To wonder how people actually afford to move into council properties

[Niknick]

So, me and my dh have been offered a house with our local council after years of being on the waiting list. We have two son’s youngest of whom is autistic and we have been offered 3 bed meaning we’d all have our own bedroom at last. I haven’t had an official viewing of the house yet ie with the hosing officer but workmen are currently doing some repairs and they allowed me and my dh in the other day to have a quick look round whilst they were sat in the garden on a break.

Anyway i went equipped with my tape measure to measure up for carpeta, blinds and just to get a general idea of how things will fit. I’ve since gone to a cheap carpet place and been quoted £1500. Blinds will cost around £450-£500. Then there are things like decoration, removal costs, buying a new oven as our current one our landlord owns etc. The property isn’t in great condition and having viewed another of the council’s houses years back me and my dh are under no illusion that the council will do anymore than the bare minimum.

So far it needs plaster work doing as the workmen have done a rubbish job. It needs scrubbing beyond recognition, the garden is like a jungle so that will be more cost as we’ll need to pay someone to do it as me and my dh are busy with work and the kids. Plus parts of the fences are smashed and need replacing as it’s not safe with my son. I know it’s the tenants responsibility to do a lot of these jobs but usually, people moving into these properties aren’t well off so AIBU to wonder how do people manage to do all this? We have virtually zero savings due to paying high private rent, so long term moving to this house would be financially a good idea, but short term I’m panicking about where the hell we find the kind of money we are going to need to make this house at least comfortable for us all to live in. Moving to my current house paying a months rent up front plus deposit and referencing check fees is cheaper than what we’ll have to spend to move to the new house so I’m quietly panicking.

OP, you aren’t engaging with anyone trying to help you

Agreed.

@Ughmaybenot

This... so rude 🥱

No it's just a factual statement, @honeygirlz is spot on. OP is just complaining and has ignored people that are giving her helpful advice. Personally I think she's just a CF.

@Niknick

But you can't just "lay it on thick" as you previously wrote. You're implying people can lie or exaggerate their children's needs to get priority on the housing list. In order to get priority because of a disability you need actual proof and evidence to back up your claims. Whereas you seem to think people can just "lay it on thick" and magically get priority.

I do get where your coming from as I'm very inpatient myself and before we bought our house I wanted everything done straight away although none of it was essential and it was in very good condition. I've lowered my expectations a lot and it has been done bits here and there. Definitely look on Facebook market place for items you need and blinds can be bought cheap from B&M as suggested. But carpet I agree with you and would have that done straight away.

It doesn't have to be newspapers or fancy blinds. When I needed to get blackout curtains into DS's room at short notice I used "cup hooks" and fabric that cost £1/m on the market. Then I put up curtain rails and curtains over the next few months (some homemade, some from IKEA)

@Niknick

Honestly i don’t want the best of the best. I can’t afford that and nor am I interested in this, I just want comfortable. I’m happy to paint the whole house plain white and just add little bits of colour with affordable cushions and niknaks. All I’m saying is I can’t not have carpets or window coverings and that I’m surprised at how people can leave their properties in such a state. I know money is a major factor for most people but like most of you have said things can be done bit by bit so if this is the case why are so many council properties left in a terrible state?

The council generally rip up carpets/remove fixtures etc after tenants leave. Garden may be because an elderly housebound person lived there before with no support.

Ahh, just seen your most recent post. Sounds a little bit of jealousy going on with your friends getting more help than you feel you’re getting. Just be happy you have a ‘home’ OP, and not living with your family in a bedsit, which is currently the reality for a lot of families waiting for council homes.

I'm not entitled, I just want everything done to my standard now .

That price for carpets and blinds is ridiculous, you need to do what plenty of other people do, even those who have bought their homes before anyone says they have money to throw around.

Argos do good quality blinds, basic colours are all under £10 and they often have patterned versions in the sale for the same sort of price; they come with the fittings so unless you have absolutely loads of windows, the price will be nowhere near that. If you need something different in your son's room (my cousin couldn't be left with blinds as he would have been a danger), then invest more in those- although plenty of reasonably priced curtains etc about.

