Living on a council estate with loadsa money

[Misc]

Always baffled me. Why do people who obviously have money, choose to to stay in shit holes? Because they like the area? The area i'm talking about is surrounded by posher areas within a 5 minute journey so i ruled that out.

It just seems odd when your driving around a council estate with row after row of houses that all look the same & then you come to the home that has a marbel driveway, Range Rovers, Personalized plate & a big extension. Or the House that has 2 Range Rovers, CCTV & big iron gates, all this on a little 3 bed house.

[RealNinja]

This may come as a bit of a surprize, but perhaps all their money isn't entirely legit.....?

Alternatively, perhaps their council tax is low, their house is paid for cos it was bought from the council for next to nothing, and therefore their cost of living is minimal, thus allowing them to live in the manner to which you describe.

Generally those that have money know how to keep it.....
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[Handsome]

Been in the house years and bought it from the local council for less than half the going rate ?...
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[hellkat]

Maybe they want to show off to their peers just how much more than everybody else they have.

They "went up in the world" (by whatever means) but they don't want to move away too far from their Dear Old Mum, bless'er.

Or ... mebbe they're on the edge of the posher areas cos they can't afford to move any closer in

I've lately considered moving to Epping, myself.
Looks nice out there.
Better class of crook than Canning Town, I reckon.
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[Carl_steveo]

The reason they can afford those things might possible be because they live in a shit house. I know if I had the option of a crap council house and two nice cars against a moderately okay house and a rover 25 I wouldn't be driving the crap one.
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[----]

You have to stay close to you're customers for a start aswell as being close to backup incase things go tits up.
Also the neighbours in a posh estate wouldn't be happy with customers pulling in the street every 10mins
(assuming the money man is a drug dealer)

I dont really see anything bad about living in a shitty council estate.I live in one of the roughest estates in newcastle and never get any bother from anyone.
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[Misc]

Thanks all.

I guess it makes sense to live cheaply but splash out on fancy things. I didn't want to go as far as to say that maybe it's an image thing. Driving around in nice cars, people thinking you have money, only to return to a little 3 bed house. Probably way off but it wouldn't surprise me in today's world.

[Skudd]

Fur coat and no knickers
Aldi tins in Tesco bags
Cupboards are bare but they still drink out of china
I see it all the time on the estates i have to go around. They are the ones who want it all but don't like paying for it.
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[Harold_Shand]

A couple I knew bought their council house many years ago, saved money, were careful, intelligent, generally decent people. They're still there now and have little ornaments in the window etc. There's no showing off as such, just conspicuous by it's meticulous maintenance and lack of fridges in the garden.

What they do have, however is a fucking great white beast of a boat moored along the Thames. The boats have got progessively bigger over the years... it's not a nice estate by any means, I know coz my grandad lived there too. But this couple got in the house and that was that... fuck the world.

Bit of a shame the mention of council estate gets everyone thinking 'criminals'.

There's loads of different ways to play life, this has worked for them a treat.
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Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[Ariel Badger]

I am not rich but then again I am not short of a few bob either. I live in the inner city and my street is part of the catchment area for my school. It is not a council estate but it is not Suburbia, I guess that there are 25 languages spoken in the road and I am one of the few people that use English as a first language. Why do I live here? Because I love it, I know everyone and they know me there is more to life than a nice lawn and people that have a clue about parking.

Edit... Just been outside to take a photo of the chimp who had parked across the pavement behind my van but he has gone back to his own bit of the hood but people do park up trees around here if nothing else is available. Also we drive on both sides of the road and stop our cars if we see a friend coming the other way and have a chat in the middle of the street. Shaking hands car to car is the norm and fun IMHO.
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[stinkwheel]

Perhaps they have loads of money because they don't subscribe to the idiotic (an uniquely British) idea of living in the most expensive house the bank will give you a mortgage for then spending every penny you earn for the next 25 years paying it off again.

Instead, perhaps they bought a house they could comfortably afford and as a result have a comfortably high disposable income.

