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If a Government of the day dcided to build new rentable Housing Stock for people to rent would you?
Or do such homes have a stigma?
Or do such homes have a stigma?
In reply to The Lemming:
I live in Wythenshawe, South Manchester (apparently the biggest coucil estate in Europe...although I could be wrong on that).
On one hand I get riled because the majority of people in my street seem to spend all day drinking beer in their gardens and all night having sex in their gardens.
But on the other hand the rent is £240 a month, and is allowing me to stash a hell of a lot of cash in savings, so that I can eventually buy my yacht and sail somewhere away to a neighbour free environment.
I live in Wythenshawe, South Manchester (apparently the biggest coucil estate in Europe...although I could be wrong on that).
On one hand I get riled because the majority of people in my street seem to spend all day drinking beer in their gardens and all night having sex in their gardens.
But on the other hand the rent is £240 a month, and is allowing me to stash a hell of a lot of cash in savings, so that I can eventually buy my yacht and sail somewhere away to a neighbour free environment.
In reply to GreyPilgrim:
and technically it's owned by a housing association...not sure if this could be classed as a council estate anymore?
Same thing, I guess...
and technically it's owned by a housing association...not sure if this could be classed as a council estate anymore?
Same thing, I guess...
In reply to The Lemming: I used to until we bought a house a year and a bit ago.
In reply to The Lemming: More to the point I'd get a great big net on a pole and catch some of those pigs that were flying by.
In reply to TobyA: The 'Shameless' of Finland are no doubt different to here?
In reply to The Lemming:
living on a council estate is like using the bus. Cheap but full of scumbags. (not saying all council tennants and bus users are scumbags by the way)
I nearly bought an ex local authority flat as it was cheap but i could not bring myself to live amongst the chavs and scroungers so paid more and got a non ex council place.
I know a quite a lot of people that live on council estates and it sounds like some are much better then others. But on the whole it sounds stressfull living on a council estate.
living on a council estate is like using the bus. Cheap but full of scumbags. (not saying all council tennants and bus users are scumbags by the way)
I nearly bought an ex local authority flat as it was cheap but i could not bring myself to live amongst the chavs and scroungers so paid more and got a non ex council place.
I know a quite a lot of people that live on council estates and it sounds like some are much better then others. But on the whole it sounds stressfull living on a council estate.
In reply to GreyPilgrim: thats the spirit, stash the cash by living in affordable/subsidised housing old fella
In reply to The Lemming:
I lived in a council flat for 4 years, i needed somewhere cheap so i could return to uni as a mature student. In those 4 years i rang the ploice more times than i ever did in the rest of my life. I had my car written off after some youths smashed all the windows, had stones thrown at my windows, my girlfriend had the tyres slashed on her car as did me and my neighbour, i got burgled and eventually moved out under police escort after the neighbour assaulted me in the street. So no I wouldnt live in a coucil house again!
I lived in a council flat for 4 years, i needed somewhere cheap so i could return to uni as a mature student. In those 4 years i rang the ploice more times than i ever did in the rest of my life. I had my car written off after some youths smashed all the windows, had stones thrown at my windows, my girlfriend had the tyres slashed on her car as did me and my neighbour, i got burgled and eventually moved out under police escort after the neighbour assaulted me in the street. So no I wouldnt live in a coucil house again!
In reply to Sredni Vashtar:
I'm sensing that you're accusing me of doing something immoral here?
> (In reply to GreyPilgrim) thats the spirit, stash the cash by living in affordable/subsidised housing old fella
I'm sensing that you're accusing me of doing something immoral here?
In reply to The Lemming:
As a surveyor I have found that the quality of traditional building (not system building) particularly for 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Council houses is good and often better than private spec building from the same periods.
In this area rural ex-Council housing, usually in small closes of up to a dozen or so on the edges of villages, can be highly sought after often commanding high prices. If they are from the above date bands they usually have above average accomodation and generous gardens with rural outlooks.
