Buying an ex council house

[Rainsbow]

There is no way of writing this nicely.

If one was to buy an ex council house, are the neighbours likely to be...council?

Please don't flame. How else could that be worded? It's not meant to cause offence. Buying a house its important to consider neighbours/local environment. I don't know how to find out if the other houses are now privately owned or still council tenants.

Hatesummer how on earth do you know how much she earns? Have you been intercepting her post??

We live In Council house (housing association) and my partner is a professional that runs a company, doesn't mean we're rich though!
They're probably paying more for their council rent then you are for your mortgage.

Agree. We live in a council (actually HA) house and claim no benefits except for child benefit same as most people.

it's regional isn't it? dbro lives in ex council flat in tower hamlets and earns 75k plus, all his neighbours are lovely. Here, central manchester and salford area, the old council estates are best avoided at all costs. I wouldnt buy an ex council house up here, no. But it seems like the thing to do in London because they are much cheaper.

I bought ex-LA in London - the reason I would ask this question is not so much worry about other tenants as the possibility of getting a mortgage. When I bought (2006) the stipulation was that 40% of the estate properties had to be privately owned in order to get the cheaper mortgages.

I rent an ex council house. My neighbours are council and they're friendly and polite, keep to themselves mostly. It's great.

This was our experience. Plus you get a great sized garden.

anon because i know someone who she used to work with and they told me she'd got another accountancy job in quite a prestigious place to work in. She was probably on about £50k when they got the council house. like I said, she's quite snooty about our area even though it's a really nice place with outstanding schools.

Anon
Did you actually read my op?

Snap8
I've never rented. Been cash buyers. Don't know why my personal circumstances have to come into play** though.

We're not buying the house because of SEVERAL reasons.

Well why don't your personal circumstances come in to play when your happy to bring others in to it? People who haven't been as financial lucky as you, doesn't mean they are low life neighbours.

Because just like other factors - location, schools, transport links, neighbours and sociability are deciding factors in people's property purchases.

We live in an ex council. We have one council neighbour one not. The council ones are really nice. The non council is a crazy old lady with a barmy dog who has no regard for privacy or being polite.

If you go on Street Checker website you can enter the postcode and see how many properties locally were council in the last census if you're particularly worried. It also shows crime etc.

I bought a 1950's ex council house three years ago, but was actually looking for one for around 5 years before buying, because the desirable houses sold so fast. I wanted a large corner plot that could accommodate an extension, and to be right on the edge of a village overlooking fields. These houses sell like hot cakes to families looking for value for money, but also offer great value to women with children looking for an affordable house after a relationship breakdown. The 1950s rural builds have large rooms and substantial gardens, but also lend themselves equally beautifully to a contemporary cottage or modern aesthetic. If you find one that hasn't been fully refurbished, you need to be prepared to strip each room back to the plaster, tackle wood chip or artex and replace skirting and architrave.
Almost all the properties along our street were purchased in the 1990s, so are well taken care of. Though I think entire estates would be transformed if every house planted a beautiful tree in the front garden. Because the houses are mainly terraced or semi-detached, a wide variety of tastes and gardening preferences are all in very close proximity, which exacerbates the snobbery. My recommendations would be to buy a house because it satisfies your need for space for your budget. Look at the gardens of your neighbours, three houses either side and if everything is maintained and tidy all should be fine.

@Rainsbow

There is no way of writing this nicely.

If one was to buy an ex council house, are the neighbours likely to be...council?

Please don't flame. How else could that be worded? It's not meant to cause offence. Buying a house its important to consider neighbours/local environment. I don't know how to find out if the other houses are now privately owned or still council tenants.

How is it not meant to cause offence? You clearly are saying that having council tenants for neighbours is a bad thing.

I’m a council tennant. My home is clean; tidy and quiet. I work long hours. My dd is quiet and we both help our elderly neighbours or go to keep them company. My next door neighbour owns their (ex council) house and are vile. Sell drugs.. play loud music all the time and are always fighting and having police out. Council tenants aren’t always “bad” and owners aren’t always that great.

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!!

LOOK AT THE DATE!!!!

I live in an ex council have lovely neighbours. Round here you can tell by the paint jobs and maintenance.The council just painted all theirs look lovely but there were 4 standard colours the tenants could choose from. When they redid their fascia they used one with ventilation vents. The houses that have coloured paint or in poor state of repair are all in private hands.

I live in an ex council house. My neighbours are council tenants & nicer people you couldn't meet. Their gardens are immaculate & they're lovely people.

Just as many people in nice bought houses have awful neighbours.

My house is considerably bigger than modern houses. The rooms are bigger, the gardens huge & it was a lot cheaper than newer ones.

Whether still council or not, to me it will depend on who’s living in them. I went with a dd to look at several ex council houses. Sometimes you’d know right away - rubbish and old mattresses etc. in front gardens, very loud music, people shouting and swearing.

There was one where we didn’t even go through the motions of going in the front door - young blokes sitting in the next door front garden (they all had back gardens) drinking beer, very noisy, plus incredibly loud music blaring.

Such a shame, because it was otherwise an attractive road with perfectly nice houses.

The one she eventually bought over 5 years ago has always been absolutely fine, but I think we could tell from the first. IMO you need to have a good look at different times of day, and at weekends. Rubbish in messy front gardens and/or loud shouting/swearing, would always be red flags, to me, anyway.

The former owners had bought it in 1971 - for almost exactly 1% of what dd paid! - and although terribly dated it was obvious from the moment you walked in that it had been a much-loved and cared-for family home, with a lovely warm atmosphere.

We bought ex council
One side is bought (they sold) but where lovely
The new ones are noisey but that’s the kids playing in the garden-nothing major

Other side was a guy (council) who was lovely until he sadly passed on
The new lady is very nosey-has to know everything as it happens but we just avoid her unless we see her and we are polite
She’s friendly enough,we just don’t hang around for a chat

I’ve lived in council and private rented and it really does depend on the person they are rather than who they rent from

Sadly my experience with ex council houses are bad. Bad neighbours, poor quality building, and lack of sound proofing making it very noisy to live in.

On the plus side, they should be very cheap to purchase, and if that's a factor, you have to pay for what you can afford.

@JacobKell

Sadly my experience with ex council houses are bad. Bad neighbours, poor quality building, and lack of sound proofing making it very noisy to live in.

On the plus side, they should be very cheap to purchase, and if that's a factor, you have to pay for what you can afford.

On the contrary, IMO the 1950s houses we saw struck us as very well built, not to mention considerably more spacious than a lot of decidedly more expensive new builds.