AIBU to not by my council home and move

[Thefishewife]

Firstly I am not really wanting a debate about weather or not buying council homes is wrong or right.

Just some advice about weather you think we did the right thing I have no family to speak of so no one to really ask

We live in a council home in London and would have got 100k off the asking price which still would of made the house £200 however as you can Imagine the house is a dump and would need at least £80k worth of work

For instance currently we rats have chewed through the electrics in the walls we haven't had any power in our kitchen for 3 months the council said were on the list

The walls are blown and the whole house would need to be replastred
And the down stairs is so tiny we the only furniture we can keep in here is a sofa so we would need a extension
The bathroom also has rising damp and the drain out side has not worked since before we moved in so it would need a lot of work.

The thought of buying this house for 200k then borrowing another 80k to do this house up made me Ill and the actually reality is more like we could of brought the house and not been able to afford to do it up

We have now finalised buying a three bed in Bedfordshire with a garage and a conservatory that has apart from decoration and a new boiler needs no work and is massive granted the garden is smaller

I really love London and had no issues here however we did worry if we stayed apart from "having a home in London" their are not many other benefits as we would have to do so much work on this house and our children would not be able to buy nor rent.
And I don't really want my children living at home in their 30s due to lack of choice

I am really panicking we are due to move into our new home in a week and I wondering if were doing the right thing

Should have read

Then bought the council house.

We moved back 15 years ago. It was the best move we ever made.

When you go through Right to Buy your council house, don't you have to live in it for a certain amount of time before you sell it? Like five years or something like that? That's a long time to sit around in a money pit. I think the OP made the right decision for everyone.

Raincorn I do understand but I must be honest this was not some sort or moral thing for us and to be honest it's a little depressing another family will be put in this shit hole it's actually made me quite depressed living here listing to the rats scratching away at night and living with no electric in the kitchen for serval months

It was more about possibly not being able to secure another 80k and then being stuck with a lemon with rats in the walls and also having our children home for life due to rent and house prices I read in the guardian yesterday a child that's born today would be looking at 800k for their first home if house prices in London continue

My friends mum currently has her daughter their child her husband , her son his girlfriend and their two children living in her 3 bed council home none have hope of renting they work but only earn a average wage and none have hope of buying in London I don't want that for my children.

Op, that is why I said I hoped the council did the repairs before the new tenants moved in.

I live in a council house and was lucky that all repairs were carried out before I moved in as the previous tenants had lived here since the house was built in the 60/70s.

I have family in a similar situation to your friend's mum and I think you are being really sensible to move out to a home you can enjoy living in.

It can be scary being responsible for anything that goes wrong and having to sort it out yourself but it is also wonderful to have the freedom to do it (as long as you don't come unstuck financially).

I hope you are all very happy in your new home.

I think you've made the right decision. I wouldn't have wanted to buy a house that was making me miserable and depressed either. Enjoy your new home.
We left zone 2 to live on the border of zone 6 and it was absolutely the best choice we ever made. Buying in London isn't essential, even if you work in London it's so easy to commute to from so many places.

poster Mandyandme

If you ever lived in a council home you can phone all you like they do nothing I was already told by the gas man they get told to patch up not fix.

So for instance they will put rat traps down but not sort the walls out so the rats can't enter

The walls are gone they would skim the walls but not re plaster so they will look pretty but you still couldn't hang a picture

The council are shit I have. 1 year old baby but have had no electric for serval moths we are having to trail a extension cord from the front room into the kitchen

And were we live cross rail is coming so that made the price even higher

I was told a bad investment is a bad investment even if it's cheap by a lady at play group

Thanks I really feel a bit better about things lady's

Hubby and son are up the new house now putting the shed up and ripping out the old carpet for when the fitters come

I think this house has beaten me down so much battling with all the issues I struggled to see good in anything

Moving is stressful, so it's no wonder you've a million things going through your head. Writing down does help.

Good luck with your new home.

Yes I grew up in council, and maybe the council just didnt like us hanging around making a nuisance of ourselves but remember many a time sitting in an office with dm, aunties, uncles, and cousins refusing to move until something was done. We all lived in one 3 bed council house.

I have several friends who live in council flats and houses in London. All have had a new kitchen, new bathroom, central heating done and loads of other work in the last few years, the council will pay for a basic kitchen and bathroom but all of the friends said they asked the builder, plumber if they could pay the difference and have put in a really nice kitchen or bathroom. One df had a leak in her kitchen that got into the chipboard of the cabinets. It took her 3 months of ringing 3, 4 , 5 or sometimes even 19 times per day in a couple of instances for the council to send workmen in to give her a new floor and a new kitchen. She just kept ringing to make sure that everyone in the office knew who she was and got completely sick of her. So I do know what the council are like.
It would seem to me that the op has not done that.

By my morals (which are not everyone's) you have done the right thing. Financially, you have also done the right thing.

Life is fine outside London. I promise.