As a surveyor I have found that the quality of traditional building (not system building) particularly for 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Council houses is good and often better than private spec building from the same periods.
In this area rural ex-Council housing, usually in small closes of up to a dozen or so on the edges of villages, can be highly sought after often commanding high prices. If they are from the above date bands they usually have above average accomodation and generous gardens with rural outlooks.
In reply to Trangia:
oh yes totally, they are required to meet a higher standard now too. I work in social housing and read a story recently where some developers of those fancy 'lifestyle apartments' that no one will touch now offered a load to the Housing Corporation (who regulate social housing) for use as social housing. One of the reasons they turned them down was because as social landlords their properties are required to meet the Decent Homes standards and crappy appartments dont come up to scratch. But dosent stop authorities using private landlords who have bought flats and putting homeless and offenders in them!
I liked my council flat, it was lovely, i just didnt like the people who lived around me
oh yes totally, they are required to meet a higher standard now too. I work in social housing and read a story recently where some developers of those fancy 'lifestyle apartments' that no one will touch now offered a load to the Housing Corporation (who regulate social housing) for use as social housing. One of the reasons they turned them down was because as social landlords their properties are required to meet the Decent Homes standards and crappy appartments dont come up to scratch. But dosent stop authorities using private landlords who have bought flats and putting homeless and offenders in them!
I liked my council flat, it was lovely, i just didnt like the people who lived around me
In reply to The Lemming: live in a council flat in warrington
sure the estates full of prats but theres just enough decent people to make it not so intolerable.
plus being in the upstairs flat kinda puts the thieving smack heads of
but the one downside, i tend to leave my axe a baseball bat and cleaver behind door for the one of occasions when i am woke up at 3 am with that famous line
(you got a spare ciggy kida) don't you just love that
sure the estates full of prats but theres just enough decent people to make it not so intolerable.
plus being in the upstairs flat kinda puts the thieving smack heads of
but the one downside, i tend to leave my axe a baseball bat and cleaver behind door for the one of occasions when i am woke up at 3 am with that famous line
(you got a spare ciggy kida) don't you just love that
In reply to Trangia: I'm sorry, I have to bring in Thatcher again here, among her other crimes was encouaging the selling off of council houses to buy votes, this was particularly true in my constituency the London Borough of Merton where Lady whatsername was eventually prosecuted for it, selling off the council assets to buy votes, cost the rate payers millions.
My point is apart from the obvious moral implications of it to other home owners in the areas (decreased house values) what has happened in those estates where the houses were sold off so cheaply? I know some of the renter/owners just sold immediately to make a killing (real Thatcher philosophy at work here), but some must have stayed, did being owners increase their pride in the area and reduce urban crime etc?
My point is apart from the obvious moral implications of it to other home owners in the areas (decreased house values) what has happened in those estates where the houses were sold off so cheaply? I know some of the renter/owners just sold immediately to make a killing (real Thatcher philosophy at work here), but some must have stayed, did being owners increase their pride in the area and reduce urban crime etc?
In reply to The Lemming: It ain't just the cream that floats to the top
In reply to fedster187:
I used to get knocks on the door in the middle of the night from people asking for various names i had never heard of, i used to ignore the door unless i was expecting someone. I once treid to help the girl next door who said her boyfriend had tried to stab her, she didnt have a phone so i rang her mother to arrange for her to stay their, her mother didnt seem that concerned when i told her. She didnt leave in the end but turned up at the door a few days later asking to use my phone again so i let her in, she then rang her dealer and ordered a nice mix of drugs in code. I didnt let her use my phone again!
I used to get knocks on the door in the middle of the night from people asking for various names i had never heard of, i used to ignore the door unless i was expecting someone. I once treid to help the girl next door who said her boyfriend had tried to stab her, she didnt have a phone so i rang her mother to arrange for her to stay their, her mother didnt seem that concerned when i told her. She didnt leave in the end but turned up at the door a few days later asking to use my phone again so i let her in, she then rang her dealer and ordered a nice mix of drugs in code. I didnt let her use my phone again!
