To really regret buying on a council estate

[Gameofmoans81]

5 years ago we bought our first house. We live in a very expensive town so to get a house rather than a flat meant buying an ex council house on a council estate where about 90% of the flats and houses are still council owned. It’s a small estate surrounded on each side by millionaires in a good location basically.
I didn’t think anything of buying on a council estate - I’m not a snob, I grew up and have lived in normal working/middle class suburbs and rub along with all sorts of people in life and when we viewed it seemed quiet and fine. However after 5 years of living here I absolutely hate it to the point where it’s making me ill.
Firstly there are some lovely people living here, this is not an attack on council tenants but the actual truth is that these are main issues:
teenagers outside my house all night screaming/drinking
dog shit everywhere
rubbish everywhere - think bins tipped over and not picked up, used nappies thrown in hedge etc
sofas/tvs dumped outside for months
screaming arguments/fights/regular police visits
music blasting all day
weed smoke continuously wafting in to my babies nursery if we open the window
young kids out til late swearing and shouting at passers by.

I am desperate to move but the house next door but one has been on the market for well over a year despite being nice and a bargain and no one’s biting. No one but us is stupid enough to buy here. If you picked up our house and put it on the street behind us you’d raise the price by around £100k basically and it would be sold within a week.

i feel so trapped and depressed everytime I walk through the estate to get home plus I feel totally stupid for buying it.
And I feel increasingly furious at these people who are literally costing us thousands of pounds because they can’t be bothered to pick up their shit.
Aaarrrggghhh!

[LoisLane66]

@iekanda
Good grief! I'd never ever pick up someone else's mess whether litter or dog poop, especially dog poop.
Not a chance. The more you do, the more others who make that mess carry on doing it, knowing that there's a fool who'll clear up after them. I'm lucky that where I live, the streets, pavements and gullies get brushed and hosed regularly and people don't drop rubbish or leave dog mess. I have sent photos of people putting household rubbish in public bins on several occasions (not allowed) and they were fined.

[mostlysunnywithshowers]

Urgh, why oh why are there people like this in modern day Britain. It boils my blood that people just can't behave themselves. You don't have to be rich to pick up litter, or keep your noise to a reasonable level. This kind of story just reinforces what I think most people know these days... class is less about money than manners.

I feel for you, but just a little heads up. This kind of neighbour is increasingly hard to avoid. We have had nuisance neighbours for the last 5 years on our 'charming sought after' estate of all privately owned houses, some of which have unfortunately been bought by boomer age council tenants who bought their council house under the Thatcher right to buy, sold it for a huge profit in the property boom, and have now bought their way into a nice neighbourhood they never would have otherwise been able to buy in. They of course brought their council estate manners with them, with barking dogs, loud tv and music, screaming grandkids visiting from their council flat, and abuse whenever you ask them to mind their noise. Joy.

I'm all for levelling up and giving people a helping hand when they fall down in life, but if people are going to better their financial circumstances courtesy of the welfare state, they need to better their behaviour with it.

[absolutelyanythingwilldo]

@MindYourBeeswax

@MyStarBoy
What is your suggestion then?
Also, I don't like this 'breeding' message that's been thrown around a few times on this thread and that you have done here.
Maybe your big idea is to have them all sterilised!

That would sort the problem out nicely. Also, breeding is the correct term. Do you actually think some family planning is taking place?

[noctu]

You've given it 5 years. The scrotes will never change. Don't waste any more of your life on a miserable home. Sell to a house buying company/part ex for a new build if wanted/possible, take the hit on the price, and don't look back. Speaking from experience.

[FreyaStorm]

@absolutelyanythingwilldo

That would sort the problem out nicely. Also, breeding is the correct term. Do you actually think some family planning is taking place?

Maybe it’s time for a referendum on voluntary, financially rewarded sterilisation? I reckon many scrotes would go for it as they’re not great with future planning anyway.

Rather than incentivising them to “breed”, we incentivise them (positively!), not to.

