or is the council.

[allcriedout1]

I am in the process of helping my elderly mother bid for a sheltered bungalow. She has been offered one which is not yet ready and quite frankly would not be suitable without lots of work. We haven't even been allowed to view it as existing tenant has not handed keys back. We have been told that while this offer is outstanding we cannot bid on other properties. We would have to decline original offer before we would be shortlisted.
My gut feeling is to turn offer down and hope that we will be offered another. However, I do feel cross as we can't possibly make a decision because property is not ready. Yet we are being penalised for this.

But if it's not suitable even with all the work done why bother waiting?

what makes it not suitable?

It should be ok with work done on it. The garden is a state. Lots of uneven surfaces. Concrete with holes in etc. Not idea for an elderly person unsteady on her feet. However, if the were to do garden up and inside is ok it would be fine.

We just don't know whether they will actually make necessary improvements at this stage.

Also as we are not allowed to see inside we cannot really make an informed decision as we don't know how big the rooms are etc. My mum is giving up a lovely 3 bedroom house so we really need to see the inside.

You need to look at the allocations policy and at the reasons your mum is bidding.

In the local authority I work for this does happen somettimes (not the tenant bit just the repairs) but not often and we normally withdraw the preoprty if it becomes clear it needs extensive work.

However we also have a policy which states that a homeseeker can be offered up to three proeprties and decline them all with no reason and not be penalised, but decline the fourth with no good reason and you could be off the register! If you are a transfer applicant in a high band or homeless you only get one offer and if you decline that without a good reason you are off the register as a priority and can reapply but won't be given high priority.

Check the policy, or call and ask if your mum will be penalised for refusing this given the circumstances.

Hope that helps.

i have never been able to view inside either....and they dont make them perfect,just habitable

The area is ok. It is fairly close to church. However, 2 more properties are now available in a similar if not slightly better area. However, we have no guarantee that she will be offered one of those properties.

no,if its the bidding system you're using. what makes the other 2 any better? you can't be choosy with council property,you might miss out all round otherwise