Please help with your honest opinions. AIBU to prefer...

[btfly2]

renting and keep paying an expensive rent every month in an extremely nice area rather than to put a deposit and buy straight away in a non so smart neighborhood? We 've been offered a couple of ex council houses, very spacious and newly renovated, well presented and modernized. Anyway Im not very convinced about the idea but I must admit we need to get on to the property ladder asap...
I know location is sooo important in this country but lately to be able to own your place is also something to be very proud of I think.
What would you do? thanks for reading xxx

Ps. pls note English is my second language, so sorry for any mistakes x B

Get out of renting ASAP you can always move its the area is reallly dreadful

Definitely buy. I suspect you will find that the neighbourhood in question starts to come up in the world if this sort of development is taking place.

I would be very wary buying ex council, that was one of the biggest mistakes I have made!

Why is that biba? we bought our council house ( not very mumsnet I know) and the entire road is pretty much the same. No one seems to notice they are ex local authority and the prices they sell for are mad.

Admittedly we live in place which is one of the most economically booming places in the country, but I'd be interested to hear what your experience was so bad.

Also want to know why buying ex council is a mistake?

Our last house was ex LA. As a general rule in our County they seem to have massive bedrooms and gardens, much more so than others.

buy buy buy and ex council houses are good because they have to be kept to a good standard of repair unlike privately owned

hell you can always rent it out in a few years time and buy one in a better area

It's one thing buying the only ex council house on a street from buying on a street where many of the ex council houses are privately owned. The rooms tend to be bigger and they are well-maintained and will have been periodically updated too.

What is it that makes you feel you need to get on the housing ladder?

Think about that objectively, and you might find that you do need to be on the ladder, but you might also find that owning is overrated and you are just feeling a societal pressure to own when it's not really in your best interests.

The not so nice area where you've been offered houses might be up and coming and could turn into a much nicer area in a few years time, in which case, you could be getting a bargain. It's always a bit of a gamble though, you can never really know what's going to happen in the future and whether you'd have been better off in rented or by buying.

Is the not-so-nice area urban or rural? If urban, take it -- things can change very very quickly.
I live in an inner city area. When i came there about 12 years ago, it was considered rough. But there had been massive redevelopments and changes in demographics, and now this area is craved by yuppies. The same happenning in other formerly rough parts of the city.

As long as the neighbourhood wasn't horrendous I'd buy. We only got on the property ladder at the age of 32, and the reasons were to be mortgage free in retirement, instead of paying rent forever and to have a home that was ours for the children to grow up in, and not have to worry about the hassle of moving and uprooting them and changing schools etc.

Very helpful responses, thanks everyone.

I clearly see the answers come from people knowing the UK property market which is like gambling I know!

Thanks again and Happy Easter xx