Ex-council house

[Loopyteddy]

We have sold our rural 2 bed bungalow recently and are looking to move to a 3 bed house local to us but into a village.
We recently looked at a property that has been renovated in the last 2 years. The price of it means we will not be borrowing the maximum amount and can keep a little cash back from the sale of our house to make the new house our own. Basically we will be in a better financial position then if we went to the top of our budget.

This house isn't very big but the layout is great for a family with 2 small children as it has a space for a playroom that is joined on to the kitchen diner.

However it is an ex-council house and 3 different people (friends and family) have told us not to buy it because of this.
When questioned as to why, they just say they're not built great, we will have trouble selling it if we want to later on etc

Can anyone tell me is there an issue with ex-council houses that I'm not aware of? We haven't had the survey done yet but will see if that flags anything up.

Thanks is advance

I like ex council, they are usually really nicely proportioned
However they are sometimes non standard construction (Unrepaired concrete can be particularly hard to mortgage) which would concern me as even if I could mortgage it I’d worry a buyer in the future couldn’t

@Loopyteddy

I would also be the first to admit that the outside of the house isn't really attractive. It was the inside layout and new kitchen that we liked.

Yes that’s pretty much the trade off. It’s usually lack of kerb appeal and the location of similar houses Ie obviously council estate v you get more inside and footprint than other properties in the same price bracket, who do habe the location/kerb appeal.

So if you’re not concerned about the outside appearance, then it’s a win for you really. But that’s basically the issue your family/friends havr but aren’t spelling it out, becayse it is snobby.

I bought an ex council house in London on a large estate of flat fronted terraced houses all built around greens. I had some hesitations too. But a house is different to a large block with external front doors off long terraces (you know the ones I mean, they feature in all police dramas!)
I paid £145k for my house in 1999. I sold it two years later for £240k. They now are worth up to £900k.
The houses are 1930s, very solid. I never heard my neighbours. And obviously no problem with value!

We are in an ex council. We bought it for £120 and have 3 beds and a mahoosive garden. We've renovated and it's now worth almost twice that! Woohoo! There's no way on earth we could have afforded a family home otherwise. We are both self employed and this is our first home so our options were very limited, also I have a disability so I needed some serious space. A house 2 doors down went for over asking price in 6 days for the same reasons I guess; cheap, space, potential! If you aren't snobby about the fact that it's ex council then go for it.

1960s council houses were often built to the Parker Morris standards of space, storage and construction that are superior to those of many privately built houses. So unless it's made of pre-cast concrete or some other unusual method of construction you will be more than fine.

I've owned and sold 2 ex council houses. First sold within 24 hrs, second within 3 days. In fact the estate agent who came to give me a valuation bought it off me.

Council houses were not built for profit, no one was skimping on the work or materials on order to please shareholders. They're usually very solid, great family layout, high ceilings, quality builds. Like previous PP has said, the only downside is they don't tend to look pretty from the outside.

I think people are often prejudiced against ex-LA houses because of their perceived lack of kerb appeal and because of downright snobbery. I know my mum grew up in a council house and would never have dreamed of buying one, but this was purely due to the (for want of a better word) stigma she'd felt was associated them in her childhood.

As I see it this snob-factor is something of a generational issue, with younger adults having less of an issue with it. This is probably partly down to so many ex-council houses now being in private hands thanks to right-to-buy.

The main issues to watch out for iny opinion would be nonstandard construction (e.g. Wimpey no-fines houses) which are notorious for developing serious structural problems as they age and consequently can be very difficult to get a mortgage on, and the social problems that go with large areas of deprived social housing.

It sounds like the latter won't be a problem in your case, as this is probably a small group of council houses in a village where the schools etc are common to the rest of the houses there. Given the advantages in terms of getting a lot of housefor your money, I'd go for it.

@OhTheIronyOfItAll

I guess it depends on area / age but ex council houses in our area are pretty sought after because of the build quality & room sizes.

Same here. Sounds like snobbery to me.

