council housing?

They did away with the point system,now its first come first serve, I know a few people on the list and its a very long list..my BIL was on it for almost 5 years. From what I know,to get one faster you'll have to be homeless. They then set you up in a homeless shelter for a few months until theres a place available,and chances are you won't get a house right away,you'll get a flat

My husband told me that they are still using the point system (in West Dunbartonshire).

My husband told me that they are still using the point system (in West Dunbartonshire).

Some still do, particularly smaller councils.  Edinburgh does not.  They use a 'star' policy.

We considered this, but upon further research decided it's not the best option for us at all.  In our case it was like the worst of both worlds - you're still paying rent, but as a share owner you're responsible for ALL the maintenance, which isn't good if you're cash poor after the purchase, especially when you're buying a flat or semi w/shared responsibilities.  In the past month we've had to have the washing machine and oven replaced, a new thermostat for the hot water heater, and two light fittings replaced.  Glad we didn't have to stump up for that.

Again, the list for this is also miles long. 

Far easier for us to retrain for a higher paying profession and hopefully earn more money and/or be able to transfer your skills for a location where prices are a bit more moderate.

My husband was told that we'd be responsible for our percentage of the maintenance (if we own 50% of the house, we'd pay 50%).  Maybe its different for each council.

Are you in college or something right now?

Are you in college or something right now?

I'll begin a course of study part-time at university in Autumn. 

They also have houses that you part-buy, so you buy a percentage of it and pay rent on the rest.  Its not too bad...my husband and I are on a list for it.
Some of the houses are REALLY nice.

We considered that too...

Heres an update..we are going to go see a house, 15 minutes from Bath, in a little village, 2 bdrm, and its exactly what we were hoping as far as price goes....so we've lucked out finding the listing, now to just hope that we are able to rent it! Its available the 2nd week in May, we're going to look at it thursday..wish us luck!!! It sounds perfect, not far from Bath, far enough though to have a drastic price difference, the village has little shops and farmers markets, stalls etc...and while its on a 'proper' road (not a tiny tiny little country lane that scares me half to death ) its not a major road so no traffic. Sounds too good to be true, but crossing our fingers that its the right one for us!

My fiance does work full-time, and in a good job, its just that the area we were looking in is soo expensive, this one he found by lowering the amt of max rent, otherwise it wasnt coming up before..go figure

Good luck hope it is what you are looking for remember you can put your mark on it and you will be able to nest lol and do the babys room. 

Good luck hope it is what you are looking for remember you can put your mark on it and you will be able to nest lol and do the babys room. 

Thank you
Yeah Id love to be able to do that, its been wonderful that dfs parents are willing to put up with us, but to have a place of our own would be soo nice, and it would be long before the baby arrives which gives me less stress and more time to settle in

good luck with the viewing!  

Good luck with the house!

It sounds perfect for you guys.....best of luck to you! 

Good luck!  Sounds great!   

If it soundst too good to be true, it likely is. The guy decided at the last minute to sell the house instead, we get the call just a couple of hours before we're to go see the house. Now the estate agent has just written us off as being interested in the house in any way. We were hoping to find out how much he was wanting to sell it for, but cant get ahold of the agent were supposed to be dealing with.

We're back at square one, and looking at more options...we saw a house with potential, but its shared ownership and after reading the hoops you must jump through to even qualify, not to mention how long it could take to actually GET a house that way, Im not so sure its such a great idea. We are prepared for the maintenance and whatever, just the wait time can apparently be rather long, which I wasnt aware thats how it was done since the house is listed on rightmove

Sorry that house didn't work out for you. But you found one that sounded right ... so there must be others out there! Think positive!!

In the meantime, if you're really serious about looking into purchasing the house, maybe you should pursue it a bit more aggressively. When you say you can't get hold of the agent, what do you mean? Is the line engaged or do you not know who the agent is? If the house was that perfect, then go for it!

We're back at square one, and looking at more options...we saw a house with potential, but its shared ownership and after reading the hoops you must jump through to even qualify, not to mention how long it could take to actually GET a house that way, Im not so sure its such a great idea. We are prepared for the maintenance and whatever, just the wait time can apparently be rather long, which I wasnt aware thats how it was done since the house is listed on rightmove

Yep, the wait's a long one.  Measures have to be put in place to make sure the applicant actually needs this type of scheme in order to afford property at all, in order to prevent buy to let landlords or developers from using the scheme to make a quick profit. 

Yep, the wait's a long one.  Measures have to be put in place to make sure the applicant actually needs this type of scheme in order to afford property at all, in order to prevent buy to let landlords or developers from using the scheme to make a quick profit. 

Thats what the estate agent that just called regarding our request for info told me. We are going to keep it in mind after all, because we are good candidates for this sort of thing, being we cant afford a full mortgage, and need a place to live. We are getting the details of the house and going from there if we want to see it. She explained they will assess our need, and ability to pay etc and it would take longer than a normal mortgage to aquire but we DO have time, and maybe its the best way to go...but keeping all options open.

In the meantime, if you're really serious about looking into purchasing the house, maybe you should pursue it a bit more aggressively. When you say you can't get hold of the agent, what do you mean? Is the line engaged or do you not know who the agent is? If the house was that perfect, then go for it!

I tried calling her as soon as we got back home, and the agent I got ahold of said she was out for two other viewings, and hed keep us on the list for other properties like it, bye! *click*...er..thanks..heh

I will be calling her again today to try to catch her and see if she knows how much they may want for the house, although their agency is stated as a letting agent, so not sure if they do sell homes, but she may actually have the info anyway.