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.

You sound really entitled.

You want everything done now yet you don’t have the money so you can’t.

OP, how much deposit will you get back for current place? You said it was high rent so that should help?

And as you paid 1 month in advance, does that mean you’ll be rent free for 1 month in new place?

Does your council offer discretionary loans due hardship? As your son has autism you may qualify as the I understand they are also for ensuring health and safety in the home.

Save up and do a job at a time like everyone else. In the evening/weekends when not working.
If you are moving into a council property from private rented use the rent money you will be saving.

I currently have picnic blankets on my carpet, toddler + trying to keep carpet clean as on the market + didn’t want to pay for temp rugs.

Obviously it gets pulled up for viewings but it doesn’t look that bad.

Your first priority should be to get the fence fixed. Do you have a support worker for the autistic child? They can help you decide how best to secure the garden for him. They may liaise with the council to get the work done.

Then start cleaning. Don't waste time wondering why ppl let their houses get in a state, it makes you come across very judgmental, and you don't know their circumstances.

After that, mostly everything else gets done as and when possible. White goods are available secondhand and reconditioned from charity shops. Furniture from local facebook groups and freecycle. I'm still using stacked melon boxes for toy storage.

You'll get there .. it just seems daunting now 🤗 Council houses (esp 3 beds) are like gold dust round here, hence the backlash you're getting.

Maybe forget about blinds for a while and get some cheap curtains from a charity shop (our local Barnados have loads in - especially children's ones) you can get poles for around a tenner.

I would prioritise your carpets, if you can get 0% finance at the carpet shop - then do it and get some decent carpets (this is what we had to do when we bought our home)

The garden, get someone to look after the kids for the day, put your gardening gloves and you can get it cleared in a day 💪🏻

The end result & secure tenancy will all be worth a couple of years of 'non perfection' 😊

If you’re paying rent for two places at once, you’ve got a month to move all your stuff over.

You do need to adjust your expectations. We’ve taken 10 years to get our own house half decent, it’s just how it is if you work and have kids. And your garden comment is a bit unrealistic - that’s just part of living in a house with a garden.

Council should sort the fences though.

Fencing should be done by the council as would things like plastering And any maintenance to the structure of the building, heating etc
Decorating and carpets are your responsibility
Contact the council and find out what they will do

Charity shop, second hand, carpet 1 room at a time as you can afford it. I have been in my HA house 5 years and still dont have a stair or bedroom carpet

OP, you need to think carefully about what you buy first and in what order you do things. If the house needs lots of work there is no point buying carpets before you get the work done (especially replastering), as you will have to keep taking it up and relaying it.

Replastering is v expensive. You may not need to. A good grade of lining paper works wonders at covering the bumpy bits. You can then paint or wall paper on top.

As everyone says, you do a bit at a time as and when. Your kids won't care about how the house looks.

A lot of what you've listed can wait. I've lived with floorboards and rugs for 6 years now - barely notice it tbh. Charity shop curtains were about £10 a pair. Painting done by me - a couple of rooms need plastering but it can wait! Jungley garden is being tamed slowly, furniture mostly second hand. I had to get the roof done shortly after buying, then windows a year or so later and by that time I barely noticed the floors/decor and just prioritised other things. The only bits I remember buying 'new' when moving in were oven, fridge freezer, washing machine and bed.

Just do the absolute essentials and the rest can wait. It sounds like fences and an oven are top of the list and if your rent is reducing (?) you can save up for the rest bit by bit.

Carpets you can get good quality large roll end pieces at places like

www.flooringsuperstore.com/remnants

We got carpet for stair and landing for £70 then installed it ourselves

Blinds from willow or IKEA that you cut to size are cheap or you can get curtains for £20 a pair if you shop around.

Agree the council should sort the fence, though.

Here you get a voucher for DIY stuff, not enough to cover everything but to get the essentials, I think it's around £200. You have to prioritise and start with the things that are most important, for us that was the DCs room and the kitchen and then went from there. We bought, but as much as many on here seem to think that means you're rolling in money, we didn't have a boiler for a month (pre DC) as we couldn't afford to fix it, part of the ceiling fell in and it was like that for 6 months, and the curtains etc were from the charity shop. Unless you rent a furnished property privately, usually when you move in anywhere there's a risk it's not up to standard. The council will make it safe, but above and beyond that yep it's challenging unfortunately.

