Am I being a snob?

[fireflyzer]

Hi,

We are looking to relocate to due to work commitments etc. We are looking at properties that we can afford in the new area that we will be moving to. DH has found an ex council house that is well within our budget. DH's thinks that we need to think of this house as a serious contender due to the following -

solid built
big rooms
fully removated - nice kitchen and bathroom etc
Large garden
Private driveway

I have never considered living in an ex local authority property. The estate looks nice and we think that most of it has been privately bought.

Am I being a snob for not being sure if this is good enough?

Why would it not?

I live in a ex council house , in a beautiful village.
I do know what you mean. I was shocked at my internalised snobbery before purchasing it.
We decided to and I don’t regret it at all.
We’ve extended it into a lovely and spacious interior. It is solid with high ceilings and a huge garden. Love it.

For me it would all depend on the location.

I live in a small, quiet seaside town now and would have no issue with buying an ex-council house.

However, I lived in London for decades before that and would not touch anything that still has social housing around it in that location. I used to own a flat in a housing association building in East London and there was a small council estate opposite, including some houses. Constant issues with gang activities, noise, drug taking and littering...never again.

Everyone will call you a snob but if you can afford a different area why wouldn’t you?

As above - many are solidly built and have larger plots than non LA properties. Make sure however it doesn't have 100% flat roof as these can be more maintenance and harder to mortgage than those with pitched roofs.

It's cheaper than the equivalent non ex-local authority house for a reason and that reason will persist when you try to sell it. Wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

The house itself will be good quality but check houses on each side are privately owned,not council.
I am not a snob,grew up in council housing with no problem tenants,all close knit,good families.
However,I have had 2 different council neighbours,at differnt times and both substance abusers with anti social behaviour.
Dont know how the area is where you are,but in our county,council housing does not get allocated to 'average'families any more,only those with dire need as obviously its in short supply.
Doesnt mean you cant have an antisocial owner or a buy to let next door but its worth considering.

I wouldn’t. It might be cheaper, but it’s still a huge amount of money to spend if you don’t love the house.

I love how mn likes to pretend that we’re all the same. I wouldn’t live in an ex council house due to my friend’s experience. They bought one and it’s damp plus the neighbours around them are not people I’d want to live with -yelling, swearing at the dc, drug dealing on the corner and 3 of their neighbours have been in prison for various crimes related to violence. It’s all a bit stereotypical, and obviously some families are not like that at all (like my friends) but I got yelled at by her neighbours for “having a posh car and being cunt” in front of my then young dc when we were visiting. Car was a 6 year Old Ford smax and I was dressed in jeans and a jumper 🤷🏻‍♀️

My friends have had to install cctv cameras and a ring doorbell due to antisocial behaviour.

but we can just pretend social stereotypes are fictional if that makes people here feel better.

When I was growing up on a council estate, no one owned their house, everyone worked and it was no more problematic than anywhere. And the houses are well built and decently sized, better than a lot of new builds. However, I would not buy around a lot of rented houses, as when I have been in this situation, there has been a lot of problems. I am not in a big city though, am in a small town where a lot of big cities ship their most problem social housing tenants.

It really depends on the estate. I would live on a well maintained estate with pleasant neighbours but some are not like that and problems occur. You have to do a lot of research and visit the area before deciding.

I always think this. In real life nobody I know would ever consider buying an ex council house yet on MN everyone is the opposite.

This sounds like a good buy for all the reasons you/your DH mentions. You are in danger of cutting your nose off to spite your face... 🌹

Our first house was an ex council house, on a street of mostly owner occupied houses. It was amazing - solidly built with a large garden and good sized rooms. We did a loft conversion and put in a new kitchen, plus general decorating and doubled the value of the house in just over 10 years.

That said, one of the LA tenants were a bit grim, but so was one of the owner occupiers!

In our town the ‘posh’ new build estate had a house raided as a drugs lab, my friend who lives in a tiny group of very expensive houses - upwards of £1million, converted barns and the like and she’s had all sorts of trouble with antisocial neighbours so money doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. Most new build estates now have to have some social housing.
I live in a street of owner occupied ex council houses and we don’t hear a peep out of anyone. Very occasionally in the summer I might hear the teen a couple of doors up practising the drums! I’m not saying there aren’t some places that are still social housing that have problems but if buying an ex council house the odds are theat street has to been council for 40 years or so and most of the neighbours also own thier own house but as said doesn’t matter where you live you can still have awful neighbours.

@BrieAndChilli i do agree with that - antisocial neighbours come in all classes. But, the new estate near me was lovely until the one bed flats were finished and the homeless men in their 30s moved in. Police tape, stabbings, drugs all began. It’s okay now so again, not all people needing housing are violent criminals, but they do need housing somewhere. There is a nice ex council house estate in a nearby village but they’re all owned now. I don’t know what the answer is because families needing homing end up in some really awful situations when their home should be a safe space.

Glad to read that MN is broadening your horizons and making you less ignorant.

My first house was ex local authority and the only downside was it made it really hard to move on. We were looking at detached houses twice the price , which really didn't offer anything extra (except being detached) and were often in less good locations, being further away from amenities.

Depends on the area and school catchment area, I grew up on a massive council estate and this has made me wary.

I live in a very nice village with a small area of ex council houses.
Most owned and extended with very middle class families living in them.

It all depends on the area as opposed to the house. I know great ones and awful ones.

You’re not being a snob at all. I bought my current semi ex council house 4 years ago, the neighbours attached to me are council tenants and they are awful, have made my life hell here with noise and anti social behaviour. It’s so sad as my home is lovely. I would do your research and make sure the area is right for you !

I think you need to look at it without thinking of its history, and simply compare it to others you can afford. Many x council houses lack curb appeal , but then so do many new builds. It really is about how it stacks up v the other ones you can afford.