AIBU to be worried about social housing?

[thegreenlight]

Have found our dream home on a new estate - looks out over green to the front. Lovely lay out, super excited. However, we went to look at the one we wanted to reserve (80% finished) to find that half the garden backs onto a small row of 3 social rent houses. I feel awful to be worried abou this but I am! The other houses it backs onto are small private houses. I now don’t know what to do. I don’t want to make the wrong choice for our family. What if there’s trouble? It’s seriously making me reconsider. There isn’t much social housing on the estate (minimum amount I guess) does anyone have any experience?

You've posted about this before haven't you? What are you hoping to be different this time? You obviously do not want to buy this house so don't.

Avoid it. Nobody needs judgy dickheads for their neighbours, whether they own, rent privately or social housing. You’d be best off living in a cave miles from anyone else so your nasty attitude doesn’t affect anyone else.

I also thought this would be a thread about the declining social housing stocks, sad to see that idiots still think three social houses on an otherwise entirely privately owned estate is going to ruin the place

(Have never lived in social housing so no you’ve not touched a nerve and no I’ve no axe to grind)

I live in a social housing house, one of 4 and then about 20 privately owned. The police seem to be on our road all the time sorting out a house with bad DV, then there is another house with police frequently too. There are some loud parties and inconsiderate neighbours but ALL of the problems are from the privately owned. The 4 social housing 2 are disabled and 2 are young families.

I would steer clear if I were you. There's no way those poor people in the social housing homes should have to be placed in the unbearable position of living so close to a judgemental fool like you. I mean imagine if their kids went to the same school as yours! You'd be doing them a massive favour by staying away and finding somewhere to live in an exclusive gated community with high fee paying schools where your paths will never cross.

Hope that helps

but it's much likelier that an owner-occupier will take better care of her property, have a more settled family situation, job, reputation to maintain etc. It's just a fact of life

Really?

I have a settled family life,a job AND a (good) reputation to maintain.My home is in a nice,clean condition,no settee/washing machine etc out in my garden - just plants,flowers,trees and a pond.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

people I work with have the same opinion as op,

Social housing is good, necessary, and so they should build them, integration is also great.

I'm in a terraced street and live next door to the only social housing property in the street. They take drugs, their garden is a mess and they have had their windows put through a couple of times by people they have upset.

However. When DH died, and I went to stay with my mum, they started to look after our pet rabbit without us asking them to. They organised a collection for flowers from the neighbours, they came to the funeral, they even weeded my front garden. They always come out when I arrive home to ask how I am, and brought their baby round for me to cuddle when I came home to stay.

So while they live a very different life from me, they are decent people and very good neighbours.

how you pay for your house makes no difference to anyone else.

I’ve never posted about this before? Confused as only just found out. I understand why I’m being called all the names under the sun. I really do. I just wanted people to give me a reality check.

The estate I back onto is a private estate however more than half are rented out privately. Buying a property doesn’t guarantee good neighbours!!

council estates are generally also a mixed bag op

You know. I broke my leg.

I live in a council house in a supposedly bad area.

My neighbour called every day to make sure I was ok.

The girl from the shop called in to make sure I had their number and told me to just ring up and they’d bring anything I wanted down.

My neighbour round the corner cut my grass.

The teen (young secondary aged anyway) kid up the street walked my dog.

I wouldn’t move if you paid me.

Oh do fuck off dear. We're not all asbo toting crack taking scum. I hope they become your bff's then u can hang your head in shame for tarring us with that brush.

@GrumpyOldMare

"Maybe I'm doing it wrong?"

Maybe personal anecdotes don't prove anything either way?

I grew up in social housing. I own my house now (outright - it comes from having two degrees and great job) so you don’t need to worry about people like me coming too close. I would despise living opposite you OP.

Maybe personal anecdotes don't prove anything either way

I'm just trying to point out that we're not all the same that the media portrays us to be. Just as all homeowners aren't all law abiding perfect neighbours either.
There are decent and not so decent on both sides.

If these neighbours become problematic the HA/council can evict. If they were privately owned and a nuisance, you're stuck with them. Nuisance neighbours are always a risk wherever you move to. If your that bothered, reserve a house that doesn't back onto social housing.

I’d rather die than live on a new build estate, but diff’rent strokes.

The whole of London is a mix of million pound + properties and social housing. No-one seems to have a problem selling on that basis.

I think you should walk away and buy somewhere else. You are clearly going to be a bloody nuisance for any neighbours who don't own.

Perhaps a gated community would suit you better? I believe you have to provide two years of receipts from Waitrose in order to just view a property in one of those estates, so that should weed out any of those feckless poor people who can't afford to buy their own home.

I’ll be flamed but I don’t care
YANBU I wouldn’t want to either.
It’s the biggest purchase you ever make.

Previous experience put me off.
When I was buying I saw an AMAZING flat online.
It was huge (w/ walk in wardrobe etc) and beautifully decorated. 24 hour concierge/ swimming pool / spa / gym / communal landscaped ornamental garden with fountain - the whole shebang...

So I pull up....
there are about 15-20 feral kids screaming and yelling on the car park one is wielding a wood plank one has a trolley being swung v close to the cars - no adult in sight.
Inside there are two women, both shouting the odds at each other - the porter tries to intervene and get savaged in the process.

I left then and didn’t even view the flat.

It transpired the owner had bought his flat in this “luxury development” off plan and a large percentage ended up as social housing due to a combo of the government scheme and BTL landlords who rented to DSS.

For context he bought in ‘13 for 250k (the going rate for 2 beds was 230-275 at the time.

In summer 2015 London was massively overheated and prices for two beds had gone up to about 350-380k in the area.
He eventually sold a year later for 275k so a costly mistake for him.

It permanently put me off of off-plan.

Even on the largest most socially deprived housing estates that have a bad reputation, the majority of the people living there are at least as decent and hardworking as on any other estate.

Big estates often have one or two families that are responsible for the majority of the 'reputation'.

You can be unlucky and get bad neighbours anywhere,

Not because it's social housing but I'd try to avoid anywhere with a number of gardens backing onto yours.

It would be a deal breaker for me too. We looked at a new build and decided against it for the same reason.

YABU, and a complete snob.

HTH.

Some arseholes rent social housing.

Some arseholes rent privately.

Some arseholes can afford to buy.

Arseholes come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, career pathways, backgrounds, wealth levels, genders, blah blah blah.

The only thing all arseholes have in common is that they are all full of shit...as your offensive rhetoric proves rather nicely.