Buy an ex-council house?

[estebancolberto]

We are interested in a 3 bed freehold terraced house. It's very spacious, located in a quiet area, 10 mins walk from tube station and doesn't require any work to be done. It has a larger 3rd bed room compared to other 3 bed houses we have seen and also has a utility room. It's also in the price range (420) that we are willing to pay. However, we only recently came to know that the property is ex-council. We are now conflicted about whether to buy or not. We plan to stay there for at least 10 years as it has good nurseries and primary schools nearby. What's the general perception of ex-council houses? Will they be attractive to future buyers? Will they be difficult to sell? I read that they might difficult to mortgage (maybe just flats?) don't tend to go up in value as much as other properties?

I bought my council house in a good location next to tube station going into London , near shops and good schools . We bought it for 195k rtb , valued at 325 k and It's worth 475k now this was 6 or 7 years ago

What would be the problem with an ex council house? Genuinely confused about why you think this might be a problem.

Purpose built council houses used to be of very good construction (I’m sure the new ones aren’t).

Some people are snobby about council houses because they are often in less “nice” areas, on estates etc. The houses themselves are often well built, spacious etc. If the area is good, go for it!

It's prefab council housing that difficult to sell . We had a prefab before this one , we could get it for very little but was told it would be very difficult to sell

The only reason we didn't buy an ex council house when we were looking was that the one which ticked all our boxes for size, price and location was a non standard construction so would have been difficult to mortgage. If yours isn't, I would suggest all the reasons it's right for you will also be reasons for another family when you come to sell.

I own an ex-council semi. It's a bit boxy and uninspiring from the front but it's solid and decent quality.

We have an ex council property. Love it. Solid walls and designed so that living spaces are not next to nextdoor's living space so hardly any neighbour noise. Bit ugly on the outside but fab inside (bit like me really)!

I checked. These were originally built as prefabs in the area in the 1960s but they were rebuilt into brick houses in 1970s and sold through right to buy in 1980s.

They are very popular around here, the older ones I mean. Large rooms, good quality build, walls aren’t flimsy so not much neighbour noise. They are pretty comparable price wise to houses that weren’t previously council if they are in a single street or quiet close.
Only the ones that are in an actual council estate, and so still tend to have council tenants living on the estate, seem to be lower priced and less attractive, I guess because of peoples perceptions of council estates (which as it happens we’re true in the estate DM had the misfortune to be housed in for a while!)

Here's a link to the property front view

Well built houses with generous sized bedrooms and decent gardens. We've only ever been able to afford ex-council but you get more than you'd get in a new build. I'd go for it.

Flats can be an issue if part of the block is still social housing- the privately owned flats can have to pay a lot more service charge than if the whole block is privately owned.
Houses are fine. They also tend to have nice clear title deeds 😁

Ex council houses in good areas are fine. The fact that they are ex council does tend to put some people off (the snob factor) which means they tend to be a bit more reasonably priced than other comparable properties.
That is a good thing when you’re buying but not quite as good when you’re selling.

Ours is in a rural location but far and away the best decision for us. Three decent sized bedrooms, plenty of living space, very big garden so room to expand if we could afford to! Even with local occupancy have no reservations that it would sell in the blink of an eye if we ever wanted to leave - which we don't. Only down side is that it's not a looker but the gorgeous garden (and off road parking for 4 cars) makes up for that in spades.

With the current market, they seem to be the only houses that are selling in our area as you get more space for your money.

Check the surrounding area for sold or still council, especially neighbours. Not that it's a guarantee - my best neighbours are the council tenants. The worst is a toss up between the homeowner amateur property developer and the council tenant family that smoke weed on the pavement with loud rap music. Both front gardens are an absolute state so that seems to be an indicator of issues!

More practically:
Have a really thorough check of the deeds for shared access or historical errors.
Who maintains the green at the front? What is the right of access on that path?

Is it on an estate or a normal road? Estates have their own parking zones, and dedicated council noise nuisance staff.
Beware council infill projects to build housing. Or grand regeneration projects that would level the ex-council housing along with council stuff on an estate.

"Check the surrounding area for sold or still council, especially neighbours". How do we do that? Any websites or records we can check?

I'm confused what the issue would be with ex council houses. I live in one. It's lovely, spacious, solidly built with a decent garden and in a nice rural setting. Yes it's not a chocolate box cottage, but we have village life without the price tag I suppose. I presume it's the snobs who hear 'council house' that would have an issue with this?

@fieldsatnightfall yes, we don't think there will be any issue "living" there. Our concerns are mainly about value and "selling" in the future.

Our first house was ex-council. We got it in an up and coming area and completely renovated and extended it. Sold it 5 years later for nearly double the price, affording us a move to a much nicer house and area. Definitely a good buy.

@wineymummy good to know. where was this? how much was the price?

I work in construction, much of my work is affordable housing. As PP have said, if it is of "non-standard" construction, there can be issues obtaining a mortgage against the property, but those tend to be older, and many are past their useful life. The affordable housing I have been involved in for the last 25 years, for RSLs and councils, are to a higher construction standard than private housing - much of this down to the fact that the organisations have to maintain the buildings to regulated standards for at least 30 years.

I have PM'd you

You can check zoopla. It’ll give you an idea of what has been sold in street. If no properly record of sale then it’s likely to still be council stock/housing association. I’d then be taking a look at those properties to see general condition of front garden/noise along with area as a while to see if good neighbourhood

@CornishTiger Thanks, I checked land registry. Looks like my neighbouring two properties were sold in 2007 and 2014. So I guess not council tenants anymore.