They should fix the fence, but you'll have to do the garden, either get stuck in or ask on FB groups etc for any local gardeners, and for a quote. I wouldn't look to get it done to be picture perfect, but to be usable at first, and then as time goes on and when you can afford to make it as you want it.

Not unusual at all for any home to not have an oven, unless you rent privately a furnished property. Plenty of people selling on FB etc until you can afford a new one, or an affordable payment plan if you want a new one and can't afford outright, it should last ages once you've bought it.

Most shops do carpet offcuts, or will have sales on their 'out of season' styles, not uncommon to ask if anyone can fit it for a small fee, like anything it's going to cost more if you have a service through the carpet sellers as its the 'complete package'.

How did it get so bad? Surely likely the previous tenant was old, unwell and deteriorated over many years before dying or moving to sheltered accommodation. Gardening would not have been their priority.

@Nicknick
why are so many council properties left in a terrible state

I think this has been answered in previous posts including the council stripping a house back, ripping out carpets, light fittings, fireplaces, shelves, any improvements the previous tenant made.

But they have to because the first tenant who damages themselves on non council fixtures or fittings would be claiming for damages.

I’ve already said thank you to the people who have made suggestions about looking on Facebook/EBay/second hand shops etc and I will definitely be looking into it. When it comes to possessions me and my dh are very low key anyway. Our ds when through a phase when he was youngest of breaking thighs and trashing the house which cost us a fortune. Thankfully he doesn’t do this anymore but we couldn’t always afford to replace stuff and so we don’t have a lot of the stuff we used to. I don’t do fancy furnishings electronics etc that doesn’t interest me. So I’m willing to look around and see what’s our there.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel I was agreeing with the post I quoted... OP is being rude.

There is no way I could move my kids into a house with bare floors
Then Don’t live in a council property.

I was lucky enough to be born into a family who owned their own home and then lucky to be in a position that my Dh and I could buy our own home. I was shocked to learn that council properties don’t come with an oven or carpets and only found this out when I visited a friend in a council property who had bare floors. Her dc aren’t scarred by it (and her Ds has autism), they just get on with it, it’s the way it is.

Dh used to be in the military and he joined up in the late 80s. At that time military policy was to fit a carpet in to married quarters and then if you were an airman (not an officer) they used to take a knife a foot in around the edge and cut some of the carpet away, leaving you with a large rug, rather than a fitted carpet. What was that all about!

But, back to your situation. Your home is now a long term project, do what you can as you move in and then you have to prioritise the jobs in order of importance. When we moved to our house, dc bedrooms were first, then the kitchen. We’ve been here over 7 years and only just done our own bedroom. It looked a right mess, but we got round to it when we could afford. Our Christmas And birthday presents become light fittings, money to put towards the plasterer, tins of paint, a new radiator etc (Or money to put towards these things). But our house is now starting to look how I want it too and I am proud that we have done it.

Don’t put carpet down until you’ve plastered and painted anyway, you’ll potentially damage it if you spill. Carpet is the last job to finish off a room.

How am I being rude? I’ve not been an ru or with anyone. Even if you don’t agree with me I’m just saying how I feel. How is that being rude?

It is really stressful trying to work out how to conjure money from nowhere.

I also agree it's overwhelming. I cried for weeks after I moved into my house: everything was dirty, the garden was chest high weeds and rubbish for over a hundred feet. The kitchen was wonky and creaking. The bathroom was filthy and had a barely working shower and an extractor fan that sounded like an aeroplane taking off.

Ultimately, the only way of dealing with any of this stuff is one room at a time.

Your priorities are clearly the garden, the oven and the flooring.

I would ask the council about sorting the fence, they might deal with that. Then do you have friends who might be prepared to come and help if you got a crate of beer and some frozen pizzas in? (To cook in your hopefully second hand oven!)

Flooring, lots of suggestions have been had here.

Then after that you've got curtains - bedroom curtains are probably the highest priority here, and then anything facing the street. Amazon will sell you a pair of plain curtains for about £15 a pair, so hopefully that would be quite affordable, depending how many windows you have?

Plastering, ultimately, will probably have to be a bottom of the list job as it's hard to do yourself and rather expensive. A longer pile roller helps with managing on uneven walls in the interim. My house still has uneven walls 4 years after moving in and my parents has needed plastering for 15 years. You see it to start with but after a few weeks you'll just filter it out and not notice.

