Question for UK readers only
2007-02-07 23:20:51 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
The reason i ask is i bourght a new house in Northampton only to find the next door neighbour with his five kids does not work but the council gave him a house.
Made me fume!!!
2007-02-07 23:37:12 · update #1
If you don't want to sell your house to pay for sheltered accommodation when you get old.
Just sign it over to your kids so they own it and live there rent free. They wont loose their inheritance.
There are still Farr too many people in this country who sit on their ****. The government give them money for their kids in the hope that these kids will grow up to become tax paying citizens. But the problem is the kids a being raised with the same mindset as the parents, but you cant expect their kids to starve. Short of making people earn the right to breed its just a vicious circle.
2007-02-07 23:45:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
2
2016-07-19 03:27:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will get scum everywhere. I am a council tenant in Ireland, we are clean, respectable and we have this house due to the fact I was a single mother . Then I met my present husband and were transferred to a larger house with our 2 boys. Where I live, to every 1 not so nice person with dirty house, there are about 10-15 lovely houses. We are still renting only due to the fact that my husband needs 3 years accounting books to provide to get a mortgage. He is self employed and is doing well enough which means that I can stay at home to mind our kids. People are awful snobs, I live in a lovely estate. I grew up in a private home so this is totally different to where I was reared. It is people that drag a place down but it doesnt mean that every council estate is the same. We are not on any benefits. Everybody has the right to a home and this system is a great way to get every one on their feet. Believe you me, council tenants are more grateful for everything they have unlike alot of rich ponses out there that think the world owes tham a living!
2016-05-24 06:13:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well what's really unfair is when you can't get a mortgage but aren't low income enough for a council flat either. I have a degree and a decent paying job for someone my age, but am nowhere near able to afford to buy a place. I currently pay £500 a month for half of a one bedroom flat in London, which is far too small for two people (we aren't even a couple, we turned the living room into a bedroom!)- which I can't get a mortgage to buy, even though I pay more than a mortgage would cost on rent- but the council tenants in the next road- who I'm sure have houses big enough for everyone in them- probably pay that much per year. Subsidied by people like me, who have far less than them?! Why do they deserve that much help, while I get absolutely nothing?
I have no problem with social housing in theory- with house prices as they are, it's necessary- but why is it all or nothing? The lucky few get everything paid for for life, why not share the resources out a little?!
Richard R, no one has a problem with people like you. I happen to think the disabled should get much more than they do now, another reason they should stop throwing disproportionate amounts of money at the people who don't need it or deserve it as much.
Cari- Very good advice, I am indeed looking to move to a cheaper area!! But I've checked the mortgage thing, I can't get more than 100,000. There is nothing for that in London.
2007-02-07 23:43:23 · answer #4 · answered by - 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
That's an issue I've always wondered about myself. Social housing is a necessity for the old and people who can't work, but it does seem unfair in many cases.
When I bought my first house a few months ago, my dad told me a story about his parents, who lived in a council house all their life and now live in sheltered council accommodation.
My grandad asked my dad why he'd want to pay a mortgage of £40 a month - around half his monthly wage (this was the 70s!) when he could have a council house at £7 a month like them.
My parents had the last laugh. 20 or so years later, they were still paying £40 a month (but taking home at least 20 times that with only a few years left on their mortgage) but my grandparents' council rent had gone up to £350!
So, while it angers me the people who live off the state and don't deserve it, I know I will end up with a much better life in my dotage and I can be proud of what I've achieved.
2007-02-07 23:34:57 · answer #5 · answered by Keira H 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
i know where you are coming from. i owned my own home, with my now ex husband, for 20 years and felt so secure knowing that soon the house would be ours properly and the kids future secured... then adultery came into our lives (my ex worked away for long periods so felt he needed company)... due to his physical violence after i realised the affairs... i had to leave with our children as they were witnessing the beatings i was getting. i now rent a housing executive/council house but i still pay full rent and work full time as i always have done. i am upset at times because any other single parent on the estate seems to either not work or work very very little and therefore they get housing aid.
i am actually paying more in rent than i ever paid in mortgage fees at my owned property. which doesnt make things easy as i am not entitled to any benefits to assist, but i am at least proud and can hold my head up high and say that i am paying my way thru society and paying my taxes etc as should be done.
i am determined tho that in the next few years that when i am eligible to buy the property from the council, i will. my children need the security of a roof over their heads and i will provide that even if it kills me in the process.
2007-02-07 23:36:51 · answer #6 · answered by Cubangirl 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What you say is quite right. My mum has always said this, based on her experiences of growing up - her parents scrimped and saved to be able to buy their own house, whereas her aunt and uncle lived in council houses and had so much more disposable income to fritter away (my mum does own her own home though).
The only reason for buying your own home is for security.
On the other hand, there are many good reasons for being a council tenant. For example, not only do you get to pay well below market rent, but you need never pay for maintenance or repairs on your property.
That said, I currently rent privately and am saving to be able to purchase my own home. I guess mainly because of pride.
BTW Richard R - apparently you can type - why not get a job as a secretary?
BTW (Part II) Princess - if you are paying £500 per month in rent, you should definitely be able to afford to get a mortgage and pay it off. Also I think it sounds like you are paying over the odds anyway. I live in London in a four-bedroom house and my rent is £310 per month, there are four of us in the house and we have a separate living room, separate kitchen, and separate laundry room. Rent varies by area and you probably live in a better area than me (not that my area is horrible). But why not look for somewhere cheaper so that you can afford to save for a deposit on your own place?
2007-02-08 01:35:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well Paul, I think it is about the human charachter seeking meaning of life. I think basically, there is that hump that we all have to get over, that hump of meaning. What does life mean? People take pride and attempt to do everything they can physically when they wonder about meaning. They want their lives to mean something besides appearing to be a drag in any way on the energy that appears to have placed them in their situation. Because if they are appearing as a drag, there are forces that have told them that they and theirs do not deserve to live or live well, that all they are is a vegetable. This comes in the form of those seeking religious experiences and other anxiety sourced experiences such as ownership. It is kinda like being out in the middle of the ocean and trying to keep your head above water and breath some air while it is storming. We are taught all our lives, many of us, that we don't deserve anything just because we were born. Society looks for varying degrees of entertainment, of struggle, from us, before someone will say...."They fought the good fight to live!". This is mixed with worship values that say that if someone dies for you, they are worth more than someone who does not, Judeo Christian values. And yet?, if we owned nothing, and we did our best and helped others and made people feel nice in life, and encouraged nice behavior from one another, we might be well ahead. If some can't compete, why not sit back and let things happen naturally instead of struggling so. If you can compete and relax in it, well good for those who can. We need em all. God Bless.
2007-02-07 23:45:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not always true about having something to pass onto your children. My Mum - 73 - is on her own (my Dad passed away 3 years ago), is having to sell her flat as she needs some help and is going into sheltered housing. If she had lived in a council house she wouldn't have to pay a bean. Now all the profit she's made will have to go on rent!!
Unfortunately you can't sign houses over to family members as if the council can prove this they can slap a charging order on the house
2007-02-07 23:31:14 · answer #9 · answered by julie g 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He doesn't actually own that house, you do realise that don't you. What they have provided him with is a place to live. Even if he is getting housing benefit he will undoubtable be having to pay a contribution and that is dead money. Your mortgage is paying for a property that is increasing in value all the time. When you decide it's time to move on from your house you will be able to sell it and buy a better house and/or have some spare cash. He will have nothing, all he's got is somewhere to live, perhaps you'd prefer his children to be on the street?
2007-02-08 03:35:38 · answer #10 · answered by gerrifriend 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