As PPs have said, bit by bit. Your kids won't be damaged because the walls aren't painted. Concentrate on anything essential, then work on making the place look nice once you're in and making the saving on Rent.

The alternatives are, don't move, borrow money or suddenly find a way to make more money (which I'm sure you would have already if it was that easy).

Many, many families have lived like this, even home owners and private renters. It's not ideal but then life never is in my experience.

Your local Facebook page and even your local dump is a godsend

People are always throwing things out as they replace new ones

A rug will help until you have carpets
A white wash everywhere (get the proper pain as one cover works better than cheap stuff ) , £60 a tin

Garden , slowly slowly - make it a job for all the kids

Don’t underestimate the power of a deep clean and a paint OP

The good thing is when you are in , you are IN ! It’s security

Which is not the case with rented or even housing association

Where are you based ?

Charity shops round here have tons of curtains.

Agree that and fence need doing.

Oven second hand on local FB/Gumtree

Donated Paint sits at tip here for people to take. Or again, local FB groups have tons just ask for people to donate leftovers.

It’s rubbish but doable

I grew up in a (very large) semi derelict house whilst my parents were doing it up. It didn’t do us any harm. In fact I think it was described as character building. We had no inside bathroom, no heating and no electricity (very rural) carpets were the least of our worries.
Since we’ve all done houses up. Get curtains from a charity shop, don’t worry about bumpy walls, if you’re going to buy carpets buy reasonable ones. I’ve been without a cooker for 3 years whilst I saved and waited for a new one as I prefer to buy new.

Ebay is great for blinds. Sanding and varnishing floorboards and then Ikea rugs. Slowly but surely for the renovations. Ebay is also good for slight seconds in white goods, eg a fridge with a scratch or dent on the side which will be by the wall antway!

If you think the plasterwork is so bad it needs doing again, tell the council, now! You say the workmen are still there. If it's really so bad, the council should refuse to sign it off and make them re-do it.

Look into what the council is obliged to provide you, what the terms of your contract and their obligations would be. Are they allowed to provide an unsafe house (the fence)?

If you're going to be paying double rent for a month, that means you have vacant possession of the new house for that time and can go in at weekends and evenings and get the fence fixed and other top priorities before you move in.

anyway not antway

same boat what was worst is the day we moved in i went into labour.So that was fun its been a long road.No money still in debt from high private rent but were getting there.I waited for sales on paint at places like wilko,i worked extra hours ,i found stuff second hand,my other half and i worked together.We have been here just over a year we got the kids rooms done,the living room done and just been working on the garden this weekend.O hell its bad we had to get a rotavator to dig up the lawn its bad.Leveling the soil re seeding the lawn

Yes we moved into a barely done house with a newborn,we stayed in the living room wile the paint was drying in our room.We did a basic white layer to start.Its hard work but once it done you have a home

Perhaps you should set up a Gofundme page?
It’s outrageous that you can’t have everything you want immediately.

Actually, on reading your other posts, it sounds like your idea of essentials might be different to mine. Doesn't change the fact that you can't afford them right now though...

How am I using my son’s autism as an excuse? If this was the case I’d have used my son’s condition to lay it on thick with the council, got a social worker etc which would have most definitely helped and would have got us a house years ago. But no, I refused to use my son’s condition to jump up the ladder, as he’s not a pawn in a game and we were lucky enough to have a roof over our heads and were doing ok. So you are wrong there.

Yeah, it doesn't work like that. None of it in fact. You don't simply "get a social worker" and "lay it on thick with the council" to get priority on the housing list. If you really had an autistic child surely you'd know how hard it was to get anything like that.
I'm curious how you think it's possible to "lay it on thick" with the council. Honestly the fact your son has autism isn't even relevant to your post. I mean what does autism have to do with the fact you're whining about the council not providing everything?