A really good clean with some of your favourite music and hopefully some company will make it feel better once you're in. I have concluded a pot of decent quality primer/undercoat that will go over paint or direct onto plaster and covers stains is a really useful thing to have. It means I can cover stains on doors and skirting boards and so on and brighten the place up straight away. (assuming it comes with doors and skirting boards!

Have you had a proper benefit check? Even a little bit of benefit can open the door to other sources of help.

Where you getting your blinds from? Get some cheap ones to start as a put me on. Also you can get cheaper carpet than that. My sister carpeted her whole house for £600 and hers is 3 bed.

I know money is a major factor for most people but like most of you have said things can be done bit by bit so if this is the case why are so many council properties left in a terrible state?

Can you not imagine any circumstances where people might struggle to prioritise home maintenance?

Anyway, does it matter, OP? You’ll move in, fix it up, you’ll be happy and you’ll have a secure tenancy and a room each. You’ve got one teenage DC who can either graft in the garden with one of his parents whilst the other occupies younger DS, or he can watch younger DS if he’s capable of that, and you and your DP can sort the garden. It’s all doable. Make a list, lower your expectations, crack on.

Sounds like a great house in terms of size and how it would fit your family so look at the positives rather than the negatives. Channel a bit of Kirsty allsop!
Also it is a luxury to be able to have an overlap of tenancies albeit you have to pay double rent for the period. It allows you to move in slowly and get essentials done - worth the double rent imo.
People buying all have to move on same day no matter what the property condition.

What happens if you decline the offer. Can you just stay where you are?

Do you have a 'Nextdoor' site in your area. You can post on there requesting any items you need- it happens all the time on my local one. People are very generous. Our covers a large town and many surrounding villages. Also Freecycle, charity shops and Facebook. On our local Facebook site many items are free or nominal charge.

I know someone who has just built a holiday cottage on their land and furnished and equipped it using Freecycle and Facebook. It's doable!

Those saying council will do fencing, not necessarily, the fencing is to denote boundary, not make secure. They can ask but I wouldn't bank on that one.
We have lived in this house 18 years, walls are dreadful, still the original 1950s prefabbed interior walls. Lining paper and painted. We had to have a stairlift installed for DH so it wrecked the carpet so we took it up. So no carpet there.
We are currently waiting to downsize when a suitable property becomes available so this will be 'done up' by the council..ie magnolia walls, all flooring removed. If we need to fence garden of the next property we will take the panels we have put in here(we have a dog), so the garden here won't be secure for next tenant. The next property we move into will most likely be a shell, magnolia and bare. Here the council with repaint walls but if you do a mutual CH exchange then you take on the house as seen.

All I’m saying is I can’t not have carpets or window coverings and that I’m surprised at how people can leave their properties in such a state. I know money is a major factor for most people but like most of you have said things can be done bit by bit so if this is the case why are so many council properties left in a terrible state?

You don't want to be judged but you're happy to judge the previous tenants whom you know nothing about. Did it ever occur to you that other people have problems too? And the council rip out any flooring or carpet that's left by the previous tenants, even if it's fine. So it's not necessarily the tenant's doing.
Also, you're talking about one property, so what's with this "so many council properties are left in a state?"
Anyone might think you were you here to stir things up in regards to council houses.
For what it's worth I've lived in three council properties, all perfectly fine and clean when we moved in.

I'm surprised people can leave their houses in such a state

TBF, The council rip out all flooring and carpet before handing to new tenants, also all fittings, wall paper or additions previous tenants put in to make it nice. Which is daft.

It's shit but lots of people have been where you are. I lost a stone with the stress of moving house with 2 small children .Good luck with your move

Ao.com do great finance deals for white goods and have excellent service. Just an FYI.

@Niknick
Have you tried family fund for help towards the fence .they provide grants usually up to £500 and do help with making gardens secure . You would need to have a quote .
I can understand having your son with autism does make these jobs more pressing . I don’t no his specific needs or course but I don’t think others on here understand some children with autism will eat plaster and lick the floors , escape very quickly and then if next door have a pond this could be extremely dangerous , or same going for easy access to main road