Successful bid on council property

[TheTartfulLodger]

Posting for traffic as the housing forum is slow.

Possibly soon not to be a Tartful Lodger but a Tartful Tenant.

Miraculously I was placed in position 1 on a council property the weekend and was still position 1 when bidding closed at midnight. Does anyone have experience with how long it usually takes to be contacted for viewing please? It's Redbridge if that helps?

Yes I know 'why don't you call them, we can't tell you', but you can't because they won't tell you anything and it's possible someone on here can actually tell me because they've been where I am with bidding themselves recently.

The problem is -

A) I'm seeing multiple incidents where people have still not been contacted weeks later,

And

B) My anxiety is through the roof to the point I can't eat and feel sick because In more than 3 years of bidding I've never been in position 1 and this property is my absolute dream come true. It's really everything I dreamt of. I'm frightened to believe this is even happening.

Equal measures of scared and anxious, more so because I made the mistake of getting too invested when I realised nobody was out bidding me and I know I'll be devastated if this doesn't work out 😭

I'm just really unfamiliar with how the system works and don't know what happens if you get to position 1 because they don't really tell you much on the website. Has anyone been bidding on council property lately and got to position 1? Was there a long wait to be invited to view?

I feel so nervous I have to keep running to the loo! Really grateful for any feedback , even the ones telling me to just call them and ask. ☺️

Yes, I know I'm being unreasonable for using two emojis in one post. I'll take that one like a woman.

Title edited by MNHQ on OP's request

That's going to be amazing once you've got your things in there & done some decorating. Congratulations!

I've just found your post and want to congratulate you on your new home...
And offer some advice about the poor lady who died there.
I'm not at all woooo and lived in a converted Victorian hospital..
I'd imagine that hundreds of people died there over the 150 years it was a hospital.
I had 2 of my children there.
I felt 'watched' sometimes but never frightened.
I often thought about the poor people who died there.
Occasionally I even said hello to those 'souls'.
And lived a happy life with laughter and fun with my kids in honour of the people who lost their lives there..
I wish you every happiness in your new home..

Your flat looks great. I wish you health and happiness in yournew home. Please update us when you get the keys.

Wow that will be beautiful. That cellar is amazing, you could have anything down there. Loads of storage, an office space, and extra living room, cinema room! Congratulations 🎊

Have they seriously fitted that shower like that instead of using a bigger door and floor tray so it uses the whole space. FFS.

Still, looks bloody brilliant, I have basement envy.. omg, aquarium and vivarium room snug if that were mine (I have tropical fish, and also frogs!)... you could do all sorts with that!

It looks great! :D

Oh just seen the boxing in for the plumbing probably runs alongside the shower... still, you'd build a tiled shelf over that and extend the shower a bit, rather than leave that inaccessible useless gap. Still FFS.

Ooh lovely. Getting closer to being ready for you to move into. It will be lovely and cosy once all the work is done and carpets / flooring sorted. Have a browse round for some lovely house bits and pieces. Happy shopping and hopefully you will ne able to move in soon

Only read the OP’s posts.

it’s understandable that they have stopped you bidding as you’ve accepted an offer on a property.

They likely wouldn’t have known the extent of the work until the previous tenants flooring was lifted, due to this they cannot give timescales.

I’ve known lots of tenants refuse modernisation/repair works as they simply cannot cope with the upheavel of the works required, some have had to be taken to court due to legal compulsory compliance works.

As someone who works in housing, it can take multiple months for preservation works to be successfully completed.

The targeted asbestos request on average takes 2-4 weeks depending on the sub-contractor availability, then another 2-4 weeks to get the results….. if positive for asbestos and depending on the type, HSE needs to be informed and that’s a further 15 day period.

As it’s in the floor… any electrical,, plumbing and flooring platforms will need to be isolated/removed by a qualified asbestos contractor and depending on there availability it can then take another 4/8 weeks. After this you need a qualified preservation team to carry out the preservation works… again can take months.

None of the internal works can begin as the HSE won’t allow it until the certification is given for the property to continue with progression works… If it needs a new kitchen this is normally combined with a re-wire as an EIRC needs to be done to a property every 5 year.

So I get it’s frustrating for you, however legally there is a very strict protocol process that needs to be adhered too.

The non communication isn’t great but they also cannot give a specific timelines as simply they are awaiting on external availability to progress the property.

By the timeline i was given, hopefully start of October but possibly earlier. All depends on how fast they work really. Honestly cannot wait.

Oooooooooh!!

I am picking the keys up at 9.30am today. I haven’t slept all night 😂 😂

so after almost 5 months from start to finish, today I will be picking the keys up for my new flat. I hope this thread will serve as useful in future for anyone caught up in the council bidding system so that they can see that even when they win a bid on a property, there can still be a long process before you actually get inside your new home.

today my life changes forever and won’t ever be quite the same in so many good ways. Thank you to everyone who has followed this arduous journey and to anyone who has not found this thread yet, good luck with your journeys and don’t lose heart in the system. Keep bidding and keep everything crossed, be prepared for issues along the way but don’t let it deter you. Your new home will be worth the wait! xx

good luck everyone and thank you 🙏 😊

Looks amazing op good luck

Congratulations . Your new life awaits you !🍹💝

That's so exciting. I hope you are very happy in your new home.

Sooooo excited for you! Will you move in today or just wander around, mentally arranging furniture, painting walls and making it all pretty 😁.

The first day I got the keys for this place I was sooooo excited. I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, even tho it was already clean, and wafted room to room imagining my furniture in and stuff. We had a month (moving from private to SH) and I hated my existing house more and more. If I wasn't at the new house, I was packing stuff at old house or wandering around B and Q or B and M or Dunelm. It's sooooo exciting.

@TartfulRidesAgain2 Enjoy your new home! Hope you update once you’re settled.

@TartfulRidesAgain2 congratulations! I hope your move goes smoothly and you have peaceful times in your new home

Congrats! Pleased for you. Do come and update us when you're settled in.

Lovely news - congratulations - enjoy your space xxx

If make that into a proper playroom/snug. Embrace the darkness, paint it dark navy or dark green, put a squishy sofa and tv in. Some speakers. Or if you need an extra bedroom or home office, use it for that.

good luck in your new home and congrats.

Oh brilliant, so pleased for you! :D Can't wait to see (assuming you want to share of course, you may not!) what you do with some of your new space!

Well, I’ve had a week to settle and unpack. On my first night I had a visitor. I was sat in the living room when i
looked up and realised I was being watched…scared the life out of me 😂

Aww ... there are definitely worse visitors to have!

It’s a lovely flat in a beautiful old Edwardian house. I’ve had some of the best sleeps in years here. Will need to do the floors but the rest is all looking good. A man came to do some quotes for laminate last week so I might go with that. Still some boxes to unpack but I’ve got most of everything I need. Decided to use the basement as a utility room. I’ve got a freezer down there and a pantry all set up to stock up. It’s all the space I wasn’t expecting. It’s just amazing. This was all so worth the long wait.

I am so pleased for you after such a massive wait - one of the greatest pleasures (yes I realise how sad that sounds) I had this year was stocking my pull out larder with all manner of stuff I could finally fucking REACH after years of an inaccessible kitchen. Just knowing I can go in there and theres all the supplies I could want for snacks and baking and whatever the heck...

After decades of being too skint to HAVE supplies and then disabled and unable to reach them... oh its a luxury, just the space to put things where you want, how you want. Mmmmm!

Enjoy :D

It looks great! Is there adequate ventilation in the basement to cope with laundry?