In reply to Al Evans:
It's interesting how the tide turns once the majority of houses are owner occupiers, certainly in my area there are now "better" and "worse" ex-Council estates. The "worse" areas are where most are still rented from the Council or housing association, and there is little incentive to buy. The best are the little rural ex-council estates I refer to in my last post.
Lots of Council house tenants made a real killing under the right to buy scheme. I was quite closely involved professionally at the time, and never really felt comfortable with the fact that people were getting quite such big windfalls. I was acting for the right to buy tenants so it was my job to do the best I could for them, but I know that most were hugely undersold, and that was the fault of the Council Estates Valuers or District Valuers undervaluing on behalf of Councils (rate payers). The size of some of the right to buy discounts were obscene, and I agree that was Government led policy. But was it any more imoral than the huge windfalls investors in Building Societies and the like got from de-mutualisation?
I agree they were very strange policies.
It's interesting how the tide turns once the majority of houses are owner occupiers, certainly in my area there are now "better" and "worse" ex-Council estates. The "worse" areas are where most are still rented from the Council or housing association, and there is little incentive to buy. The best are the little rural ex-council estates I refer to in my last post.
Lots of Council house tenants made a real killing under the right to buy scheme. I was quite closely involved professionally at the time, and never really felt comfortable with the fact that people were getting quite such big windfalls. I was acting for the right to buy tenants so it was my job to do the best I could for them, but I know that most were hugely undersold, and that was the fault of the Council Estates Valuers or District Valuers undervaluing on behalf of Councils (rate payers). The size of some of the right to buy discounts were obscene, and I agree that was Government led policy. But was it any more imoral than the huge windfalls investors in Building Societies and the like got from de-mutualisation?
I agree they were very strange policies.
In reply to The Lemming: I grew up on a council estate. The housing was basic yet ok. The main problem was the 'clientele' Ranged from decent solid working-class to what some would now call an 'under class' (equivalent to today's Jeremy Kyle Show seamier fodder). Next door was a 'Hell's Angel' (who spent most of the day throwing a flick knife at the garage door), and the other next door neighbours were a family whose son many years later threw a brick from a bridge at my step-dad's windscreen as he was driving Next door but one was a family with 6 daughters (the dad - unemployed and on invalidity benefit - later hanged himself). My 'way' (Hawthorn Way) wasn't the worse, though, that was Cherry Way - not a road to go down on your own at night! still, as kids, we had a lot of fun - we used to amuse ourselves playing footie on the few bits of grass and creating gangs and exploring the houses being built nearby on the swankier middle-class estate. Those who did ok escaped - those who didn't are probably still there - working in the local sausage factory or the shiny big yoghurt factory. Haven't been back for years, but would be interested to see what it's like now. Don't think I'd like to live there on a long-term basis again. Council housing is a noble idea in principle - but housing is only one piece of the social and political jigsaw. It doesn't solve educational, economic and cultural disadvantage. All too often the political ideal of low-cost quality housing for people in need translates into a social reality of deprivation and crime.
In reply to Al Evans:
Do you mean Dame Shirley Porter? She is now sunning herself in Israel negotiating a 'settlement' of what she has to pay back which a fraction of the millions owed. The b*tch!
Do you mean Dame Shirley Porter? She is now sunning herself in Israel negotiating a 'settlement' of what she has to pay back which a fraction of the millions owed. The b*tch!
In reply to Al Evans:
I hate to piss on your chips Al, but selling council housing stock was Labour policy, albeit they did not manage to enact it during the Callghan government.
It was Westminster btw and a thoroughly odious crime by a thoroughly odious woman.
I hate to piss on your chips Al, but selling council housing stock was Labour policy, albeit they did not manage to enact it during the Callghan government.
It was Westminster btw and a thoroughly odious crime by a thoroughly odious woman.