Get a really good survey if concerned and ask lots of questions.

New builds are pretty poor quality!

You've had lots of advice and reassurance here OP but I am sitting in my lovely ex-council house right now! I LOVE it. We have a huge plot which we made into a drive which you can get three cars on, a giant garden that backs onto a playing fields and an AONB with lots of paths and animals and wildlife! The rooms are huge, three double bedrooms, we put in a new bathroom and kitchen and it is honestly the most solid, well built, house we looked around. And the fact it didn't even nearly max out our lending meant we really have made it our own. We're putting it on the market (simply because we are building our own house in another country) and I really really hope someone like you buys it as it's been amazing for our little family! Good luck!

It’s not snobbery, council houses are simply worth less than equivalent privately built properties. OP, lots of people here will project their political beliefs on you by using words like snobbery. You are spending cold hard cash on a house. You should know that council houses and indeed ex local authority neighbour good will always have a ceiling price mo matter how much you spend onto it. And they are less desirable when you come to sell - it’s all relative but it’s a fact.

@user1495884211

If it's sixties built, it should be fine but you do get council houses built shortly after WW2 of non-standard construction that are poorly built so it isn't solely snobbery, you just need to be careful what you are buying.

Yes, this.

My colleague has just pulled out of a sale because the ex council house they had an offer on is steel framed. The surveyor told them that these houses had all sorts of issues. The current council stock nearby have been fixed (where possible) but those in private hands probably haven't.

But, apart from that, yes - it's snobbery!

Watch out for non standard construction, and accept that ex council houses will always be at a discount to the equivalent size period properties.

I have an ex-council 50s build brick construction house. It’s in a row of about 10 council houses on an otherwise street of small Victorian worker 2 up 2 down properties.

Quite frankly I wanted 3 bedrooms and couldn’t afford the extra 50k I would have to spend to get a 3 bed period property in the same area.

It is much more ugly outside and inside than period properties.

There have been shortcuts taken eg with surface electrics and pipes which a home owner probably wouldn’t have done when things were upgraded, council is not known for doing aesthetically nice work.

However I fucking love it. It’s got nice big square rooms. I have side access to the garden. Much better garden than the period houses near me. Doesn’t have high ceilings like the period stuff but has higher ceilings than new builds.

The things that you like about it are why it won't affect sale in the future....Good size rooms, suitable for a family and walking distance to the village.....they are things people are always going to want..
As you say not many houses come up in the village and people stay another plus point... .
Sounds good to me

@sst1234 thank you I appreciate what everyone has to say about these types of houses. Our current home we bought 14 years ago as first time buyers so I would say we aren't very clued up when it comes to properties.

We bought our ex council house 24 yrs ago.
Thick walls , and oak wood throughout!
We still have the original roof!
It was built 1947.
People doing work on it have commented how well built.
Yes the walls needed taking back to the brick but that's not unreasonable.
We know some history about it, that it was built by Italian pow
Other part of the estate German POW.
We are the 3rd family to live here and actually know some of the families of past tenants!
Huge rooms and a nice big garden for the dog

Whilst I do not agree with the sale of LA stock they are big and well built with usually a decent sized garden.

I wouldn't move from a detached house though.

Our first place was an ex council flat and we did have trouble selling and made next to no money on it. That was because it was non standard construction and when we bought it in 2015 we had no trouble getting a mortgage but by 2020 it was unmortgagable. It was also leasehold and the council were horrendously slow doing any admin in terms of buying/selling so it took 6 months each time to go through. It was HUGE though. Over 2 floors with a kitchen/diner and living room downstairs leading out onto the balcony. Both the kitchen and the living room were bigger than our current house. Had 2 double bedrooms and a box room upstairs and a big family bathroom. Loads of storage everywhere built in.

We live in an ex council house and we love it. It needed a bit of work as the previous owners weren’t very good at maintaining the place but it’s solidly build, has a large garden and for the area is about 25% cheaper than other similar houses. Go for it.