The number of people in this country who live in a £200k+ house and can't afford to go out for a pint during the last week of the month amazes me.
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[mooserx]

I got my house off the council for £44k, theres only about 6 years left on the mortgage and me and mrs mooserx pull in around 40k per year between us, I don't think 44k is to bad for a 3 bed semi, ok it was 10 years ago but jeez, in the current market and going off sales in the area recently, I reckon if we sold up now we'd get perhaps 85-95 grand for it.

We toyed with the idea of moving because we don't particularly like the area we live in, but that means we'd nearly triple our mortgage payments for a house of a similar size in an area less than 2 miles away as it's more "desirable". It makes sense to us to wait till this house is paid off before we saddle ourselves with a bigger, more expensive mortgage.

[supZ]

where on earth do you live to be able to buy a 3 bed house for £90k??
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[Skudd]

There does seem to be a big difference between the big cars and the fridge in the garden brigade and those who look after their pennies, are careful and just like where they live.
I think th OP was talking about the big expensive cars, parked in the garden without a basic drive way, a fridge, broken down fence, a settee and dirty nappies all over the place.
The right to buy your council house was a good idea for those in the house at the time, some picked up a 4 bed house with large gardens for £7-8k with all the discounts that were available, when the same house was going for £70-80k around the corner. Those £7k houses are now £210k same as the £80k houses are now. Just that the £7k guys took out a personal loan over 5 years where the others had to take out a mortgage over 25yrs.
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[mooserx]

[Robby]

They have the nice big cars, toys, holidays etc because they live in the council house.

A few factors for you:

1. Some estates are quite nice. A lot of estates become nice eventually, as long as the housing and amenities are maintained by the council - smaller ones take around 20 years, bigger ones 40+. This gentrification is set back a decade if there is a large influx of outsiders (problem families from another estate, immigrants, a large number of people of a different colour or creed, people of a different culture.) I can safely that my estate (6 blocks of 40 flats each, about 40 terraced houses, playground, tennis courts, lots of trees. Next to a rich bit) is very quiet and family orientated, more so than the sleepy Kentish town I grew up in. I assume that a lot of this is due to the mix of friendly older south Londoners, Caribbeans, and a few south-east Asians. No chavs or rudeboys, although there is a scary looking rasta who only seems to come out at night.

2. Council houses give you a lot for your money. They are designed with the growing family in mind, so you tend to get big rooms and clever use of space, with materials that will last. While they have been council owned, or a flat in a council block, they will have been maintained and updated by the council. This means frequent repainting outside, double glazing if the property is old, adequate insulation. New build private stuff is often shit, and old houses can require lots of work to get reasonable energy efficiency. This matters with rising gas bills.

3. You're near your friends and family, the kids schools etc. To move to a slightly bigger, nicer house in a private road, but still within the same area and the school catchment area, would be horrifically expensive - assuming a 3 bed on a council estate to a 4 bed in a private road, maybe Victorian because the wife thinks it's pretty, would be around £100k to £200k extra. That's a lot of holidays and bikes. That extension doesn't look so silly now, particularly if you know a builder.

4. Money money money. Pay off your mortgage early and retire at 50, isn't that a lot of people's dream? (Future jealousy trap: the latest I can retire is 58, 40 years service in the civil service. Just 34 short years to go). Falling into the property trap prevents this from happening. My parents did it, some of yours may have too. Bought a big house when prices were low and business was successful, borrowed against the value when business was doing less well and the house was worth more, and then reach a stage where the business ticks along, they have nice things, but the mortgage will never be cleared. One day the house will be sold.


As some of you can probably guess, I really want to avoid the property trap. I'm in a position to make a massive profit on my ex-council flat when I do eventually sell it, hopefully to just buy a flat or a house of a size that I need, with a garage. I'll be avoiding the gates and assorted house-bling though.

[chris-red]

[ms51ves3]

[Skudd]

[wizzzard]

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/2070083

In my local crappy area three bedroomed houses are dirt cheap.
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[chris-red]

[daemonoid]

[Carl_steveo]

[SlimRick]

[----]

3 bedroom terraced house in durham only 40k


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