In reply to The Lemming:
I would, but only in one of the more rural areas. The village my grandmother used to live in was mainly composed of £1 million + properties, and some lovely thatched 'council' houses. The council took to advertising them via local estate agents, because they had difficulties renting out rural properties. Most more 'countrified' villages no longer had post offices or a reiable bus service, so although there was high demand for town centre properties, there was no interest in the more rural areas.
I would agree with Trangia - better quality build, most have good sized rooms, useful utility areas downstairs and often with built in cupboards. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an ex authority property.
I would, but only in one of the more rural areas. The village my grandmother used to live in was mainly composed of £1 million + properties, and some lovely thatched 'council' houses. The council took to advertising them via local estate agents, because they had difficulties renting out rural properties. Most more 'countrified' villages no longer had post offices or a reiable bus service, so although there was high demand for town centre properties, there was no interest in the more rural areas.
I would agree with Trangia - better quality build, most have good sized rooms, useful utility areas downstairs and often with built in cupboards. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an ex authority property.
In reply to Nevis-the-cat: Not pissing on my chips to be corrected, but I really did think Lady whatsername had some input into Merton?
In reply to The Lemming:
Yes. We've been on the list for over a year now though. We're also on Housing Association lists including some of the ones that do the shared ownership schemes.
Yes. We've been on the list for over a year now though. We're also on Housing Association lists including some of the ones that do the shared ownership schemes.
In reply to The Lemming:
I live on a NONE council estate, which is also NONE housing association so therefore it should be chav and scum free... NO theres a drug den across the road paid for by the council!! and the street is plagued by mini motos thank god i sold up and now rent.
Last thing id want is to be tied to where i live and unable to sell like 15 other properties in this area
I live on a NONE council estate, which is also NONE housing association so therefore it should be chav and scum free... NO theres a drug den across the road paid for by the council!! and the street is plagued by mini motos thank god i sold up and now rent.
Last thing id want is to be tied to where i live and unable to sell like 15 other properties in this area
In reply to Cú Chullain: Thats her.
In reply to Anonymous:
Modernised council housing stock is better than some Owned Properties and Private landlord stuff. About 90 percent of the stock in this locale has UPVc double glazing, central heating, fitted kitchens and bathrooms - my dads flat was fully modernised about 5 years ago and he pays 0 rent as hes now a pensioner, when he did pay rent it was 25 quid a week!! (without rebates etc)
Modernised council housing stock is better than some Owned Properties and Private landlord stuff. About 90 percent of the stock in this locale has UPVc double glazing, central heating, fitted kitchens and bathrooms - my dads flat was fully modernised about 5 years ago and he pays 0 rent as hes now a pensioner, when he did pay rent it was 25 quid a week!! (without rebates etc)
In reply to The Lemming:
i would happily live in a council house, but i would obviously subject it to the same criteria i would use to select any house to rent (nice flat, nice area etc).
i would happily live in a council house, but i would obviously subject it to the same criteria i would use to select any house to rent (nice flat, nice area etc).
In reply to Al Evans:
Just teasing you mate. she might have had something to do with Merton, but she royally f*cked Westminster's plebs.
Just teasing you mate. she might have had something to do with Merton, but she royally f*cked Westminster's plebs.
In reply to Nevis-the-cat:
As an aside, my wife lived in a former council house and in general an ok area. The house was large, well built and had bags of room. I wish we had kept it as we would be living mortgage free, for pretty much peanuts in council tax etc and I would probably be the only punter in Wakefield, living on an estate, with a shiny new Aston in the garage.
As an aside, my wife lived in a former council house and in general an ok area. The house was large, well built and had bags of room. I wish we had kept it as we would be living mortgage free, for pretty much peanuts in council tax etc and I would probably be the only punter in Wakefield, living on an estate, with a shiny new Aston in the garage.
In reply to The Lemming: I'm living in a council house at the moment and it's fine but I live in a very rural area so my neighbours are all ok. I have a lovely old couple next door and a young woman who has just moved in on the other side. My garden is smaller than what I'm used to (having lived in cottages and on farms and estates for 10yrs) but I feel quite secure in the fact that I can live here for as long as I like whilst RB is at school and not have to worry about landlords wanting the house back, not renewing lease etc.
