To buy an ex council flat cash?

[gelatodipistacchio]

I've been looking for a home for a long time. I have agreed to buy a place at the top of my budget and I think it will fall through. A council flat which would meet all my needs (though it's slightly smaller than I would like) has come on.

The cons I can think of are:

• won't appreciate at the same rate as other real estate
• not as nice a place to live as a Victorian terrace
• would this be embarrassing for my daughter? I'm not from England and sometimes I don't understand subtle social rules.
• leasehold, which I understand involves risks and restrictions

The pros are:

• financial freedom!
• a feeling of lightness due to not having money stress
• maybe I can save up to buy a holiday home, which will increase my exposure to the market/potential gains on real estate long term

I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone might have!

In terms of selling on in the future, we are selling our ex local authority maisonette back to the Council. They pay slightly less than the market rate (but there are no estate agents fees) and it's still more than double what we bought it for twelve years ago (from the people who had exercised their right to buy.) And I'm really pleased that it is going back into social housing stock.

I owned an ex-council flat in London for a few years as my first step on the property ladder. It was the only way I could afford to buy and the location was absolutely brilliant.

For me it was a positive experience over all. The council were good at getting maintenance done and small repairs made for what seemed like a reasonable service charge to me.

However, I was very fortunate to never have to pay any major works bills. I wouldn't have been in a position to pay thousands for repairs so there was always that slight niggle at the back of my mind that I might end up with a bill draining my finances over multiple instalments. It sounds as though this wouldn't be such an issue for you though.

Also check what % of the other properties are privately owned and would you in theory be able to get a mortgage - lots of lenders won't touch high rise, low % of private ownership etc. If it's not mortgageable then it will be harder to sell on if you decide to move.

It really depends on the area the property is in. I wouldn't live in some of the local council estates for free, then there is the old areas with a great community spirit of longterm tenants.
My area is a mix of private and council the area is very old and settled very different to even a stone throw away.

I would not buy a leasehold . Ever again.

@gelatodipistacchio no it wouldn't be anywhere near ,but they do tend to overpay for contractors , and you don't have any control who does the work, so its wise to find out if there is anything in the pipeline .

My SIL had a terrible experience with the council as freeeholder of her leasehold flat (this was in a converted terrace, two flats).

No works were done for ages, then the council proposed a lot of work, part of which SIL had to pay for. However, the council contractors were hopeless/dishonest- didn't do all of the specified works or did them to a poor standard. SIL obviously wanted the work done properly as it was her flat and she had paid for it but couldn't directly deal with the contractors- she had to hassle the council to get them to get the work done. Was a lot of time and stress.

Other than that, I'd think about resale price, especially as some ex-council places are hard to mortgage.

@gelatodipistacchio Sorry but you're deluded if you think you will be free of financial stress. Owning your own property results in a never-ending maintenance bill. And ex council homes are not always maintained too well.

Just recently, someone I know was allocated a 1967 three- bed house from the council, and thankfully she doesn't own it because it's gone to shit. A family lived in there from the late 1960s to 2020, when the last family member died (the mother..)

And although the council did basic maintenance stuff, they didn't do anything structural, and they have a knackered roof, constant leaks, rotten wood in the eaves, (and the roof in general,) damp in the walls that just won't quit, mice, silverfish, woodlice, the works. The place is a dive.

The place is such a shit-tip that all 3 of her children have to sleep in the master bedroom, (and she and her husband have to have the small bedroom.) as the medium bedroom that the 2 younger kids had, is riddled with damp, and the whole upstairs stinks of damp, with the medium bedroom stinking to high Heaven.

Then there is the issue (that has been in the news recently,) of all the tenants of a number of housing associations in several big cities ... who have homes that are virtually uninhabitable, as they are full of damp, mould, and mildew.

You would have to rocks in your head, to BUY an ex-authority property that you have not been living in. And I would not buy an ex-authority flat...As a few posters have said, you will be responsible for joint roof and block repairs, and you have no idea of the maintenance issues the flats have had.

You would have to rocks in your head, to BUY an ex-authority property that you have not been living in

Goodness me, the snobbery’s really coming out today!

The risk is no greater than with any other property if you get it comprehensively surveyed, OP. That’s what surveys are for.

The total joy and freedom of being mortgage free is incomparable. We paid ours off three years ago and it’s the most amazing feeling. An inheritance at that point means my son is also mortgage free, it’s not his dream home either but the knowledge that nothing life throws at you can threaten the roof over your head is so liberating.

@Blossomtoes

You would have to rocks in your head, to BUY an ex-authority property that you have not been living in

Goodness me, the snobbery’s really coming out today!

The risk is no greater than with any other property if you get it comprehensively surveyed, OP. That’s what surveys are for.

The total joy and freedom of being mortgage free is incomparable. We paid ours off three years ago and it’s the most amazing feeling. An inheritance at that point means my son is also mortgage free, it’s not his dream home either but the knowledge that nothing life throws at you can threaten the roof over your head is so liberating.

