Social housing exchange - AIBU

[Brighton5555]

Hey

just need some assurance / reality check I guess. I have managed to find a housing swap after quite some time ( the feedback I get is lovely house but too small) so not beating off offers by any means despite my home being to a high standard and spent thousands on it…

im due to sign a exchange soon. The man has the same bedrooms as me and he has a house in a area I desire but if this house wasn’t in the area I want I don’t know if I would actually go for it..

bonus points are - neighbours on one side only, good garden size, extra toilet downstairs, larger kitchen than mine, larger bathroom and about same size of the 4 bedrooms BUT

its pretty gross. He has 7 animals including 4 dogs, it needs gutted from top to bottom as in complete new flooring and complete decoration and the bathroom will need ripped out. It’s in a very poor conditon but has passed all the checks they do for exchanging .. I viewed it for the 3rd time last week and the house had a lot of flies, I mean a lot I suspect from the animals . It was super clear to me on that viewing just how much money and work will need to be put in whereas here mine needs only a freshen up on the painting upstairs there are no other costs to him..

of course he’s lucky and it’s not his fault that our homes are very different but I just feel am I being crazy to take it on? I’m legit starting from the bottom again and will need to spend a few weeks living outside and at least £15,000 to have it okay to move into.

I have the means to do both but I know it’s going to a long slog. Again the benefits are extra toilet, larger kitchen and bathroom more manageable sized garden and a better area ..

I guess I feel daunted by it all

If you have the money and will be there a while I would go for it. You might not get another exchange if you hold out. And a downstairs toilet is amazing when you have kids. Or not. It's just amazing.

Yabu to suggest you need to spend 15k to move into a council house. You might want to, but you don’t need to.

Thanks . That is my worry. That there won’t be another offer… I detest the area I am in but my home is to a high standard . Maybe I’m just getting last minute nerves

If you've got £15k to improve a rented home, have you looked at the right to acquire your current home? That's a good deposit.

Seems mad to houseswap into a house that's in such a bad state- quite surprised his landlord have okayed it as they could refuse if condition is in breach of tenancy.

Are the bathrooms due for renewal by the housing association/Council soon?

I mean I totally get the benefits but it will be a hard slog and there's no guarantee the landlord will.approve your tenants improvements re bathroom kitchen etc. It's a risk but might be worth taking...

I disagree. There is no flooring that could stay it needs complexly refloored top to bottom and the decoration is extremely bad. The bathroom is … bad enough to need ripped out and redone

Sadly I’m not in a position to buy. I don’t believe they are, possibly his windows as they are rotten 🥲

I think it would be utterly mad to spend £15,000 on a house you don't own.

Do you have life-long tenancy?

If it was a private rental in a 6/12 month contract maybe but these are tenancy’s for life - and ones that can be passed to your child or family member so not that mad

Yes

Not being rude but if you have £15k in savings to do it up, why are you in an HA home?

Just curious, not meaning to be rude. I have no idea how this works.

Location, location, location. Where do you want to live?

In HIS location ! :-)

Many people in social housing work/ have decent incomes and savings . Doesn’t mean they want too or are able to buy for a lot of reasons .

Life tenancy the def go for it. Location will be worth it and you will forget the stress of renovating once it's all done!

Thanks !

Does it really cost £15k for carpets and a bathroom, how big is it? What condition is the kitchen in?

If you love the location, I would go for it. Whenever I have moved to a better location I have had to renovate - because you rarely get to move to a fabulous house in a fabulous location if you are trading up. And you will have it done to your taste and specifications.

good luck.

You "will need to spend a few weeks living outside"???!

I would, a few months of stress to be in lovely home and good location forever.

It will be all done and beautiful by Christmas.

I think you should go for it. You have the funds to get the work done. Just focus on how you want the place to look when you’ve finished redecorating. Also check out YouTube, lots of tutorials on how to do DIY. Could save you a bit of money (obviously pay for professionals for anything risky or dangerous or requiring a high skill level of course!)

If the windows need replacing, that will cost thousands-are you planning to pay for that as well?

I wouldn’t be willingly moving into somewhere that needed that much work.

Surely new bathroom is down to the council ?

I’m mean this in the kindest way possible but if you have spent thousands of ££s and can afford to spend £15k on this new place then you really should not be eligible for social housing.
when we got our social housing we could barely afford paint. That’s why we needed the house because we weren’t well off. We have a huge homeless issue in this country and so it upsets me that there are people living in them that clearly have other choices with their renovations and fancy new kitchens. Sorry but i had to rant

No I will be raising that with them under decent homes standard x