In reply to Nevis-the-cat:
The legal mechanism had been on the books for years, my Gran and Grandad bought their Council house in 1970, but only very small numbers were sold. Thatcher really flogged the idea hard, her real crime was not re-investing the receipts in social housing.
> (In reply to Al Evans)
>
> I hate to piss on your chips Al, but selling council housing stock was Labour policy, albeit they did not manage to enact it during the Callghan government.
>
> I hate to piss on your chips Al, but selling council housing stock was Labour policy, albeit they did not manage to enact it during the Callghan government.
The legal mechanism had been on the books for years, my Gran and Grandad bought their Council house in 1970, but only very small numbers were sold. Thatcher really flogged the idea hard, her real crime was not re-investing the receipts in social housing.
In reply to The Lemming: we grew up on a distinctly middle class estate but all my older relatives lived in council houses. We spent most summers with my gran living on the big estate in Egremont and it was mostly a positive experience - we made plenty of friends and mainly had a lot of fun and just a few fights. Now, as an honest answer to the question, no I wouldn't - for all the reasons Marc C has given
P
P
In reply to ayuplass:
sounds like Sheepridge or Deighton but could equally be Thornton Lodge or Walpole, hugely desirable areas....not!
sounds like Sheepridge or Deighton but could equally be Thornton Lodge or Walpole, hugely desirable areas....not!
In reply to The Lemming:
Don't be silly. I'm certain there would be insufficient space for my butler
Don't be silly. I'm certain there would be insufficient space for my butler
In reply to Al Evans:
Only a brand new Tesco superstore to wipe out the last of the little shops that survived by overcharging those who could not afford to shop anywhere else
> (In reply to Nevis-the-cat) Not pissing on my chips to be corrected, but I really did think Lady whatsername had some input into Merton?
Only a brand new Tesco superstore to wipe out the last of the little shops that survived by overcharging those who could not afford to shop anywhere else
In reply to The Lemming: havent lived in a council house for 4 years, but live in 6 before that....
Im going nowhere near them ever again, buying or renting in the future!
Im going nowhere near them ever again, buying or renting in the future!
In reply to The Lemming:
I currently live in an ex-council house, on a council estate, but the house itself is owned by a student letting agency. The house is nice as student houses go, very spacious with a nice garden. But the neighbourhood is grim, a realm of neglected gardens, rotting woodwork and violent packs of feral children.
Our neighbours just down the street spend their days lounging in the street with their car engine on all the time, its enormous stack of speakers thumping our drum and bass that can be heard a mile away, and its owners shouting to each other things along the lines of:
"THAT MARLEEN'S WELL FIT INNIT BRO"
"WOT MATE?"
"I SAID, THAT MARLEEN'S WELL FIT, I'D WELL DO HER."
"YOU STARTING?"
"WOT?"
*thump*
It's entertainment!
I currently live in an ex-council house, on a council estate, but the house itself is owned by a student letting agency. The house is nice as student houses go, very spacious with a nice garden. But the neighbourhood is grim, a realm of neglected gardens, rotting woodwork and violent packs of feral children.
Our neighbours just down the street spend their days lounging in the street with their car engine on all the time, its enormous stack of speakers thumping our drum and bass that can be heard a mile away, and its owners shouting to each other things along the lines of:
"THAT MARLEEN'S WELL FIT INNIT BRO"
"WOT MATE?"
"I SAID, THAT MARLEEN'S WELL FIT, I'D WELL DO HER."
"YOU STARTING?"
"WOT?"
*thump*
It's entertainment!
In reply to The Lemming:
I know a few people who live in council houses and I wasn't able to afford my own house then sure I'd live in one There always seems to be a good community spirit, plus they seem to go round each others houses for cup of tea all the time and I love tea!
