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.

I must admit, I don't really understand the necessity of carpets.

Are the floors somehow sharp and unsafe? Are either of your DCs crawling babies? So why not just clean whatever's there (concrete?) and throw down some cheap / free rugs or carpet or lino off-cuts, cut to near enough the right shape, for now?

Carpets are nice in some rooms. They're also expensive. I see them as both a style choice and a luxury (nice ones anyway). I've never had them in all rooms. I appreciate a preference for sanded floorboards is not the same as tolerating rough concrete but many of us have spent years 'making do' before being able to afford such a major purchase as carpeting one or more rooms.

I’m gobsmacked that people think like this. When DH and I bought this house the wallpaper in the hall was literally hanging off. When we pulled it down, huge chunks of plaster came with it. DH polyfillered it to within an inch of its life and we papered over it with hideous blown vinyl that is still there to this day. We’ve lived her 17 years! When the mortgage is paid off next year, we’ll be finally getting it done properly.

At the risk of sounding like the four yorkshire men. Carpets! we dreamed of carpets. Took us three years to get every room done, and until then it was bare floorboards with DHs trusty polyfiller in the gaps to keep out the draught.

I can recommend the Ikea £3 blinds. We have them in the conservatory. They’re brilliant.

@Niknick I don't think you are rude.
I think you sounded panicky in your first post about the challange ahead, which is understandable.

make lists:

1. things you need to clarify with the council (garden fence, plastering, decoration grants)
2. things you absolutely must have before moving in (and shop around, look second hand)
3. things you want or want an upgrade (blinds instead of curtains, fitted carpet instead of rugs...)

rope in your older dc, and afternoon of gardening for a new set of bedding?

Thanks for the suggestions @Nacreous. I will definitely ask the council about the fencing. Not sure how that will go but it’s worth a try. Good tip about the rollers as I would never have thought of that. I guess maybe i have just envisaged it perfect in my head but this will be the closest to our own home that we’ve ever had as we’ve been in private rented for years. If I want it perfect it’s more for my dc than me or my dh. But I’ll just have to be more realistic and tackle it one step at a time. I actually love painting and decorating. I asked my landlord two years ago if we could do the house. He agreed and so I got to it and did most of it on my own as dh was working a lot. I rather enjoyed it and like having a little prject

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 previous tenant had even fewer resources than you do
• there’s been a child with additional needs who has trashed the place repeatedly
• there’s been domestic abuse in the home
• the previous tenant was elderly and unable to care for the home and garden
• the house has lain empty for a long period of time due to repairs/Covid/whatever
• the council have removed all fixtures and fitting
• the previous tenants had significant health problems or disabilities and couldn’t manage the house
• the tenant had difficulties with mental health or substance misuse

It’s really not difficult to imagine why someone’s home wouldn’t be their first priority it or why someone would struggle. You've got an opportunity to make a good home for you and your kids. Enjoy.

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

In a house subsidised by others!

I've been in mine for two years now and only just painted the living room. Done it all bit by bit. Carpets were financed sadly but just didn't have the means to buy up front. Blinds were Aldi blackout ones but will replace eventually with something nicer. Fridge freezer off gumtree. Very kindly gifted a washer/dryer. It's slowly coming together, I would love to do it all in one go but it is a forever home so there's no rush

Gradullay I'm afraid. When me and my OH bought our first flat 4 years ago everything went into a deposit. We got a bed and sofa off free cycle. The oven didnt work (which we didnt know when we bought the place) so we saved for one for 6 months. Admittedly we had a hob and our parents gave us a microwave. We got a cheap lidl slow cooker.

Congratulations on securing a council house! I’ve just finished adding curtains to a house and got everything from eBay or gumtree. I was able to afford much better quality than I would have 1st hand. For example, a pair of lovely John Lewis linen curtains for £20. I’ll have to pay for them to be altered but it still works out a lot cheaper. Carpets are a tougher though admittedly.

