AIBU to offer this for ex council house

[Honeycombskl]

I'm pregnant and me and DP are desperately trying to buy a house big enough for us and baby and his 2 kids. The problem is that we live in a beautiful part of Scotland where property is currently flying off the market, being bought by people moving here after the pandemic who can afford to put on crazy offers over the house valuation. We have a good deposit saved but have been struggling to get a look in and can't afford to put in much over the asking price.

A place came up which I went to view straight away. The house is lovely, done up beautifully, has a fantastic garden and backs onto a lovely forest area. Bedrooms are a bit small but it has the number we need so great. My main concern is it's an ex-council house and although most of the homes in the area have now been bought, they definitely look like council houses (in terms of style outside, etc).
I've put in an offer, which is £7000 over the valuation and I'm waiting to hear back from the seller. I'm now questioning myself though if this is a financially stupid move. The house has been done up to a high standard so was valued at far more than the neighbouring houses, I'm just worried about losing money if we come to sell further down the line.

On the other hand it would be a great family home for us and I can totally see us eating in the kitchen or playing outside in the huge garden and forest.

YABU- you're daft and going to lose money if the buyer accepts
YANBU- property prices are going up just now anyway, just focus on how it will be as a home and not what it might sell for in a few years time.

I bought an ex council house a few years ago. It was significantly cheaper than new builds but it's so much bigger. Big rooms, high ceilings & a massive garden. I was really lucky getting it at the price I did. I love it and it's certainly far better value for money.

I'd find out if there is much other interest in it. I know that where I am house prices are crazy just now and you'd probably have to offer a lot more to secure it.

Good luck though

Can't speak for Scotland but where I live, ex-council houses are actually better built, because when they were still putting them up they had to adhere to more stringent building regs. Some of the council houses in my home town are significantly better built than most new builds.

This is also why the bedrooms are small, regulations (at least in England) only allowed 2 children max and when they got to a certain age the family was eligible for a bigger property/more rooms.

OP

You need a house of a certain size, you have found that and you can see it as your home, go for it.

I live in an ex council house. They are so sought after and very few come onto the market, and sell for the full asking price within weeks.

The bedrooms are not small. Four double bedrooms (built with three).

I’ve just put £5k over asking price on a property, busy times. If your offer is accepted then congratulations! As long as you maintain the property and don’t need to sell in a hurry you will be fine

How did you get on OP?

We have just moved into an ex council property in a lovely town in Scotland, and I love it!

Like you, I was a bit unsure at first about the look of the outside, and the street has all the same kind of properties on it. The dark pebbledash can be a bit depressing at first, but you get used to the look quite quickly to be honest. But the gardens in the area are all well kept, the street is quiet, the people seem very friendly and I am really pleased that we got over our initial reservations. There is a big garden, room to extend possibly, parking and enough room for us. I don’t regret it at all, good luck!