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Original poster

Buy a flat or part buy a house out of area

16 replies

FancySomeChips · 12/02/2022 22:10

Posting for my brother and his girlfriend as they’ve asked me for advice but I don’t know what to suggest.

They’ve got twin mid teenage boys and live in a council flat. They qualify for right to buy but haven’t been in a position to buy their flat before now. Her grandparent recently died leaving her a small but large enough inheritance to clear their credit cards. They are thinking of buying their 3 bed council flat as it just seems like the opportunity needs to be taken now.
It’s moderately well decorated and has a decent sized garden. It’s in the area we all live and great links to both London and Surrey/Kent/Sussex for beaches and countryside. But it is a ground floor flat.

Alternatively, they would also qualify for a shared ownership property -a new build semi detached house- with 3 bedrooms and a small office downstairs. This property is an hour drive away from the rest of us, their jobs, friends etc and is in Kent. The rooms are smaller but there is the office for a quiet working space. The garden will be smaller but not tiny. They would only be purchasing a 50% share.

What would you do?
I’m not sure what I’d do if I’m honest as I can see the positives and negatives in both options.

OP posts:

Fretfulmum · 13/02/2022 10:44

I would never do Shared ownership Have a look online at the pitfalls and the horrible situations people have got themselves in- unable to move, or can’t get equity from the house, you still have to pay rent etc

PinchOfVom · 13/02/2022 10:46

Obviously but shared ownership rather than take a council property out of the system. They should not be allowed to be sold off like this

MaizeAmaze · 13/02/2022 10:49

I wouldn't move teenage kids an hour away if I had a choice. Would that be an extra hour on their commute? Or can they easily get new jobs in the new area?
Are either of the kids likely to be in the middle of a 2 year course when a new school is needed?

Original poster

FancySomeChips · 13/02/2022 10:58

Teens do GCSEs this year, so would move for sixth form college. But they are unlikely to stay on at school anyway, they would be going to colleges and would be making new friendships in either situation.
I previously would have agreed about the council home purchase depleting the stock, but having seen so many people buy theirs and have such a dramatic increase in quality of life after doing so, I’m at a stage now where I think why shouldn’t my family benefit after a truly shit few decades?

OP posts:

RitaFires · 13/02/2022 11:19

I think shared ownership is for when you can't afford to buy something suitable. It sounds like they're happy in the flat so I would think buying that makes the most sense.

I do think they need to abolish right to buy but I don't blame someone for taking an option available to them.

Horseradish01 · 13/02/2022 11:58

Flat is the better option but making sure they’re aware of service charge increases before doing so as they’re more for owners than they are for council tenants.
Also any cladding remedial issues expected that they will then have to contribute towards.

sunshinesupermum · 13/02/2022 16:12

Buy the flat. Why wouldn't they? What's wrong with it being on the ground floor? I would avoid shared ownership like the plague.

Original poster

FancySomeChips · 13/02/2022 16:31

You’ve misunderstood, being on the ground floor is a massive bonus! Not the opposite!

OP posts:

Original poster

FancySomeChips · 13/02/2022 16:33

The question over buying the flat is that it’s a flat not a house. With people upstairs, considerably less privacy, more neighbours making noise and they are unlikely to move ever again so will never have a house…. Wouldnt a house have more value eventually if they did sell it?? Etc.

OP posts:

Corrag · 13/02/2022 16:41

Surely the sensible thing to do is buy the flat, live in it for a few years while the boys get through college etc, then sell the flat (for significantly more than it cost them) and buy a house somewhere. Whether it's the right thing to do from a moral perspective is another matter.

Original poster

FancySomeChips · 13/02/2022 16:53

I think the government have sold all our morals to a private company haven’t they?

OP posts:

Callisto1 · 13/02/2022 17:13

What will be the monthly cost of flat vs shared ownership? Given that they will have to pay rent on the shared ownership house as well. Also what happens if they want to sell the shared ownership house? From my understanding it can be quite complicated and requires permission.

Also it's hard to tell if the price rises will be better for the house since it depends on area as well as type or property so I wouldn't base it on that. Why not just choose based on what suits them best rather than some potential gains many years in the future.

sunshinesupermum · 13/02/2022 18:30

What Callisto1 said!

timetokill · 13/02/2022 22:29

Buy the council flat, I suspect your sister will get it at a subsidized price vs the market value, and a garden 3 bed council flat is a very sought property (ex council, good connectivity as you say) hence if they decide to sell after 10 years (for example) they should receive a handsome profit (i know as I was in exactly the same position a few years ago). I know many people who are struggling to sell their shared-ownership flats, and service charges are extortionate (whilst council flat service charges are reasonable in comparison). Plus the build quality of the shared-ownership new builds is so poor and crappy.

OrcharD14 · 13/02/2022 23:30

‘Council flat service charges are reasonable.’
That’s true for tenants, but once you become a leaseholder, it’s a different story. Is it a maisonette, or in a block? If the latter, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. A colleague bought her council flat, in a smallish block & saw her management fees nearly triple! Luckily, it was located in a popular London commuter belt & was able to sell it on. This was pre-Covid, so it mightn’t be so easy now.

OrcharD14 · 13/02/2022 23:48

So many myths on here re shared ownership. For me & several of my colleagues, it was a choice between either buying a share & being able to build up equity, or continuing to pay our landlords’ mortgages & leaving empty handed, at the time of their choosing. I refer to my colleagues, as at the time when we bought, shared ownership was only for key workers. We all did phenomenally well out of it & had no issues selling, as it was in a desirable London suburb, 5 mins. walk from the tube. I appreciate things might not be exactly the same now & we were all able to buy 50% of the property - that was the stipulation to make the scheme viable. I loved that flat & would be happy to eventually retire there, but there’s no lift!!

The management fees have to be factored in & you also need to consider the length of the lease - less than 100 years would need to be renewed, which isn’t cheap, but that’s true of any leasehold, whether shared ownership, or not. I wish your brother luck, as it’s a huge decision.

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