To really regret buying on a council estate

Don't hold on to a mistake just because you spent a long time making it.

Nice, I'm having that for my notepad of life phrases I like, thanks 😊

Because in the nice streets the police will be called (no one bothers on the shit ones) and they'll actually turn up fast. Proud homeowners might also come out to confront them.

It's not just London. Same everywhere. They mess up their own patch but don't go sticking their faces on the fancy streets where the cops will be there in 3 mins.

@StridTheKiller

I did think your style of writing sounded like someone younger than sbout 80😂😂

What a stupid suggestion. Spend a fortune on a camper van rather than addressing the actual problem?

Well you bought it if the price is right or low enough someone else will too. My in laws have done similar. That programme is not called location location location for nothing!

Sympathy we had chav neighbours it really is life ruining. All your left wing worthy principles fly out the window when you live cheek by jowl with Jeremy Kyle rejects.

I feel your pain @Gameofmoans81. I grew up on a council estate and it was fine. Most dads worked in typical “working men” jobs with mainly SAHMs (although not called that lol) who would pick up a few hours here and there cash in hand. Paying for nursery or childcare was an alien concept.

so there was always an adult at home, women were house proud and men were working and providing for their families. Although not well off, families were mainly very happy. Sadly unemployment through the loss of traditional industries and thatcher’s plundering of public housing stock meant that the more motivated/resilient/skilled/qualified families moved on and many council estates became like ghettos. I took my DH to visit where I grew up about 25 years after I’d left home and couldn’t believe the state of it. Really horrible to see.

agree with PPs that you need to take the hit to get out. With the shit storm we are facing it will only get worse for the disenfranchised and those without the means to move on. My dad, who started his working life down a coal mine aged 14, but was a very clever man who just never got the opportunity to gain skills, always instilled in me to buy the worst house in the best area rather than a better house in a worse area.

your House will eventually sell but you may need to accept an offer much lower than you would like. Good luck 🤞

I grew up on a council estate that was rough as fuck. Right to buy actually really gentrified it and it’s quite nice now. I think like Pp complain to council about dumping/ dogs shit. If no one complains nothing gets done. I work for a council and nothing scares them like a freedom of information request. Complain if it doesn't get resolved put an foi in about something pertinent costs/ funding/ response times between yours and other neighbourhoods.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

For now, I would be reporting the anti social behaviour and littering.

I would personally be looking to sell. Do you find you could sell it for what you bought it for but add the fees etc to the selling price? So sell it but not lose any money? Couldn't you try this and look to buy somewhere, maybe a flat, in a better area?

This ^

There is a stereotype for a reason.

It sounds like you have been unlucky, and I hope things improve (this is quite possible in London as you know).

I know a handful of people who have bought on council estates, both flats and houses, and sometimes it is a fantastic solution but others have had the same experience as you. I do believe a house in London will always be desirable at the right price. Are your neighbours trying to sell at the neighborhood price rather than the estate price?

I had a similar experience - I got involved
on a local residents group . I also got involved in a local bloom group . Together we started to pressurise the council and various services to clean up fly tipping etc . The local community policing team also got involved . You are stronger together with other like minded residents to which you have eluded there are some . Be proactive and be the agent of change . Great things are possible

Yep we did this. Beautiful maisonette as soon as you closed the door. Our house was lovely and spacious and well built and amazing storage. But the area seriously deteriorated in the 5 years we lived there. Our downstairs neighbours; one was a lady with a partner and a 5 year old but the relationship became violent and broke down, the child was removed and she became a sex worker to fund her habit, multiple clients visited a day and she hid her crack pipe in our communal close. Our other was a lovely old lady and her son who wasn't very well mentally, she died and he deteriorated significantly and had schizophrenia and was often in crisis running up and down the close. He was very vulnerable and teenagers would use his house to sell drugs. I was terrified to stay there in the end.

One summer I decided I was done and spent about £200 making the place look perfect from the outside, replaced a heap of junk and mud with stones, pressure washed the whole area then instantly put it on the market. It took 4 months and sold at what we bought it for. Had we sold it the year later it had dropped by 25%. If you don't want to live there get it on the market, you can make a new plan or look at new builds or whatever but you can't stay there if you don't feel safe.

Yes, I have been in this situation and totally sympathise.
I grew up on a very working-class street and so did nearly everyone else I knew, then later moved to a council estate and omg.
The houses were new, attractive, had a proper play park …which was vandalised hours after a ceremonial opening.
Feral kids always out till really late, even three year olds out after dark, blasting music, foul mouthed adults and kids, attempts at gardens vandalised with weed killer.
I moved away solely for my mental health.

Someone suggested this trick to get rid of teenagers on another thread; attach a cat sonic sensor near to where they hang out. The sonic waves from the sensor is uncomfortable for teenagers and animals, they'll soon move on.

My first house was ex-council too, and it was fine and a good starter home. We stayed there years and then sold it to a family who’d moved to the area but couldn’t afford a house as big as they wanted. You should be able to do the same. Someone will be in a similar position to you when you bought it. Try to see it like that - a short-term house and a first step on the housing ladder. There’ll always be a need for those.

