New build on a new estate and social housing. I expect I’ll get torn to shreds but can I have your experiences please?

[ohwhats]

We are looking at buying the last house on a street that backs on to an area of the new estate that will be 50 plus houses owned by a housing association.
The house will be a real bargain, they are throwing all sorts of incentives in as I’m sure they want it sold asap as it will be ready in about 6 weeks time.
The sales advisor explained that the tenants will all be working and they won’t be misbehaving as they will lose their tenancy if they do.
DH thinks it will be fine and we should take a chance but I’m really not sure. Had anyone bought next to AH on a new build estate?

It’ll be fine, I live on a new build estate with a mix of private and social houses and it’s lovely.

I can’t even read all this because I got to ‘poor people’ and would have you know when I look out of my back garden into theirs.. they all have feckin’ hot tubs and pools the size of something you’d find in all inclusive hotels. Also seem to all have brand new cars (maybe PIP but ah well) I can assure you.. I am very much ‘poorer’ then them.. because having a mortgage seems to pretty much disqualify you from any type of help.

I wouldn’t. But I have experience of working in the social housing sector.

I’ve lived on a new build estate that is a mix of social housing, privately owned and privately rented for 18 years. The only trouble we’ve ever had has come from those who privately rent. Oh I’m one of those feckless social housing tenants btw, work FT in the civil service and DH works FT as a milkman.

I was a housing officer for years. When I started decades ago we could manage the mix of tenants who moved into an estate. So if we had for instance a recovering drug addict, we could make sure that the next tenants who moved close by weren’t drug dealers. We worked closely with the police and could do a check with them when we had a nomination. It didn’t mean that we never took people with convictions, but that we could do sensitive lets and especially with blocks of flats could try to build a community that might work. In the main we got it right. If we got a new build scheme we could move our better tenants who were on the mutual exchange list into the new builds. However a change in local council policy said that we had to take anyone and everyone and not be able to avoid the car crash situations.

You know what does disqualify you from getting any help? Earning too much! I’m a social housing tenant that earns too much to qualify for any help.

Oh and PIP isn’t means tested. David Cameron used to claim it for his disabled son, feckless poor person that he is.

I’d give it a pass. There’s almost no way now to get rid of problem tenants. You’d be mad.

We are on a new build estate. Opposite side of our road is social housing. All lovely people, no bother at all. The one on the corner however!

As a housing officer, don’t do it.

My first flat in London was one of a block of three. The middle block was social housing. Never again. The kids played out all hours, car windows got smashed by balls, kids were out until 11pm, bins were left overflowing and never put out.

I live on a new-build estate and there is a fair amount of shared ownership property in the mix. It’s generally a really nice place to be, lots of community spirit and so on. There are some people (and children) who cause problems from time to time, but to assume they all come the social housing would be unfair, unfounded and unhelpful.
Wherever you live, there are always pockets of antisocial behaviour, this is not determined by whether there’s any social housing around!

A developer who hasn’t shifted a new build so close to completion will be keen to get it shifted so you may get some extras thrown in. But you’ll still be paying a new-build premium price!

I wouldn’t risk it there’s a few estates near us one (older one) is amazing all well looked after
2 others one 20 years old and other 5 years lovely houses very modern it’s like a war zone rough as fuck constant Facebook boost about feral kids and anti social behaviour

Don't quite understand, it's a new build but with bad tenants already that you will have to eject. You have to figure out the legal way to do

I’ve lived in a housing association house and a council house. In both places my neighbours were horrendous.

I now own a house. I bought a house not next to either and wouldn’t even view any that were.

We bought our house a few months ago. Just recently discovered that the housing opposite belongs to a housing association, the other houses in the street are not.

Never hear a peep from any of the neighbours, I would never have realised. It's a nice peaceful road.

I wouldn't like to live in the middle of one of the big council estates in the nearest city though, they tend to be quite run down and have a bit of a reputation for anti social behaviour. Probably a lot of the residents are decent people though.

I must be the the exception, I am a social housing tenant in a small new build estate of about 40 houses/apartments and it's lovely and quiet. I have been here a year and a half now and couldn't fault it. No incessant dogs barking, no music blaring, no antisocial behavior. Everyone looks after their garden and gets their grass cut. I know it could change but right now, it's been absolutely fine.

Just nope. We bought a house in a ‘mixed’ development and it was a bloody nightmare. I wanted to believe that it was a good idea because I don’t think that ghettos of deprivation are good for anyone, but I was so wrong. Drug dealer over the road whose flat was firebombed by a rival with zero regard for the people on the floors above. Teens rampaging all night. We sold as soon as we reasonably could.

Run, run, as fast as you can...

My advice does not come from snobbery, it comes from lived experience. I have lived on council estates most of my life. The majority of people will be quietly trying to go about their lives.

Unfortunately, it only takes one or two problem houses to bring down and terrorise the entire estate.

And they will not be moved on. The decent families will just spend years working to get out of the hell, and scummy families will be the only kind that won't mind swapping or moving in.

Making the estate increasingly dystopian until the last of civilisation leaves them to get on with their fuckery.

I worked for a HA, would I buy, no bloody way! Brought up on a council estate, lived there for 35 years, no issues. Then bought an ex council house, what a living nightmare of antisocial behaviour, with no help from the HA, the police or council. My mental health was shot from the experience and then seeing the other side... nobody can guarantee the tenants are working and allocations often made now on the highest needs, very differentfrom yesteryear. I hate that people no longer seem to share space nicely, believing that they can do as they want. I will add that no social housing is bad, it is those that live in it that are, with 1% causing 99% of the issues, but what mayhem they do cause. Sadly HAs could do something, but don't until a crises ensue.

You can tell which half of our local new build estate is the housing association half, it’s a dump. Rubbish everywhere. Its awful. I sound horrible saying it, but it’s absolutely true.

50 plus houses seems huge? It would be a firm no from me. When we bought a new build (albeit back in 2013) they weren’t allowed to group so many together. There was the odd row of terraces here and there, scattered amongst other plots.

We have to pretend on Mumsnet that there is no difference between social housing tenants and private renters/buyers but we all know the reality. I wouldn’t buy it.

My DD very recently moved into new build apartments owned by an HA.

The first day they all moved their stuff into the flats and the neighbour opposite on the same floor had the police knocking the door and they took him away.
Earlier this week the police were at the block opposite and took a lad away, I suspect for domestic violence, the couple were very young.

During the good weather we had the balcony door open and someone had the football on at 4am in the garden, seems like they must've had a projector outside.

I think noise just carries easier due to the gardens not being mature bushes and trees. Homes are very close together and it's not all about the people. The way the houses are laid out just means everyone is in their neighbours pockets.

People are also becoming more and more anti social as well and don't want to mix with their neighbours so they don't want noise.

I don't think it matters if the people are social tenants or they have bought the houses, you can't change the set up of the houses and how everyone lives on top of each other,

I bought my first flat in a private new build block, 4 flats all owned not tenanted lovely all nice neighbours, the block next door ended up being social housing, it was a nightmare, people kicking doors in, screaming at all hours, throwing used nappies from the second floor windows, breaking the fences in the carpark, and you guessed it the maintenance bills and service charges were paid by the owning properties not the tenants

Nope. It’s why I would never buy a new build or ex-council property, no matter how cheap - it’s too much of a risk. I would rather keep on renting. To evict terrible neighbours these days is almost impossible.

It’s not necessarily about the estate being ‘notorious’ - plenty of people would point blank not even consider living on or close to an estate. You could end up trapped.