On 13 Jul 2017 at 9:40pm TimothyWest wrote:
I'm pi**ed off with living in a tiny house, with tiny little rooms and a really small garden that me and my family have to squeeze together and live in, and yet I paid well over a third of a million pounds for my house. What's made me feel worse is that I've just visited a client who privately rents a council house which is in a nice Street, is a really big house with really spacious rooms and an absolutely massive garden with spectacular views of the downs and the sea. He pays next to nothing to the council each month compared to my huge monthly mortgage installments. I feel like a fool.
On 13 Jul 2017 at 9:52pm Phil Spencer wrote:
Kinda know how you feel. Did a gardening job today for a woman who invited me into her kitchen for a cup of tea......her kitchen had the same size footprint as chez nous and the next doors with the dividing wall knocked out. Her downstairs loo was roughly the same size as our kitchen. Mind you, she paid well and made a damn fine cup of tea.
On 13 Jul 2017 at 10:44pm Dobby wrote:
Yes, I did some work in a beautiful council/ housing assoc house in a nearby village. Large semi with three big bedrooms, off road parking and large garden backing onto the downs. Would be worth best part of a mill if done up but was occupied by mother and daughter not working. I wish I could afford something like that!
On 13 Jul 2017 at 11:40pm We'vehadourfun wrote:
Laughton is stunning. In the cotswolds at mo getting village envy. Lewes is so past it.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 12:41am Madame x wrote:
Good luck trying to talk the house prices down!!
On 14 Jul 2017 at 1:03am For the many not the few wrote:
This is a part of the housing crisis you won't hear politicians talking about. Hard working people living in substandard property not fit for their families while (some, not all) non-working people afford significantly better housing and lifestyles through subsidies. I know of at least one family near me with a bigger property and way more disposable income than I have despite me doing everything "right" and them being pretty much dependent.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 6:29am Ghost of Maggie wrote:
Just rejoice and be thankful for the Right to Buy and Free Market private rents.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 8:08am Land Agent wrote:
Cheaper housing areas are available. I can't afford Chelsea !
On 14 Jul 2017 at 9:15am Cyclaman wrote:
Timothy - were they privately renting/subletting a council house (which is against the council tenants' contract) or council tenants? If the former, then you could channel your jealousy into reporting it to the council.
The way I see it, their current living arrangements may be preferable to yours, but once that mortgage is paid off you'll be able to have a more relaxed later life and not need to rely on the state - with its frequent political shifts - or others to help. Swings and roundabouts.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 9:22am Deja Vu wrote:
Did anyone see Despatches earlier in the week, I was amazed to see some of the deals being done, including a deal to reduce the minimum size of rooms in new homes.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 10:23am TimothyWest wrote:
When I say privately rents, what I mean is he pays rent to the council to live there, i.e. not on housing benefit.
Not that there's anything wrong with being on housing benefit. I'm just making the distinction between my client paying a very small amount of rent each month to live in a large house, with very spacious rooms, 2 living rooms, children's rooms are all double sized rooms, dining area in big kitchen, private driveway, garage, 100ft garden with glorious views of the downs with boats bobbing on the sea beyond the green hills, and all property maintenance/repairs paid for by the council, compared to me paying a small fortune each month in mortgage repayments for a tiny house with box sized bedrooms for my children, a very small garden, no nice views (our only views are of neighbours), no private parking area, with me struggling to afford property maintenance/repairs due to the high mortgage repayments. His wife stays at home to look after children which they can afford to do due to such low rent, which my wife would love to do but she has to work to help meet living costs. My client may be working class and I may be middle class but I am the one who is feeling significantly worse off.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 10:35am Cyclaman wrote:
Timothy - property maintenance/repairs are paid for by their rents, not the council (your council tax doesn't go towards the upkeep of council housing). This is the same as if they were renting privately, however social rent is affordable as the landlord's primary purpose isn't profit.
As far as I see it, social housing at social rents (not the 'Affordable' rents recently introduced) is an excellent way of giving people in need the support and opportunity to turn their life around. Part of this is guaranteeing them consistency, which long-term tenancies provide. Perhaps we shouldn't begrudge anyone who has benefited from this and instead we should be asking why successive governments haven't addressed the continuing reduction of social housing stock to enable MORE people to benefit.
