Tips for bidding for council property or one from housing association?
linkinpark875
Posts: 29,701 Forum Member
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Can anybody give me a any tips? So far I've heard bid every week so they know you are keen. I am also looking at buying but private let as a last resort if something doesn't come up in six months to a year.
My questions are:
*Would adding a girlfriends name on the living together part of the form help? I know it doesn't improve your band or requirement for extra bedrooms but do they see couples as a better fit over a single applicant?
And if so have you ever been offered a house as a single person? Was it one or two bedrooms and how many bid for it?
*I have ruled out electric heaters as I have been told they are expensive. But would applying for a wider area of houses help my chances too? I've bid for ones about 5-6 miles or more apart?
*The housing associations have less people bidding but higher rent. With the fact they are more likely to fill the bedrooms is the chances of getting one with them lesser? More two bedrooms are coming up now many new builds they tend not to have many one bedrooms now and I don't fancy a bedsit.
*I know it can take years to get a house so if you have waited a while was it because the list was high were you were? Limited on area?
*Also anybody for a council house within weeks or months? Obviously I am bidding on the better areas so feel I may have less of a chance?
*And finally is say Christmas a good time to apply or a better chance given some people may hold off moving home until the new year?
My questions are:
*Would adding a girlfriends name on the living together part of the form help? I know it doesn't improve your band or requirement for extra bedrooms but do they see couples as a better fit over a single applicant?
And if so have you ever been offered a house as a single person? Was it one or two bedrooms and how many bid for it?
*I have ruled out electric heaters as I have been told they are expensive. But would applying for a wider area of houses help my chances too? I've bid for ones about 5-6 miles or more apart?
*The housing associations have less people bidding but higher rent. With the fact they are more likely to fill the bedrooms is the chances of getting one with them lesser? More two bedrooms are coming up now many new builds they tend not to have many one bedrooms now and I don't fancy a bedsit.
*I know it can take years to get a house so if you have waited a while was it because the list was high were you were? Limited on area?
*Also anybody for a council house within weeks or months? Obviously I am bidding on the better areas so feel I may have less of a chance?
*And finally is say Christmas a good time to apply or a better chance given some people may hold off moving home until the new year?
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It took me around 8 months to get the place I am in now. It is a one bed council ground floor. I think that I managed to get it (apart from needing a groundfloor and medical reasons) because the next door neighbour has a large dog that barks very loudly which would put a lot of people off. I rang the people who run this estate and said that I was really interested in this property and that I would accept it no matter what and not mess them around. I was 2nd choice, the first lot said no. But here the waiting/bidding lists on average for a ground floor are 10-15 people and for a first floor are 110-120 people.
Went down to have a look that morning and was told that if i wanted it, it was mine on the condition i accepted it there and then and was fully moved in within a fortnight.
I did once bid for a one bedroom house though but didn't get anywhere with that.
But, as has been said, I do think it's general council policy to only give you the number of rooms you actually need. it takes a long time in my area mainly because there are so many people on the list and new people joining all the time who are also given higher banding as well so they immediately jump in front of you.
I looked at one flat once that was a brand new build. had a fitted kitchen, wet room and pre-installed sky sockets amongst other things. i was second in the queue to this bloke who turned up with his family.
i was told that if he turned it down, it was mine. turns out he'd been on the list a week and was going to america the following month to work for a year. of course he took the flat .. git
10-12 year waiting list?
That is crazy!
It just goes to show the lack of affordable ,social housing in this country if people are expected to wait for over a decade for a property.
You'd think that but last Sept my council rented a 3 bed house in this village to a family who, from day one, were paying bedroom tax. And the council knew it. Apparently, two days after these people moved in, the rules in this council district were changed so that people who would be too small a family for a property can no longer bid on it... But I got the distinct impression that varies from council to council. And it is a decision they have to call a meeting, to change if they are already allowing smaller families to bid for properties where they would have a spare room. Ironically, the previous tenant in the property could no longer pay her rent due to bedroom tax - if it wasn't for that she would never have moved out. And yet they were quite happy to immediately put another too-small family into a large house, and apparently some councils have no problem with it.
Years ago, when we were just a couple with no kids yet, by some massive fluke we got given a house by a council - because it was a badly converted Victorian terrace and only had one bedroom (on paper it had two but the second was just the size of a cupboard).:D Everyone else we knew in a similar situation got given a flat in a tower block or maisonettes - but we managed to score a house, incredibly. It was, even in those days, rare.
I was on the waiting list for this for just a few months but I have 5 kids, some with disabilities so it's obvious how we got to the top of the waiting list. They had just introduced a bidding scheme. I applied for a very broad area - maybe 10 villages and a couple of small towns, in this area. And this was the first to come up. Before the thing last year, only 2 houses came up for rent in 12 years in this village and both went to families with 5 kids, one or more kids disabled. Just to give OP some perspective on the odds on getting a house.
My ex neighbour's son and girlfriend were expecting a baby, and were on the waiting list for a matter of weeks as they were lucky enough for a newbuild to come up in the next village. He couldn't believe his luck. That was about 18 mths ago. But as I say, baby on the way and just a small, 2 bed house.
A lot of councils will give singles or couples a two bed high rise if theu have a policy of no children in these types of flats, but only if they are working.
I would not reccomend the housing association as the council is better and cheaper, but tbh if you won't get anything better then go for that.
Yes you are right, sorry about that. But also like nottingham alot of their 2 bedroom high rise flats have been reclassed as 1 bedroom so the unemployed can still have one