To buy my housing association home now and not wait for right to buy

[Fulani1989]

I have lived in a housing association home for 6 years. Refurbished houses sell for roughly 130,000. Average semi detached houses in the area sell for over £200,000 as it's not a bad area but my house is on a medium sized (100 houses) council estate which brings down the value.

There's absolutely no way I want to live in this area any longer than I have to. It's okay for now as it's 12 miles from my job.

I have the right to acquire. I requested to know how much the housing association would be willing to sell me the house for. They said it was worth £90,000 and with discount of £9,000 that's £81,000. The reality is that my house is a worth around 110,000-130,000 but HA's tend to under value.

My house is a Council house it was just transferred to a HA 9 years ago. The right to buy is supposed to be extended to HA properties but I've been waiting over a year now and there doesn't seem to be ANY development. I'm starting to believe it's never going to happen.

With the RTB instead I would get a 36% discount and would only pay £57,600! Well, well worth waiting for. I'd be willing to wait a few years to get the discount as the discount gets bigger with each year I'm a tenant.

BUT I don't know if it will ever even happen and I don't want to live in this area indefinitely.

My parents and friends said wait for the Right to buy. But I'm sick of waiting.

Buying my housing association home is my only chance of buying a house. It's the only mortgage any lender is willing to give me because of a less than stellar credit rating from a few years of unemployment.

AIBU to just buy my house now? And just forget the chance of a much better discount?

I was give my house when I was on income support. I've worked very very hard as a single mum to better myself.

Everyone works hard, you being a single mother doesn't mean you are mote entitled to own a home.

The law is you don't have to move out once you become financially secure. People have a secure tenancy for life if they want to stay.

I only mentioned income support to explain how I got the house.

I know people who got a Council house when they earned a combined income of over 50k. They worked part time for the application and upped to full time once they got the house.

At least I got mine honestly.

It's not in a nice area anyway. There's no shortage of social housing around here.

Its beyond belief that RTB is still going - its the cause of much of the current housing crisis in England. It was ended in Scotland recently after about 2 year lead in - no council or housing association tenant can now buy their property. I hope it happens in England too.

Could you have afforded that 125 a month when you were on your uppers? That's what social housing is supposed to be for.

But you are perpetuating it. So because of your bad credit history, you are going to remove another HA property from the pool?

I can see where you are coming from. I personally would buy now. If you can afford it and it is the only way to buy then you are doing nothing wrong.

People are up in arms about right to buy but they don't seem to go mad about people being left massive inheritance, people being paid silly amounts to kick a ball round, people very lucky that bought when prices were sensible etc. In addition that is assuming things are fair in the first place which they aren't. Some people are given crappy circumstances through no fault of their own.

Another thing is when people complain that somebody who has 'bettered' themselves is being rewarded eg by using right to buy then they suddenly get stroppy. Would they really prefer people just stay claiming benefits etc? Doesn't make sense does it.

If you stay for the right to buy then it may never happen. This government is very tenuous. If Labour get in they will probably scrap it and all right to buy. So you have risks either way. But if you buy now you can definitely a tell have the house despite having to pay more. Think I would go for that. Good luck.

I have a 16 month old ds and until 3 months ago was on income support after losing my partner and my job, I then had to move because my landlord was selling his house. I couldn't get a HA house because there was not enough supply because people like you stay in them when they don't need them so please stop being so entitled.
FYI I also worked very hard and got back on my feet, you are not a superhero for doing so and you don't deserve this more than anyone else.

This whole post has made me so annoyed. The system is ridiculous when you have people desperately in need of a house and then the OP who could afford to rent in the private sector, sitting in a council house, paying below market rents and then buying it at a discount that runs into tens of thousands. Leaving the council with one less house which means they have to use expensive emergency accomadation which puts up council tax.
In answer to your question I think you should build up a good credit rating, save hard for a deposit, and buy a house in the private sector like the vast majority of people do.

these threads are great for mobilising people. what a shit idea rtb is. hopefully labour will abolish it, I didnt know Scotland had already.
might be worth factoring in, op. personally I dont think I would buy even though it is obviously the best personal decision. but if you are, maybe just do it before its banned?

Surely on £33,000 pa with income increasing year on year, and a low rent, you're in a good position to improve you credit score, and therefore your chances of securing a mortgage?

In your position, since you're chomping at the bit to move, I would buy now, rather than wait for a larger discount that may never come...

Or for England to follow Scotland's lead and do away with RTB altogether.

If you don't agree with RTB I don't know why you would even comment on this thread.

It's a thread about which two options are the best. Not whether or not I should buy at all.

There absolutely no chance of me not buying this house. Absolutely no way. I am going to buy it. It's just whether I get a £9,000 or £36,000 a discount.

I agree it might be better to buy it for the smaller discount.

I will wait another 6 months and see what happens then.

Op I would buy the house no as I doubt right to be will be brought in. The additional one year pilot has not even started and there is so no start date.
Can I ask how is the mortgage different than if you were buying a house on the open market? Isn't a morgatage a mortgage?

There is just so much wrong with this whole situation

I'm aghast that this is allowed to happen

I have lived in my council house for 15 years. I have the Right to buy and qualify for a large discount.

My situation has improved since I got the house and I can now afford to buy but there is no way I will buy my council house. It may be legal but it's immoral. My dp are moving out in August to a private house we are in the process of buying and we will be freeing up this council house for those families who need it

Why on earth is somebody on 33k in a council house? No wonder we don't have houses for those who really need them.

*now not no

Nice one maggie

Do people realise the bank give the HA the £81 k for them to use to invest in new properties.

Why aren't people angry about the housing situation in general rather than race to the bottom?

OP should be able to buy a house just as everyone else should. The fact that many people cannot despite working hard should be what we are focusing our anger on. Yet again the fat cats and landlords get away with it while we turn on each other over a few thousand.

As in the poster above, genuinely. Not a sarky ref to Thatcher starting the rtb madness.

Clown HA properties are not for low income people, at least not out of London. Often working people are prioritised.