Last point - it is still worth noting that the tenants will have an obligation to pay rent forever more. You will eventually own your house and then be living rent free and own a substantial asset. For this privilege you have to maintain your own property and take some risk on it, but I know that my house (mostly owned by the bank) has increased its value by £10k in the last two years. The council (or indeed any private) tenants don't have that new wealth.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 10:58am TimothyWest wrote:
I don't begrudge them at all, not in the slightest, I think they're in a great position and good luck to them. I'm simply saying that I am the one who is struggling financially despite having got a 1st at uni and forged a successful career and always been taught that buying my own house is what I should aim for. I don't begrudge people renting council houses - after visiting my clients house yesterday I am jealous!!!
(I know repairs/maintenance are not paid for by council tax; when I said they're paid for by the council, I meant as in their landlord the council.)
On 14 Jul 2017 at 11:08am Cyclaman wrote:
Ah - yes, I too have seen some very nice council houses! No reason to feel a fool though - just different ways of navigating the market. I personally feel comfortable being responsible for my own property and knowing that I will accrue the wealth that goes with it gives me confidence that I will be happier later in life.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 1:05pm @Cyclaman wrote:
"your council tax doesn't go towards the upkeep of council housing"
You're wrong I'm afraid, council housing is funded from local council, this includes money gathered with the council tax.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 1:13pm Of course wrote:
You could always sell your house in Lewes and buy a mansion up north for the same amount.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 1:38pm Cyclaman wrote:
@Cyclaman - councils have Housing Revenue Accounts and general funds. One funds social housing. The other everything else. Your council tax goes into the general fund. If this weren't the case areas without council owned housing (Mid Sussex, Rother, Horsham etc.) would have much more funds to do all of their other activities.
Yes, council housing is administered by the same democratic body, but you aren't paying for it through your council tax.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 3:38pm Ghost of Maggie wrote:
Why do you think I encouraged people to jon the Property Owning Democracy, and kept the sales money away from the Leftie Councils ? As my dear friend once said " get on your bikes ".
On 14 Jul 2017 at 4:20pm Observer wrote:
"In the cotswolds at mo getting village envy."
have you met any of the locals? You'll soon get over the envy when you meet (a) the knuckledraggers and (b) the Land Rover/green welly/Filipino maid/casual racism bunch.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 7:54pm Pffft wrote:
@Cyclaman you are typing rubbish, my nephew lives in council housing in Horsham and has been moved to an old spacious council house from a housing association flat in the last 6 months, now renting directly through the council.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 8:30pm Sussex Jim wrote:
The unfortunate fact is that while people like Timothy have worked hard and saved to own their house, they may have to sell up in their old age to fund their care. Whereas those who have never bothered to accumulate any equity will get their care free (to them).
On 14 Jul 2017 at 9:55pm Whooky wrote:
Yeah, but Council arse-wiping is damned poor compared to what you can choose to buy privately. The people who have done right will win out in the end.....
On 14 Jul 2017 at 10:52pm Woody wrote:
Whooky - don't bank on it.
Meaning the quality of your arse being wiped in the future.
In fact it might not be wiped at all.
The private options for 'Dementia Care' in Lewes are minimal and two years ago, were criminal.
On 14 Jul 2017 at 11:12pm Cyclaman wrote:
@Cyclaman - I'd be genuinely interested to know if that were true locally. I started by looking at the HRA accounts (page 102 in the link below) which says that £15m income was from domestic rent and only 225k (1.5%) from 'contributions towards expenditure' - it doesn't say where this is from.
Check it out here »
On 14 Jul 2017 at 11:13pm Cyclaman wrote:
Pfft - The link below says that Horsham DC only own 59 properties, so your nephew must be in a very rare position indeed! These 59 are likely legacy smallholdings etc that the council are saving for potential future development (solar farms, housing, waste sites etc). Perhaps the council re-allocated him based on a change in his circumstances, but that his landlord remains a housing association (most likely Saxonweald, who HDC transferred their stock to)?
Check it out here »
On 15 Jul 2017 at 3:15pm Whooky ? wrote:
as in Hole ? ( caves)