundproofing. Rarely hear anything from either side next door.

everyone looks after everyone else in our estate. It’s got a real sense of community here.

We live in an ex Council house, bought for just over £425k in 2020, now worth over £500k. Most of our cul de sac is owner-occupied and people have done large extensions with 2/3 council tenants. Houses the next street over sell for £800/900k as they’re bigger, have nice cladding and rendering etc. I’m looking forward to our us and our neighbours modernising the exteriors!

Things I dislike: The exterior, the bright red brick is just awful. Low ceilings compared to a period property. You need to create character. Likely to have asbestos.

Things I like: Massive gardens, good size rooms, you sit inside your house so even if you don’t think the exterior, how often do you see it and there are ways to modernise.

No I wouldnt

I bought one. A development of four houses and a small block of flats. It was well built, but had a tiny garden. I made a huge profit when I sold it.

A friend bought one and it had everything wrong with it, except it did have a large garden. Walls were paper thin and you could hear every word from the adjoining house. It had to be totally replastered including ceilings. Pipes leaked, electricity dangerous, boiler lasted two weeks. Neighbours front garden was a rubbish dump. Tyres, Christmas trees and dogs barking all day.

I prefer a new build.

No I wouldn’t just because of the high turnover of neighbours- it only takes one to make life hell. I lived on a council estate and my grandma still does. If you are young and have kids you get to know people and it’s a nice community but once the kids grow up and the neighbours change it can be a bit intimidating dependent on the area. I wish my grandma would move at night teenagers steal wheelie bins and set them on fire, people try her door handles and she has empty cans thrown into her garden.

Yes. Some of the old ones in my area are lovely with great kerb appeal. My council is very proactive about building new Houses, and they are lovely. Holding they will start coming on to the market in a feee years.

Yes, I am looking to buy my first home within the next year and will consider an ex council or older house as within my area on my budget I could get a 3 bed, large garden and driveway ex council in an ok area, or a shoebox tiny two-bed for the same price in a nicer area. I think many area's are becoming quite blended now anyway.

I have and the house, the neighbours and the neighbourhood is brilliant. Love it here.

I have a 1930s stone ex council house. Big front and back garden with a drive for three cars. All the rooms are big. They’re great value if you buy one in the right area. There are only two houses on the same road which are still council owned, so nearly all of them have been given a bit of a makeover since being bought.
I mostly chose this house because I was getting more for my money. It’s in a village and the school is very close by.

A dd did, but we looked at a lot and discounted several because of e.g. very loud music/loud shouting coming from nearby houses, rubbish like old mattresses dumped in front gardens, etc.

The road where she eventually bought was quiet, no rubbish, well tended front gardens, etc. Still the same some years later. The house is considerably more spacious than a lot of more expensive new builds.
Might add that the former owners bought it from the council in 1971, so well before Thatcher’s right to buy. They paid almost exactly 1% of the price dd paid.