Oh FFS, calm down, and pull your knickers out of your butt crack! There's no snobbery in what I said! And quit the cherry-picking bits of my post to suit your agenda. It makes you look silly and goady.

I said you would have to have rocks in your head to buy ex authority that you have not been living in, because you don't know anything about the maintenance issues, because many authorities have been guilty of not maintaining them. NOT because I look down on people who live in them.

But you knew that DIDN'T you?

I think there will always be stigma from some about council properties.

Absolutely do not buy leasehold. There's too many potential issues.

I bought an ex council house (freehold).
I've just sold it after 16yrs - I made zero profit. I spent at least £30k doing it up and sold it for £25k more than I paid for it all those years ago. And we're supposed to be in a property boom.
The last 4-5yrs have been hell living next door to shitty neighbours after the old lady who previously lived there died. Having awful neighbours wiped at least £10k off the value of the house.

Unless you're sure the value will rise, I'd be wary. My house was in a nice neighbourhood (apart from aforementioned shitty neighbour attached) so I would definitely have expected to make a small profit.

I didn't buy directly from the council as it had been private for the last 2 owners but no one had done any work to it and it still looked like a council house inside and out. The previous owner managed to make £25k profit in 2yrs of owning it .

Oh FFS, calm down, and pull your knickers out of your butt crack!

Oh, the irony. And I pointed out that you have a survey to make you aware of those issues. Surveys are a far better way of discovering them than just living in a property.

@BearOfEasttown I would plan to have a survey obviously

I don't think there is any need to speak quite that negatively about me for considering doing something that many before me have done

Buy the flat! Buy the flat! You'd be mad not to! I've lived in flats in London, and detached in Dorset (bought them I mean) so I know a bit. Buy the flat and have some money- we only live once, and we are only young and healthy once.

Definitely buy it if survey OK and you have checked length of lease. I looked for 2 years for a flat and had my offers accepted on 3 and all 3 fell through for various reasons. Eventually, I saw my current one (outer London suburb) at lunchtime one day, could not find ANYTHING wrong with it and made full asking price offer 2 hours later (before anyone else had viewed it), which was accepted next morning (sellers had another place they wanted to buy ASAP). It is a really good flat - lease had 800 and something years to run. Ground rent is £10 a year. We also pay service charges (for repairs to communal bits and regular grass cutting) and buildings insurance through the council. If my block (we are a block of 4 flats) needs essential repairs to it - not internal, we do each get charged our share of it. Read the lease properly - in my borough, we are responsible for everything inside the flat (pipes/decoration/repairs, etc) but the council are responsible for outside walls and everything above ceiling level (if you are top flat) and in the communal grounds. My flat is really nice and in a very nice area. The cul-de-sac started off being all council flats (two-storey blocks) and now it is probably two-third owners/one-third tenants at a rough guess. It depends what area of the country you are buying your flat in but in my London suburb, 2 or 3-bedroomed flats in good condition go like hot cakes. The longest they seem to be on the market is about two weeks. It also, of course, depends on how good/bad the council who own the freehold are in general. Ours is quite good at upkeep and repairs (though you might have to ask them about five times before they respond, they do usually sort it out in the end). When I moved in, they had replaced all the roofs about two years before, so glad I missed having to contribute to that. I see the lease is 150 years long, which is OK. You might see if they will let you extend that sometime for an affordable fee to make your place more attractive to vendors when you sell on. My sister did this with her leasehold flat (a housing association) and it didn't cost very much.

Bump for the evening crowd

I got word today that my Victorian terrace almost definitely won't be completing in time for the stamp duty holiday

@mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork

Thanks for this comprehensive reply. I'm super excited to view the property asap. I feel like it could be the one!

@toffeebutterpopcorn

What are the likely service charges for it? I have heard of people buying ex council then getting large bills for refurb projects.

It's things like replacing communal windows, guttering, repairs to common areas and the roofs.

The council set their own rates for this work which tend to be a lot higher than private contractors.

Approximately 80% of all flats in the UK (a number amounting to over 4 million) are leasehold; it’s a perfectly standard and usually unproblematic tenure for a flat and as long as your solicitor explains the terms of the lease and you’re happy with them, there won’t be any nasty surprises.

Flats, by their nature must be leasehold. A flat without a lease is a property with a defective title on which lenders won’t lend. They might be share of freehold/Tyneside but should still have a lease.

If you want a flat it will be leasehold and as this pp has said, that’s fine.

@Stonelovelace I literally rang up the number on the council website and asked if they'd like to buy it. They said yes. We're in Westminster, and they're actively buying back former council flats.

Viewed the property today. I continue to think this is the right thing to do!

However, the property has already drawn much attention and has 3 offers. I'm prepared to offer the top of the guide price to secure it. So nervous