As for the dog poo, try the dog poo enforcement officers (sorry - don’t know their proper name) and get more signs up. We had a lot of ‘deposits’ outside our house when we first moved in but once they knew we were watching, it stopped. They were only doing it because they thought they could get away with it. Some stuff you might have to zone out but report the dumped TVs and furniture.

I would put it on the market at a reasonable price. It is likely it will sell to an investor or a first time buyer if you price it low enough. Or maybe try to offer it to local housing associations if the council won't buy it back.

I have a flat in East London opposite a small council estate and although we have the odd noise nuisance (ironically from someone who is renting on the estate privately rather than actual council tenants). It is a quiet place with people who just want to go about their lives. Apparently we have gang members living there too though but they don't want trouble on their doorstep, you just see them have the odd barbecue with their, erm, colleagues in the summer...The joys of living in big cities.

Anyway, there is nothing worse than having to put up with the type of antisocial behaviour you describe and I truly hope you can get away from that place soon.

If you are desperate to get away now, rent it out while you put it on the market for a long term resolution.

@Oblomov22 ''Why did you buy there? You clearly didn't investigate thoroughly enough the house, the area well enough or you would've known that this was going on.''

The OP told you why they bough there...because they could not afford to buy somewhere else in an expensive area. Plus council tenants change all the time and you could have a quiet estate for years that suddenly the atmosphere gets poisoned when a couple of noisy, troubled families move in. Some council estates are perfectly fine to live in. I shared a flat on a council estate tower block in South London for over a year when I was a student and it was a great place to live, no noise whatsoever or kids hanging around smoking/drinking.

I think you are unlucky get out and sell asap. Don't complain as you will have to put complaints when you sell a house . We live in a ex LA house, planning on moving soon to upsize and I can't believe the difference in price between the houses. My house is 1200 square feet 3 bed semi big detached garage car parking for 8 cars good sized garden. My house is worth around 200k to upsize to to at least 1700 square foot with double garage is going to cost us at least 450k-500k!
Our area is all owner occupiers apart from 1 house opposite a green. It was a really good buy for us but my DH really wants a double garage for his cars.

There's an estate like that where I live (also a v affluent area) and it has been turned around from awful like yours to pretty pleasant in the last 10 years
They set up a residents association which organisers clean ups, a Santa at Christmas, community carols, summer events, etc. Think PTA style. And it brought the community together.
Now more and more affluent people are buying there because obviously it's still cheaper than the non council areas, and it's lost its stigma almost entirely.
Could you try that?

Just to put a positive vote in for ex council properties…. I live on one and most people are just normal regular everyday people. It’s clean, a safe place for children to play. I’m in professional job ( albeit low paid) and many people seem the same

If we sell at a low price we’ll have to basically relocate as everything here is so expensive which will be so hard for jobs and schools but maybe it’s worth it!
it’s such a shame because the estate has potential to be so nice.
thanks again

You can’t put a price on your health and well-being so if you can get out, then I’d say do it. Once you have a plan in action you will hopefully feel better.

with the state this country is in, the area is unlikely to improve any time soon and the problems will continue and probably worsen. That’s what’s happening on my HA estate which was pretty much ok when I moved her 12 years ago. It’s like some dystopian film set now with gangs of kids hanging about the shops, serious crime (a nearby neighbour was recently jailed for nearly killing their 5 year old), armed police shut off the road a few months ago while some neighbours were having a ‘disagreement’. Fly tipping, drug deals in broad daylight, litter everywhere, total lack of respect for their own surroundings. It’s wearing and depressing. I’m stuck here but if you can go, do it.

Because the residents on those nicer streets won't tolerate them.
It's very much about building the community you want to live in.

This is so true. We desperately needed a place to rent in a certain area and found an ex council place owned by a private landlord. Neighbours were still council. We were like - well, stereotypes about council estates are so unfair. They’re just normal working class people and we’ll make sure we join the community and all that. Plus it was a very posh town in general, which often gets recommended on threads for ex-Londoners, so how rough can it be?

We lasted nine months. Thank fuck for the break clause. In that time my car was damaged twice by someone hitting it and driving off, my neighbours had a party which went out on social media and over 100 people turned up and trashed the street, a stolen quad bike crashed into a house a few doors down. I could go on but it was mental. Plus just the general misery that comes from people shouting in their garden mid-week until 3am when you have to be up at 6. We ended up moving to a soulless new build estate and other than one shitty note about parking, it was bliss.

This is such a good point!

I am opposite a large council estate of many flats in good enclave of Westminster - it was built after the war as site was bombed. In the 16 years I've been here it has improved a lot and is quiet, no rubbish etc. About 1/4 is privately owned now. Westminster put up an electric barrier for the main vehicle entrance which stopped boys racing up and down it on motor bikes. It's your council should improve it. What about the local non estate nearby residents complaining to council as they must be affected too?
You need to be proactive - set up a group, approach all/any the neighbours etc.
Do you know who manages it?