Sledgehead Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Apparently 1.5 million owners of ex-council property are set to be hit with huge bills for refurbishment under th egovernments decent homes initiative. In one tower block in Islington owners have been presented with bills as high as 42K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is only one way to view this: as of knowing this, those homes due to be billed are worth an amount less equal to the cost of maintenance. Doubtless som efolks will have to sell as they will not be able to meet the bill (payable over two years). Who in their right mind would not want the costs deducted from the asking price? One recent purchaser who paid 225k faces a bill of 28k: that's in excess of a 10% cut. Stretch that across 1.5 million houses caught in the trap.... And the winners? The council tenants who will not be charged a penny for the work. What was that somebody was saying about dead money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Dear oh dear. First you get you hand over £228k to some ex-tenant who had the nation's family silver handed to them on a plate then get to subsidise the remaining tenants for a high price! Sounds like fun all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyingBear Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 (edited) One recent purchaser who paid 225k faces a bill of 28k: that's in excess of a 10% cut. Stretch that across 1.5 million houses caught in the trap.... And the winners? The council tenants who will not be charged a penny for the work. What was that somebody was saying about dead money? In the same vain as were talking about earlier about shifting the balance on the private sector with BTL'ers. In this case they can get the entire block done up by charging the private owners and then rigging the figures, take the £2k door, of course it doesn't really cost that amount but once you take into account the other two 'real' council houses you're also paying for it's not an unreasonable figure. It's no different to the Pentagon's $640 toilet seat, clever accounting where reality is tweaked to match the figures. If these were private homes it would be akin to somebody turning up one morning and saying they're going to replace your roof and tarmac your drive and you have no choice in the matter and here's the bill! The council doesn't care if the contractor is making a killing provided it masks their final bill. Those who can pay do just that, (old) Labour councils have always despised right to buy and the 'traitors' that took advantage of it, this is a nice way to exact some revenge. Of course it's going to be the same all over again with these system built card board boxes they're putting up in every town and city across the country... have the BTL'ers with their 3.15% yields factored in a £30k for a major re-fit? At least those council blocks were made of concrete, not wood and plasterboard! Edited November 29, 2005 by BuyingBear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhifoe Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Apparently 1.5 million owners of ex-council property are set to be hit with huge bills for refurbishment under th egovernments decent homes initiative. In one tower block in Islington owners have been presented with bills as high as 42K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you'd be mad to buy an ex-council flat. I remember seeing a similar programme a few years ago. The council were fitting a new roof to a block of flats and charging owners 30 grand each. They brought in expert to examine the roof, who said it wasn't very old and could easily be repaired for a few thousand per resident. Of course the council didn't care as they could just pass the cost on to the private residents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyB Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 who would pay that much for a council flat in the first place... what mugs! council residents are probably paying 50 pw rent... lmfao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 (edited) I think you'd be mad to buy an ex-council flat. I remember seeing a similar programme a few years ago. The council were fitting a new roof to a block of flats and charging owners 30 grand each. They brought in expert to examine the roof, who said it wasn't very old and could easily be repaired for a few thousand per resident. Of course the council didn't care as they could just pass the cost on to the private residents. I remember it too, we discussed it on hpc forum, I think it was a news night special. I'll have a quick search, but it may have been on the old hpc forum. EDIT: Can't find it, but seem to remember it being a similar story with £25K-30K liberty taking bills to OO's from the Council, somewhere in the Midlands/North of England Edited November 29, 2005 by Saving For a Space Ship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Europa Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Dear oh dear. First you get you hand over £228k to some ex-tenant who had the nation's family silver handed to them on a plate then get to subsidise the remaining tenants for a high price! Sounds like fun all round. I'm not surprised the council is trying it on -anyone gullible enough to hand over six-figures for 40 square metres of council high rise is clearly fair game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 (edited) If I"had" to buy ex-council - I d buy only freehold terraces - not a flat or masionette where the council can charge whatever; and having the luxury of the chavs pee up the communal hallways and vandalise the lifts. Edited November 29, 2005 by trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bart of Darkness Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 (edited) Apparently 1.5 million owners of ex-council property are set to be hit with huge bills for refurbishment under th egovernments decent homes initiative. In one tower block in Islington owners have been presented with bills as high as 42K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is only one way to view this: as of knowing this, those homes due to be billed are worth an amount less equal to the cost of maintenance. Doubtless som efolks will have to sell as they will not be able to meet the bill (payable over two years). Who in their right mind would not want the costs deducted from the asking price? One recent purchaser who paid 225k faces a bill of 28k: that's in excess of a 10% cut. Stretch that across 1.5 million houses caught in the trap.... And the winners? The council tenants who will not be charged a penny for the work. What was that somebody was saying about dead money? Anybody got a link to this story? EDIT: Found one. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3971401.stm Edited November 30, 2005 by Bart of Darkness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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