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

Bless you op. Loved reading your thread. Hope that you make lovely memories in your new home.

It’s actually got a light well with a window and vents plus the door opens into the hallway but I’m only thinking of a condenser dryer as it will be a dry heat which will go upstairs and help in winter. Need to save up for that though

Woohooo!!! Im so excited that you are finally in your new home! Lol @ your foxy visitor 😅 Wishing you all the best in your place. Also be sure to have a dehunidifier if you are using the basment for the laundry to make sure you dont get any damp or mould!

Luckily I managed to get hold of a dehumidifier on one of the freecycle sites before I moved. When they first told me there had been issues with damp in the past I started looking for one. They’ve done so much work in that respect I don’t know if I will need it but I didn’t want to find out the hard way.

Ah amazing! And you know what, it's better to be prepared rather than get a shock at a later time :)

good to read on the other thread that you've finally moved in - I missed the September update, hope that you've settled in comfortably.

Thank you. Yes it took a lot of waiting but I really am so grateful for what I have. I still pinch myself every day. I have no sofa and need to save up for the floors but even that that doesn't seem like a problem now I am finally here. These last couple of weeks have been some of the best sleeps I ever had.

Well it has now been a month. I couldn’t afford to carpet or buy laminate for the floors so my friend helped me hire out a sander and I am going to embrace the floors and varnish them. Very hard work but once it is done I know it will be worth the hard work. Primed the living room and am going to varnish later. Some of the boards are new so it doesn’t match perfectly but I can live with that. Apparently you can darken them with teabags but I can’t bear the idea of slapping my Yorkshire tea over the floor lol 😂 Still the bedroom to sand then I can varnish that too. Once this is all done I can finally get the place furnished.

I’ve been following your thread as it’s brilliant! I’m so pleased for you.

May I just say your Housing Association or Council must be the business to give you four radiators! I’m blown away. Your room looks lovely and I hope you’re very happy in your new home.

Oh that looks lovely, the floor and the light in that room - er, you have more radiators in that one room than I have in my entire house, is your flat located in the Arctic?! LOL!

Love that floor OP.

I'm so glad everything is working out for you - and yes to the radiators! You're going to be toasty warm.

That looks great! You'll always be able to get big rugs instead of carpet with varnished floors too.

Thank you all 🙏

It is a very large room with a high ceiling so am guessing may get cold in winter . I did ask why there were so many radiators in that room but the housing officer didn't really know. That's exactly what I am thinking though rugs are way more affordable if I shop around and often washable too. Financially the quotes were eye watering and it just made more sense to love what I've got really . I have never even seen a sander before so I learned a new skill too ❤️

Bedroom. Not primed or varnished yet. Just the hallway to go. Then I can start to get some semblance of normal. If anyone wants to hire a sander I found it a bit hit and miss. The sheets do seem to tear quite easily and I got through quite a few.

It looks brilliant. Those floors have cleaned up really well and will look great with some nice rugs down. Loving how light and airy the rooms look. You can get some lovely but inexpensive pendant chandeliers and get some lovely rugs and curtains to make it cozy and just in time to put a Christmas tree up in December.

I need to look for rugs next . haven’t even had a Christmas tree for years because I had nowhere to put one but I can’t wait to get one this year ❤️

Also - measure your rooms and go shopping for cheap carpet offcuts. You can get surprisingly large pieces, then get the edges bound in a carpet shop - it can be cheaper overall for something more durable than cheaper rugs.

How exciting for you. I was housed in Redbridge 50 years ago and am still in the same house. I can remember the excitement of a little house with a garden. We were part of slum clearance in the 70s. I hope you will be as happy here as I have been

What a lovely bloody thread to find!

So happy for you. We've just won a house too, totally different area but similar in that the old lady who died had refused to have any work done, so we're getting new floors, kitchen, bathroom, plastering, heating done.

I appreciate you posting so many updates, and I've changed our expected timeline to get keys now. Can't promise I won't be up there most evenings peering through the windows like a demented harpy tho!

Again, so happy for you, and the floor looks awesome.

Happy shopping for a beautiful Christmas tree and some lovely rugs.

I have done this and yes, it can be considerably cheaper than buying a rug!

If for some reason you want washable rugs, I have several ruggables an dthey have stood up very well though the standard ones are rather thin, they do a padded back and thicker pile too. Not cheap however (important for me as we have dogs and also my wheelchair tends to track muck everywhere!).

Thank you I’ve had so many ideas from you all and am definitely going to look into them. Bedroom finished now. Just the hallway left to do and that’s it all done. The best thing is it will look uniform throughout. I will have a sealed container left over so I can give the rooms another coat in a year if need be. The whole lot including machine hire has saved me hundreds of pounds so far.

That’s exactly what I did for months, look through the windows. Really pleased the thread has been of use too. I wanted to keep updating because people don’t always come back and you don’t always find out how things went after the bid was successful.

wow that looks amazing I’m so happy for you op

I've read through the whole thread this evening, it's been lovely to read your journey OP, and hear your happiness with your fabulous flat. A long wait for it but worth it. It's going to look amazing when it's all done. I love what you've done with the floors, good decision.