Why bother to get a mortgage and spend your whole life paying it back, when you can get the council to house?

Question

you for nothing?

Answer 1

Good point that's why I have a council house-

Answer 2

I bought my Council House almost 4 years ago. Best decision I ever made.

Why?

Well the Council never did any repairs.

I remember the 1st thing I needed when I took over they tenancy from my dad was a new fire basket. As a new tenant this would have cost me nothing, but because I took over from my dad I was not regarded as a new tenant and it cost 39.00. I could have bought one for less from a DIY store.

The house also had leaky windows, a warped door, partial central heating.
The Council had no intentions of doing any repairs or upgrading for years.

I decided then why should I pay all this rent every month and get nothing in return? My best option was to buy the house and do it up myself which after 4 years I have finally achieved.

After 14 years of paying a mortgage the house is MINE.

You never OWN your own home when you pay rent.

Also a mortgage stays fairly static if you have the right one and rent rises every year.

There is also the problem that I took over the tenancy from my dad (who was a Council Tenant for 50 years) which would mean my daughter would not be entitled to the house after me. We live in a small village with a very low turn over of both private ownership and rented housing and her chance of getting a house where she was brought up would be virtually nil.

To give her security for the future I took the decision to purchase my Council Home.

It was about the only good thing Maggie ever did.

The Councils let everybody down though because the money that they got from people purchasing their Council homes was supposed to go towards building new ones and they never did. Now homelessness is a big issue today.

PS

If your lucky enough like me you will have also POSITIVE equity.
My home is now worth 6-8 times more that I paid for it and that was at the last evaluation done 2 years ago.

Probably worth more now with full central heating and new double glazing in this year.

Answer 3

Sure, you could get the council to house you, or rent a place, but owning a house - as well as giving pride of ownership and some self-satisfaction - is an investment. My house is now worth twice what it cost me to buy it 6 years ago: I could sell my home, repay my mortgage in entirety and buy somewhere similar outright or pay down a massive percentage of the cost of another home. 75% mortgages rock.

Also, consistently paying a mortgage shows you are not a credit risk, and shows up well on your credit rating.

You can either sponge off the government and be housed wherever they want to put you, being rehoused at their decision, or rent somewhere, have some choice in the matter, but again risk being decanted if the landlord decides to do something else with the property (as happened to a friend of mine last month).

Or, you could spend the same amount as a month's rent on a month's mortgage payment, and know you're in your *own* home.

If you want to get the council to house you when you could afford your own place, be it rented, bought by mortgage or bought outright, you're displacing someone else who could really have a better quality of life by being housed.

Answer 4

i have bought my council house but unlike you i did not bum of the state i had to pay full rent and poll tax so in the end it was cheaper to pay a mortgage then pay rent and in the end the house is mine

Answer 5

Don't be too cocky, the council can evict you, we own our own home and it only took us 20 years to pay our mortgage off, at least we have something to fall back on in later life, what have you got.

Answer 6

You cant get a council house unless you are a 15 year old chav with 4 babies to 6 different dads, people bought them all!

Answer 7

many years in the past when we the position residing on a shoe string yup we spent the lease money on necessity's yet continually made it up fortunately i don't have both to pay now a days and that i'd do it back if want be

Answer 8

What about yor future
May be hard now,but the council git the profit.

Answer 9

Because, generally, council homes aren't that nice! You have to seek permission to do anything with them and you're stuck living next to deadbeats, crackheads and wasters.

Well, thats the case in London!

Answer 10

Pride, self respect, not being a parasite, etc. Are you in council accommodation? If so, sell your computer and get a job! If not, I sympathise with your mortgage repayments.