to be really annoyed that my kitchen's costing thousands while a friends having hers done free - AND she's moaning about it.

[Jamum]

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

My friends has a HA house, and this years has had new double glazing and guttering - all paid for. And is now just had a lovely new kitchen fitted.

She chose the units and tiles. Has had a team of fitters, and is now waiting for the inspection team to check all the finishing touches.

AND then she's going to buy the house - but only once all the work has been completed for free.

Sorry but this makes my blood boil. We have had to save up for years to afford a new kitchen and certainly won't end up with a nice a one as she has got that my taxes have paid for.

(yes I know - it's jealousy and sour grapes)

Anyway - rant over.

(misdee only swap if you get stairs)

Am firmly with Cod on this.....

yes i want stairs!

pleeeeease can i have stairs?

Havent read whole thread ,but you will both have nice new kitchens one way or another so I wouldnt give it another thought.

Reading this did make me laugh, although didnt get to read all messages.
So the HA and council people want a home of their own, the home owners want a HA or council place, and everyone else thinks everyone else is in a better position. LOL

I have my own house, brought my first place with DH at 18 years old. I would love a HA or council place, because my morgate payments are too high. Yes we both work, yes would love the goverment to help me out more.
Why cant we just be happy that someone is doing ok for themselves and think ourselfs lucky that we have a home with a kitchin with a sink atleast and a flushing loo!!

Lisa

Good point lisa

our council don't pay for carpets, never heard of brand new kitchens being fitted either.

Still have the old central heating system in place which is always breaking down, won't replace it until they have worked roumd all the council stock which could take years. Funding apparantly.

What I do find disgusting is that our council will completely gut a council property when a tenant moves out regardless of the improvements that that tenant has made.l

One person I know spent thousands in improving her council house, (all her own money)she bought a new kitchen, bathroom, had brand new carpets, replaced the fencing. She moved out and yep the council came out and ripped the house to shreds and replaced it with thier own shitty stuff. They did it to my house.

I would never spend my own money in improving my own counci house (if I had money). Why would i when the council rip it out anyway. Let them do for me

So shame on you Wrexham council. They moan about thier recycling levels being so poor when they are the worst offenders in the first place.

Really pisses me off

Lisa,
You may not be aware, but a fair percentage of HA tenants are 'market rent'. They are paying jsut that for their flat. The main benefit is assured tenancy.

Jacobsdad - all I can say is don't buy into the whole 'we can't afford another child' argument. If it's really what you want, you will make it work.
When I got pregnant with DS1, my DH and I had nothing. We had given up careers in London, spent all our savings on travelling, came back and fell pregnant immediately. We lived with his mum. We got jobs. He retrained, he's now self-employed and we have 2 children.
We rent privately, and may never own our own house.
My point is, you bemoan the fact that people on a lower income than yourself can 'afford' more kids. It's just that people have different priorities. Have you looked at how it can be done? If your mortgage is leaving you with no spare cash it must be huge - can you downsize? Can one of you work part-time with increased taxcredits?
Not trying to be a lifecoach here or meaning to patronise, because of course I don't know your circumstances. But it always makes me wonder when a couple with 2 (presumably FT?) jobs say they can't afford a child.

oh and I pay one of the highest rents in the county, I'm paying more rent than I waswhen I had mortgage with ex.

The council say there is a four year backlog to replace the dangerous fence along my property (which they ripped out in the first place, it used to be a decent fence but because it was one that they hadn't approved off it came down)

I've offered to do it myself and send them the bill but no

Good point, hipp!

When I had DD1, we had jack shit. DH was making min wage and they cocked up his tax credits - he's disabled - and left us, literally, to live on very nearly nothing.

We lived in a damp-ridden, bug-infested, one-bed council flat in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Edinburgh. I had pregnancy-induced hypertension and had to give up my temp job, but I was not eligible for benefits at the time.

One of the academics came in the other day. She's pregnant for the first time and moaning that their £500k Georgian cottage's revamp won't be finished in time for the baby's arrival. She's taking 18 months off after the baby's born.

I just smiled.

i don't like right to buy either. our council still practice it unfortunately

Our council has had to put a moratorium on it here.

Which they will undoubtedly extend.

It's also not an option at all for all new tenants.

I am genuinely shocked that there are people out there who think that ALL tenants in HA properties and council properties are living off benefits and playing the system.

I live in a street of 20 flats, they were built by church housing back in the 1920's various companies owned them over the years and in the 1980's a HA bought them.

Now, out of the 20 flats, 10 are privately owned having been bought from the HA over the past years. Of the other 10 that are occupied by tenants 7 of them are occupied by tenants who work, 1 tenant is retired, 1 is disabled and the last one is a carer for her disabled child.

I have lived in a HA flat all my life. it was my mums flat which she rented from the company who then sold to the HA so became a HA tenant by default. When my mum died the tenancy passed to me. I have always worked as does my dh and we have never claimed housing benefit we've always paid full rent as did my mum when she was a tenant, that's not to say though that if we fell on hard times we wouldn't apply for it until we were back on our feet. Even with us both working we can't get a mortgage big enough to buy a house elsewhere, so here we are.

Yes the HA gave us a new kitchen, 25 years ago they also put in double glazing, new bathrooms and central heating, because they have to keep the houses up to standard. Every 5 years we get our front doors painted and the fences and the windows, which is paid for out of the rent that we pay. The owners also have to pay a factoring charge to the Housing Association.

We keep our flat nice, we're responsible for the internal decorating and for cutting the grass in the garden. I'm proud of my little flat and it upsets me to think that there are people out there who maybe look at me and think I'm not as good as them just because I don't own my own home.

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And shopping trolleys....

no sofas in my street, all HA houses!

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No sofa's or trolleys in my street either.

not judging are you

I once went to view a room in a house in Bristol, [near st pauls] and the house next door had burnt down. I didnt even get out the car.

actually all the HA places are well kept where I am, its all the private rented houses that are rented out to students that have the rubbish piled high, with carpets and furniture thrown out the front.