@Niknick

Also are you receiving dla ( disability living allowance for your son ) and any tax credits that would increase as a result of this

Council houses are unfurnished, to the extent that if we leave our house, we have to remove our bamboo flooring downstairs and our carpets upstairs. I have known people to hide carpets in the downstairs cupboard and ask a neighbour to let the new tenants know it's there, to help out.

Fencing is for the tenant to sort, because it's only a necessity to mark the boundary. Fencing is a luxury.

It's really hard. But I think you need to make a list of "immediate", "short term" and "long term" needs. It sounds like the fencing is 'immediate'.

As for the garden, get a strimmer and strim down the weeds/grass, so that it's usable. It can be made pretty later.

If the plaster is new and it's bad, contact the council repair team and tell them. They may sort it. When we moved in here, we started stripping wall paper and loads of plaster fell off the walls. The first person I spoke to said 'internal decoration is the tenant's responsibility'. I said "There is nothing to decorate, because it's fallen off the wall..." Eventually, I spoke to the head of housing and they paused the rent on the property while a two man team knocked back all the loose plaster and re-plastered. They also lifted the skirting boards that had been left in place before self-leveling compound had been laid, so that we had actual skirting boards.

Your expectations of how a house has to be before you can move into it are higher than a lot of people's expectations. This is why pps have described your attitude as entitled.

I think that grants and loans for the basics (eg a second hand cooker) should be available for those who need them and it's worth exploring this.

Because of your level of expectations I would pass this house up and wait for one in better condition or wait to have saved more to buy carpets etc.

Blinds2go for made to measure blinds. You can fit them yourself. Less than £30 a window but got dd's roller blind for £10. Also check sales, picked up curtains in next for dc £12. Dunelm is also cheap. We've lived without curtains/blinds in the past.

Carpets, try carpets4less, go for the cheapest which will definitely not be 1500 for a 3-bed, I'm assuming just upstairs.

Plastering if you can't afford it seems ridiculous. We always plaster when we move and do it as we go along but if we couldn't afford it it's definitely a luxury and not a necessity. You can paint over uneven plaster with a paintbrush!

You can do the garden yourselves over a period of time. I would speak to the council regarding the fencing as that seems unsafe and may be their responsibility.

Look on marketplace, gumtree and eBay for used and nearly new kitchen white goods.

We've done it by doing the majority of work ourselves quite slowly at times, and buying as we could afford things when we first started out.

The accusations you’re getting of being rude, OP, are because this thread is chocked full of posters telling you they moved their own families and children into houses with bare concrete floors and dodgy plaster and whatever, and you sort of dismissed them all by saying “There’s absolutely no way” you could do that - which makes it sound very judgemental towards all those others who’ve been in the same scenario and were trying to help. It’s just a written-word tone thing, I expect, you probably didn’t mean to come across as rude but it was, a bit.

Yes we do get DLA care not mobility though. I now use this solely on my ds though to pay for therapy as my local authority are shocking and won’t provide this other than than one/two sessions a year for 30 minutes. My ds has sensory/balance/speech difficulties and is struggling so much at school that we had no choice but to step up and get him the help he needs.

I’m not entirely sure how it works in other areas @JanMeyer but I can assure you it most definitely helps to get a social worker involved where I live. One of my close friends has 3 children. Her middle dc is autistic/Spd/anxiety etc. She got a disability social worker to support her and she ended up being moved a 4 bed council property with a wet room for her dc, adapted garden, and eventually her dining room was built on which she got a grant for and her dc now has a sensory room. My cousin who has one dc who has cerebral palsy also got a council property a few years back. She was on the list for years and was moved up almost immediately once her social worker got involved and they were given a nice two bed house which was adapted and a downstairs bathroom put in.

Is this what you meant by people can "lay it on thick" with the council then? Do you think the people you've mentioned are undeserving of their properties? Or that they exaggerated to get them?