Who’ll sign the petition? 😊

[Teateaandmoretea]

@LoisLane66

@iekanda
Good grief! I'd never ever pick up someone else's mess whether litter or dog poop, especially dog poop.
Not a chance. The more you do, the more others who make that mess carry on doing it, knowing that there's a fool who'll clear up after them. I'm lucky that where I live, the streets, pavements and gullies get brushed and hosed regularly and people don't drop rubbish or leave dog mess. I have sent photos of people putting household rubbish in public bins on several occasions (not allowed) and they were fined.

What so you’d put up with people dumping shite outside your house and do nothing? That just encourages people to do it more.

OP it sounds a nightmare. Our first house wasn’t in a particularly salubrious area and we had some issues. You need to report everything, as the on the edge kids don’t want to get taken home by the police. DH also used to tell the kids to piss off and pick their stuff up but it was maybe before knives were a thing. They were quite wary of him as no one else said anything and they went elsewhere. We moved when I was on maternity leave that was my bottom line, what was vague entertainment was less so when I was there with a baby.

[StarDolphins]

Is there any way you could afford to sell at a lower price? I would do this to get out, I feel for you, sounds awful.

[Wheresmywoolyjumpers]

I lived on a terraced road which was mostly older people when I moved in. As they died their houses were bought and rented out by private landlords who then rented to the council. And yes, noise, anti social behaviour, drugs, vandalism all increased. I am sure there were lovely tenants who were no trouble, but the fact is that over 5 years the road became a nightmare. I grew up on council estates so know from experience it was not like that in the past - you would get occasional wrong 'uns but mostly people were respectable. And it is not snobbery to want to be able to sleep at night, or walk out of your house without being caught up in a drug deal or a fight. My compassion is for the people trying to work when they have been disturbed by neighbours who dont give a shit.

[MindYourBeeswax]

Breeding is usually a term applied to animals, not people and applying it to humans is downright insulting and dehumanizing, as if you didn't know.

What next=bring slapping in schools and then the return of capital punishment. No-one would support that. What about children and adults with Asd, Tourettes or PDA who cannot conform? Maybe they can be first in the line to be sterilized or maybe bundled in the back of a white van and given a sorting out!
Disgusting Attitude that doesn't attempt to look for a real solution,

Op. I sympathise and hope it works out for you.

[womaninatightspot]

@FreyaStorm

Maybe it’s time for a referendum on voluntary, financially rewarded sterilisation? I reckon many scrotes would go for it as they’re not great with future planning anyway.

Rather than incentivising them to “breed”, we incentivise them (positively!), not to.

Who’ll sign the petition? 😊

Isn't that what limiting UC to first two children is supposed to do?

I do think blokes who have children with multiple women and fail to support them should be encouraged to have a vasectomy but that feels like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

[ChilledBeez]

Start to think seriously about putting your house on the market. I made the same mistake and ended up staying there for 8 long, miserable years. Loved the house, but the neighbours. It was affecting my health so much so that I literally sold it for what I paid for it and moved to a rental in a much nicer area. My only regret is that I did not have the gumption or wherewithall to do it earlier. You cannot put a price on peace of mind. I remember turning the corner to my road and seeing my next door neighbours all hanging out on the front garden - never the back - I had to pretend to like them but I actually detested them. Do yourself a favour and move as soon as you possibly can. Things will never get better.

[VioletInsolence]

@MindYourBeeswax

But there will be a reason for this. Why is it that those with less hope carry on like this because surely this isn't the life they want for themselves or their children.
My theory is that they have no stake in their homes or the area. Most of us don't want to ruin the biggest investment we will make-our home.
So, if council rents could somehow be counted towards a mortgage payment with the renter owning all the equity eventually, they might be more inclined to take care of something-their home and area-that will benefit them financially.
I know some people will say that's like rewarding them for poor behaviour and I suppose, in a way it is. But I think their neighbours would rather have this than have to live in awful circumstances.
So, it's not perfect-it may be unfair-but the end result is a better place to live.
Surely, it's better for them to have equity and behave well than not and behave badly. Sometimes, life is about messy choices in order to get a good result.

