The house is 100yrs old - large extended semi detached in a village - does not at all look like a council house at all, but neighbours recently informed us the house is ex local authority. We paid £300k for this house and would not have had we known. We are interested to know if anyone is aware of whether legally the house should have been marketed as ex council or if our solicitor had an obligation to inform us when dealing with the transaction. Any answers much appreciated!
2006-07-31 00:53:09 · 15 answers · asked by lisaandmax 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
In comment to the above: it is not about being a snob: people buying council houses but at a drastically reduced value and sell on at full market value - I did NOT want to buy in that situation. As for not looking around my house and 3 other semis are rural and surrounded by nothing but fields. you'd have to look a long way.
2006-07-31 01:53:34 · update #1
A council house is a just a house owned by the local authority, and unless there is some restrictions which are going to effect you, since separate transfers are used which enter covenants for the benefit of the local authority. I don't know why you are worrying, since many local authorities own alot of properties, some are really nice, remember your stereotyping yourself.
I am surprised that your solicitor did not inform you, check your paper work but you could only claim for an ecomomic loss in contract, if infact you haven't lost any value, then you have no loss and therefore no case. In this day and age and from your description this over sight is not going to cause you a loss. But without looking at the restricitve covenants i don't really know.
Best talk to your solicitor, who would have a copy of the transfer because it would be mentioned on the official copy of the register for your property (if its registered).
2006-07-31 08:44:59 · answer #1 · answered by logicalawyer 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Just because a house was once Local Authority owned it does not mean it is a council house. Council houses are generally those prefab things and most were built in the last 50 - 60 years or so (i.e. after the war). A house that is 100 years old no doubt came into the council's posession because it was empty for a number of years or the person who was living there before they took possession died without any kin to inherit their property.
I cannot think of any legal reason why you should have been informed about the provenance of the house (i.e. whether it was council stock or not). I am assuming you paid what you thought the house was worth - why then does it matter who owned it before you and how much profit they made at your expense? It doesn't matter. If you are bothered about it, I suggest you speak to a solicitor who specialises in housing. Most solicitors offer a free 30 minute consultation. You could use that time to outline your grievance and see if they think you have a case that needs answers.
2006-07-31 12:33:19 · answer #2 · answered by Hallber 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What difference does it make? Not being rude but if you had ever visited a council estate before you should have realised that; all of the houses are built the same. Some people will do their house up and it will look slightly different but fundamentally it still started life as a council house. When you sell this house will you advertise it as 'ex council house for sale'. Don't be a snob....you must have been talking about the price too much and not the viewing the surrounding area!
2006-07-31 08:49:19 · answer #3 · answered by reggie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would have been in the surveyors report. Were you not able to tell that the estate was a council estate when you drove through. If not and all the houses are now private it shouldnt matter. Besides the ex local authority houses are normally the best ones, providing it is in a nice area and the neighbours are nice.
2006-07-31 08:01:12 · answer #4 · answered by MissBehave 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it doesnt look ex-council, if the area is not council / ex-council and if it hasnt been marketed as ex council, I am curious as to why it should matter if it actually is ex-council or not - the value is obviously at the current market price, otherwise you wouldnt have bought it, and at 100 yrs old, it is likely to have history pre and post local authority ownership.
Estate agents are legally bound to tell you anything about your property that is current or planned for the future, however the past is not so relevant, and will not affect you in any way.
2006-07-31 08:09:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It doesn't matter what the previous owner paid for it, the fact is, you paid what you thought was the going rate so stop moaning. What the hell difference does it make if it is ex council property anyhow? If it's in a nice location and you have no other problems with it, get on with it and be thankful you can afford to buy any house in this country these days for less than £1,000,000.
Snob.
2006-07-31 10:00:32 · answer #6 · answered by lunarsky 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
would you be less bothered had it been an ex brothel then in a nice rural setting?
what difference does it make that it was previously a council property?...you viewed, you liked, you put in an offer..end of!
I bought a house in 1987, a 3 bed bungalow in a semi rural area...I paid £27,000 for it.
In 2006 it was valued at just over £280,000. should I contact the previous owners and offer them money on the profit I would make on the property I bought from them?
If you sold the ex council house in 5 years time and made a nice profit on it to the new owners...will you offer them a discount because its ex council??? No...I didn't think so!
2006-07-31 17:13:53 · answer #7 · answered by lippz 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The rule of law is caveat emptor - buyer beware. The vendor is not under a duty to tell you the information, it is your responsibility to find out.
However, if they had specifically told you that it was NOT ex-council, this would be misrepresentation and you would have an action against them.
2006-07-31 09:05:38 · answer #8 · answered by mel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Charming neighbours! Did they delight in telling you? I think the solicitor should have told you but perhaps he didn't know. Perhaps the vendor kept this quite as it would- possibly- have affected the sale price.
There's no stigma that I know of, concerning the purchase of ex-local authority housing. There is no shame and you should enjoy your house. Be happy. I can understand your anger though.
2006-07-31 07:59:21 · answer #9 · answered by Not Ecky Boy 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
pitch a tent, and live in that ,would have saved you all that loverly money,but if you sell it it will still be worth 300k,your a time waster in life m8,do you drive a car,bet u use the roads,guess what the council build them and maintain them,so i expect you to start to float everywhere you go,so as you dont have to rub shoulders with council tenants,and we all stand wonder how we are going to sort out the problems in the middle east,you have a problem with council tenants,burn it down if upsets u
2006-08-01 07:30:10 · answer #10 · answered by archaeologia 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