I know a few people who live in council houses and I wasn't able to afford my own house then sure I'd live in one There always seems to be a good community spirit, plus they seem to go round each others houses for cup of tea all the time and I love tea!
In reply to The Lemming:
Clearly, there is a huge well of prejudice portrayed here.
It would be interesting to work out whether it is as geographically based as the original distributions of state housing and the related maintenance habits of the councils involved. These factors were well known amongst the political active (!) 20 years ago, but less so now.
All the problems that were once an undeserved stereotype and now are often the norm have been created by Thatcherism and New Labour with their ghetto-isation policies. Unlike callous Maggie and thick Tony, most people knew that somebody was going to get left out. What now though? Is there any way back?
When you go to vote, remember that we can't all be stockbrokers or estate agents and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
Clearly, there is a huge well of prejudice portrayed here.
It would be interesting to work out whether it is as geographically based as the original distributions of state housing and the related maintenance habits of the councils involved. These factors were well known amongst the political active (!) 20 years ago, but less so now.
All the problems that were once an undeserved stereotype and now are often the norm have been created by Thatcherism and New Labour with their ghetto-isation policies. Unlike callous Maggie and thick Tony, most people knew that somebody was going to get left out. What now though? Is there any way back?
When you go to vote, remember that we can't all be stockbrokers or estate agents and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
In reply to Jim Fraser:
>and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
Perhaps they can get £23000 expenses for their second home near where they work as the MPs want?
>and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
Perhaps they can get £23000 expenses for their second home near where they work as the MPs want?
In reply to Jim Fraser:
You mean there is some active matter beneath the scum? of course
>
>
> When you go to vote, remember that we can't all be stockbrokers or estate agents and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
>
> When you go to vote, remember that we can't all be stockbrokers or estate agents and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
You mean there is some active matter beneath the scum? of course
In reply to Jim Fraser:
don't forget the blood and poo mopping at the local hospital.
let no one complain when 'teh imegrants' turn up.
god bless the czech & polish etc....
> When you go to vote, remember that we can't all be stockbrokers or estate agents and somebody has to take away the bins, clean the office and fillet the fish.
don't forget the blood and poo mopping at the local hospital.
let no one complain when 'teh imegrants' turn up.
god bless the czech & polish etc....
In reply to Jim Fraser: a-men mate
In reply to The Lemming:
Isn't 10 Downing St a council house? Surely it's owned by London Council. So i reckon i could live in that, and push come to shove i'd live in 11 Downing St but be considerable less happy !!!
Isn't 10 Downing St a council house? Surely it's owned by London Council. So i reckon i could live in that, and push come to shove i'd live in 11 Downing St but be considerable less happy !!!
In reply to chris fox:
Beware, if you live at No 11 don't covet the job of the man in No 10 it might just happen!
Beware, if you live at No 11 don't covet the job of the man in No 10 it might just happen!
In reply to Trangia: ive lived in council housing all my life and dont have a problem with it, a house is just a base for me and the family to live our life from, somewhere warm safe secure and private, doesnt realy matter how you dress a house up, when it comes down to it thats all they are, £270 quid a month does me fine, means a lot less pressure on finances, more time for family & the things that realy matter to me, its not all been a bed of roses tho, and ive not appreciated having to grow a family like that. The house i lived in for a lot of years was in shockingly poor condition and its taken legal action to get anywhere, this i find dissapointing, but it seems there still incapable of doing the right thing.
In reply to The Lemming:
If the housing was built in a reasonble area then yes I would rent for a couple of years.
Then exercise my right to buy and cash in on the profit.
(I dont make the rules, just use them)
If the housing was built in a reasonble area then yes I would rent for a couple of years.
Then exercise my right to buy and cash in on the profit.
(I dont make the rules, just use them)
In reply to The Lemming: people seem to think the only cheap housing is counsil housing. I pay about 135 quid a month for my 2 bed terrace and i own it(mortguage)It is not counsil housing or agency owned!