I don’t think that’s the reason. I don’t know what the reason though! I’ve not lived in a council house but I’ve privately rented and those houses have been my home for the couple of years I’ve lived in them. They’ve been looked after the same as I’d look after my own property because why wouldn’t I want a lovely home for myself and my children.

It’s more about background and education I think. I live in a tiny flat and sleep in the living room (and I have two dogs too so extra mess), and it’s spotless and lovely. I have awful mental health problems too. There’s no excuse for antisocial behaviour and as others have said, people defending people who behave in that way haven’t lived amongst it.

[womaninatightspot]

@MindYourBeeswax

Breeding is usually a term applied to animals, not people and applying it to humans is downright insulting and dehumanizing, as if you didn't know.

What next=bring slapping in schools and then the return of capital punishment. No-one would support that. What about children and adults with Asd, Tourettes or PDA who cannot conform? Maybe they can be first in the line to be sterilized or maybe bundled in the back of a white van and given a sorting out!
Disgusting Attitude that doesn't attempt to look for a real solution,

Op. I sympathise and hope it works out for you.

Crikey this thread took a turn. I feel like you're awfully close to accusing them of being Nazis but I did recently bingewatch Man in the high castle.

[MindYourBeeswax]

@VioletInsolence

But you value and respect yourself and your home and your children, The people described on the thread don't and there must be a reason for that. If we knew what it was we could find a solution. Talk about breeding and sterilization is not the solution.

[ShabbyNat]

Im sorry, not read the whole thread, but.......<br /> Have you heard of the Litter Wombles on Facebook?? Its a group of people-volunteer's-who go around their neighbourhood with black bags & recycling bags to pick up litter & leave beside public litter bins for the council to collect the next time they empty the public litter bins!! Just so they can live in a cleaner area, the local councils should really be ashamed of themselves for not doing the job that we pay for them to do in our taxes & council tax, but doing it ourselves, makes our living conditions a little better IMO & to take pride in our neighbourhood!!! If youve not got a local group, maybe you could create a group?? In my area, a local primary school has a group that collects rubbish on the way to school &amp; on the wat home from school!! All the groups have those long handled litter pickers!! <br /> As far as the larger pieces of rubbish goes ie sofas, mattresses, enquire at your local council if they do free collection for council tenants, or if any of the residents have a person or child in their property-either privately owned or renting off the council, that claims DLA or PIP, they can apply to the council to collect the rubbish free of charge-well, my local council you can!!!
Itll be a slow process, but itll either make someone what to buy in your area at a higher price or make you want to stay as it`s cleaned itself up & you want to stay!!!

[NightfeedsandNetflix]

Put it on the market, don't let the agents try pricing it too high to impress you.

Meanwhile as a last resort you could auction. Some don't charge if it doesn't sell. Just a set advertising fee or similar. Worth a look into.

I wouldn't rent out as what type of tenants do you think you will end up with there?

Tax relief isn't good, legal requirements are forever changing, eviction and enforcements are very hard even for high rent arrears or major safety issues, tenancy agreement breaches. You will have to pay additional tax on purchasing a second home that's assuming your lending power is adequate to even afford a second home.

[MsTSwift]

Pretty bloody miserable for the kids growing up in households like that. We felt so sad hearing the screaming shouting gangsta rap playing loudly knowing they had a tiny newborn in there 😔

[Abouttimemum]

We live in an ex council house on a still partly council owned estate. We’ve been here for 20 years and it goes through peaks and troughs - it was great for about 8 years - but currently it is grim. A few new families were moved in to some of the empty homes and they a fucking dreadful.

I took DS for a ride on his bike today and there is litter everywhere, dog shit all over, kids running about topless leaving their toys all over the place. The children, actually, are all really lovely - there’s lots of them at the moment but all very polite. just kids being kids. It’s the adults that are fucking awful. It’s not kids leaving empty alcohol bottles and cans, fag packets and scratch cards all over. Or letting their dogs shit all over.

I don’t feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for their children. My husband has got four separate people jobs where he works and none of them lasted a week. Then they moan they don’t get enough off the government to pay for their fags and alcohol. Lazy, entitled.