I can only apologise if I came across as rude I really didn’t mean to. I don’t judge people for doing their absolute best no matter what that is. I just meant that the thought of having no carpets down fills me with dread. But that’s my own issue and anxieties not me judging other people’

You’ve seen the house whilst it was having work done, it will look awful at that stage. Don’t panic!
Loads of people take ages to sort their house out, and most people who buy have had to put up with things looking grim when they first move in (For a few months at least!). Your family will have a secure long-term home at an affordable rent, and that’s way more important than every bit being “done” before you move in.

Priorities need to be the garden (for your youngest) the youngest ones bedroom (as the older one can understand he’ll need to wait till you can afford it), and the living room (as it’s a room you all use).

The fence - council likely to fix. If not a diy job will do. The rest of the garden, just do it yourselves. A couple hours a day at a time will get it sorted. If you can, borrow a strimmer (failing that, hire one for a day) and cut the whole lot (other than shrubs and trees, obviously!) down to start with. That’ll get it useable, and you can get the rest done over the winter. Most people can’t afford to pay someone for gardening work.

Walls - will pollyfilla, sandpaper and white paint be enough to make it OK for a while?

Flooring - personally I’d do your youngest sons room and the living room first. Bedrooms in cheap carpet. Get underlay at same time, and even rubbish carpet will last several years. Both rooms are likely to be relatively cheap (nowhere near £1500).

If you can afford it, find a big second hand rug for older ones room to tide him over, also a hallway runner. But only if something very affordable (free?) as is temporary.

If the kitchen is bare concrete, then you can lay vinyl yourself (can be cut with scissors). I would guess a £10/metre budget (including glue etc) is pretty generous for that. It doesn’t need to go under cupboards, just take off the kick-boards, run it to the legs of the cupboard then put the kick-boards back again.

The cost your quoting for blinds seems v high.

Hope you enjoy you’re new home!

Have you checked what the bedroom floors are made of? If they are wooden boards, they’ll look lovely sanded and varnished, and you’ll only need a rug.

I guess I’m just struggling to understand why people let their houses get so bad

It's often because they don't have the money to do the things you would like to be done rather than a genuine choice.

eBay curtains - found some yesterday for 99p brand new in packaging
eBay rugs until savings allow laminate
Second hand furniture from Facebook, eBay, charity shops
Free cycle

No not at all @JanMeyer. When I say lay it on thick i just means saying it how it is and fighting for what your child needs which is exactly what my cousin and my friend did. Both of them have been through hell and back with housing and with trying to cope with their dc with very little support. They didn’t lie to get a house they just didn’t make our things were rosey. I didn’t go down the social worker route because of my own anxiety at the thought of it. Me and my dh have morning to hide in terms of our ds’s care, needs, how we parent him etc but the thought of having a social worker, and may be not a defend one who might judge or do bigger all to help us anyway, just wasn’t something we wanted to do. But I’m all for other people getting help and taking any support that’s on offer as it’s not easy.

Bought my house a year ago and still waiting to be able to afford basic things in some of the rooms like window coverings, light shades etc. My hall way and dining room still don't have flooring down because the fitting costs are too high and I can't do it myself.

When I have the money I do little bits, while saving at the same time so if anything bad happens I have some emergency money.

It’s really expensive to move into a new house.

When I first bought my house I lived without carpets and blinds for a while. Oven, hob and fridge were the priority.

It’s expensive, everywhere you look there is something essential to buy. And I have just formed out for surveys, stamp duty, removal costs, etc etc.

Even paint gets expensive when you have to paint the whole place.

You need a prioritised list, and just work your way through when each item becomes affordabable. I can take years - I have friends who have been in their home for ten years who still have t reached the bottom of the list😊.

But it is exciting, and you will get there eventually. Good luck in your new home

Wow @ivykaty44 99p? That’s brilliant. I definitely need to start looking.