In reply to The Lemming: I live in a council flat in London and the vast majority of our neighbours are decent, friendly people. There's the odd bad apple but it's easy to ignore them and get on with your life.
Having said that when I was a local newspaper reporter I used to visit some council estates that there's no way you'd want to live on. Most were fine but there were some terrifying places...
Having said that when I was a local newspaper reporter I used to visit some council estates that there's no way you'd want to live on. Most were fine but there were some terrifying places...
In reply to doz generale: I bought a house on a former council estate and its fine. My neighbours are nice and take parcels in if I'm not there. they keep an eye on the house when I'm away.nI have a nice big garden, and i can spend the money I'm not spending on a bigger mortgage on climbing gear.
On the other hand, my friends who live in a more exclusive street down a private road got a brick through their window the day they moved in.
On the other hand, my friends who live in a more exclusive street down a private road got a brick through their window the day they moved in.
In reply to The Lemming: I live in a private house but in one of the 2 roads on a medium sived council estate....i was brought up in council property in Liverpool and would not want my kids to experience some of the crap connected to that!
Near me is generally ok, a few scumbags around.....harder part is that they all go to the samer school as my kids and cause a lot of bother there..
Near me is generally ok, a few scumbags around.....harder part is that they all go to the samer school as my kids and cause a lot of bother there..
In reply to adderz:
Haha! Nope, Mottram Close, just opposite the eastern entrance to Friend's Road =S
> (In reply to Alex Roddie)
>
> do you live down the avenues?
>
> do you live down the avenues?
Haha! Nope, Mottram Close, just opposite the eastern entrance to Friend's Road =S
In reply to The Lemming:
I would only consider a mansion house as a minimum, though preferably a castle with at least a mile long drive to keep the riff raff at bay. Can't be too careful you know, they may be contagious.
I would only consider a mansion house as a minimum, though preferably a castle with at least a mile long drive to keep the riff raff at bay. Can't be too careful you know, they may be contagious.
In reply to The Lemming:
As a surveyor working for housing assocations & council housing since 1976, I have seen a lot of changes:
1. The introduction of Right to Buys was introduced in 1980 as a way of creating mini-capitalists out of a Public Asset. Thanks to Mrs Thatcher.
2. This has created a nightmare for the long term maintenance management of estates and blocks of flats.
3. In our patch the bought property occupiers can cause more social problems than tenants. Running car repair businesses, shoddy repairs to external fabric, fences etc.
4. We spend 14% of rental income on maintenance, 14% on neighbourhood management. to which owners-occs contribute nil or a nominal service charge, but benefit.
5. I own a house an ex-friend disparaging called an "ex-council house". Built with part-ownership in mind 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. This development is mixed tenure and with careful selection of tenants and local occupancy conditions on buyers, it is a real success, thanks to a very competent Housing Assocation.
6. Scotland has withdrawn RTBs, which is a brave commitment to longterm Social Housing provision. A way of undoing Mrs Thatcher's hastey initative.
As a surveyor working for housing assocations & council housing since 1976, I have seen a lot of changes:
1. The introduction of Right to Buys was introduced in 1980 as a way of creating mini-capitalists out of a Public Asset. Thanks to Mrs Thatcher.
2. This has created a nightmare for the long term maintenance management of estates and blocks of flats.
3. In our patch the bought property occupiers can cause more social problems than tenants. Running car repair businesses, shoddy repairs to external fabric, fences etc.
4. We spend 14% of rental income on maintenance, 14% on neighbourhood management. to which owners-occs contribute nil or a nominal service charge, but benefit.
5. I own a house an ex-friend disparaging called an "ex-council house". Built with part-ownership in mind 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. This development is mixed tenure and with careful selection of tenants and local occupancy conditions on buyers, it is a real success, thanks to a very competent Housing Assocation.
6. Scotland has withdrawn RTBs, which is a brave commitment to longterm Social Housing provision. A way of undoing Mrs Thatcher's hastey initative.
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