I grew up on a council estate and my parents were working class. Grafted to give us a chance to better ourselves. Ensured we understood basic economics and financing. They’ve done well, we’ve all done well. my husband had an abusive childhood with alcoholic parents and he’s done well for himself.

There’s absolutely no excuse to behave in this way. In my opinion. Sorry I went off track but it makes me so angry.

I walked past a child in our street today and heard him telling his friend that he didn’t want to go home today but had to. He opened the door to his home and there was music blaring and shouting inside and he looked so sad. It made me want to cry for him knowing what my husband went through.

The bare minimum is to give your child a safe home, surely.

anyway, sorry OP, it actually might improve. Or it might not.

Our local council is actually really great, they have a reporting system for litter and dog shit and they come out the same day and clean it up. I report it all the time. I report parties to the local councillor. Goodness knows how many times I pop up in their reporting system!!

[Dibbydoos]

So much mental ill health in families that live in poverty or in sectors of society where others give them no time or respect. It's no wonder they react as they do is it :( We have a long way to go to get to where Nordic countries are in actually caring for vulnerable people.

OP I really feel for you. It's worth googling what others have do e to improve tgeir local areas. If there are charities around, they may help support a programme and the national lottery may fund it or part fund it. This doesn't mean you have to do everything, you need to find willing partners though who want to make a difference.

Good luck, Rome wasn't built in a day and chaotic society like that you describe will not be eradicated quickly either, but work needs to start ASAP.

[Autumn61]

There will be a buyer out there somewhere who need to get a foot on the property ladder . I agree with other posts that have said make the price attractive, it’s worth it. The only issue you may have is legally you have to disclose to potential buyers if you are aware of some neighbours who have ASBO’s.

[JenJones5]

DH’s first flat was in a brand new mixed” development in London. He didn’t know this when he bought, but his was right on the border between the private sales and council housing.

On Day 1 it all looked the same; nice buildings, clean streets, parking for everyone and so on.

After a year it was like a Hieronymus Bosch painting showing heaven and hell. The private side had nice flowers, neighbours looking out for each other, pleasant lawns etc. The council side had abandoned cars, graffiti, burned out sofas in gardens, oil running down the road, broken windows with cardboard over them, and lots and lots of dog shit everywhere.

One year for the families moved into nice new homes to destroy everything.

[E17Stowmum]

Oh do you?
Use your money, namely council tax, to buy back a house we as a community already owned? Built and paid for by the council.

[ScarlettRosemary]

I totally sympathise from personal experience but just get out and start again elsewhere even though it may be hard to take that money loss. Life is too short to be miserable and if you are still young you have time to make up your losses. I live in a nice area now but have been looking to move for financial reasons in to a cheaper home. All I can afford in the areas I like are new build homes but on new build estates where developers have to put a % of new council homes and I won't knowingly go anywhere near council tenants again after renting through a housing association when I first left home. So much antisocial behaviour and what were nice new houses/flats quickly became scruffy and uncared for. I dreaded going home at night and would stay with friends and family every single weekend I could.
I was brought up on a council estate for 25 years so not being a snob but truth is so many have no standards these days and you can often tell straight away who rent the homes on these estates and who own them just by how they keep them. My parents were thrilled to get us kids out of a small rented flat with no heating in to a brand new council house with a garden and kept it beautiful on not a lot of money. I will probably take on a 2nd job to stay put and pay the mortgage as moving and being unhappy would be a far worse fate. I wish you good luck and future happiness.

[Doingprettywellthanks]

@MindYourBeeswax

@VioletInsolence

But you value and respect yourself and your home and your children, The people described on the thread don't and there must be a reason for that. If we knew what it was we could find a solution. Talk about breeding and sterilization is not the solution.

you seem completely unwilling or unable to concede that the reason for some of not many is

being profoundly inconsiderate and rude

but no - in your eyes they all behave like this because of a poor childhood.

[MsTSwift]

That poster has obviously never lived in that environment. Our lefty do gooding views flew right out the window after our sharp dose of reality. Dh would literally get on his bike to go to work (I was in May leave) whilst they all able bodied twenty somethings sat in the garden all day smoking drugs and swearing.