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5 Tips on the Sale of Ex-Council Houses

By Tim Bishop

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Published: 08Nov2009
Word count: 408
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The sale of ex-council properties can prove awkward, particularly in the current financial climate. Most people buying their home under the government's Right to Buy Scheme are usually first time buyers with no experience of home purchase.

When it comes to the sale and purchase of properties purchased from a Local Authority, there are some things you need to be aware of:

1. Ex-council properties usually fetch a lower price than privately built homes when being sold on for the first or second time. Depending on the type, condition and location of the council property, it is common for ex-council property to be worth between 15% and 40% less than similar privately built properties. When it comes to selling, just like any other property, you need a good valuation. Make sure that you appoint an estate agent who is used to dealing with local ex-council. Putting a value on such homes, especially in an area where most council properties have not been sold, can prove awkward, there will only have been a limited market for such property and few, if any, similar properties to compare yours with. Valuation is made more complicated by both improvements made to ex-council properties and the scope for such improvements to be carried out in future.

2. Most purchasers of ex-council properties are first time buyers and so are often families with tight budgets and limited funds to purchase a home.

3. To get the best value for ex-council properties, avoid pushing for a quick sale. As these properties are generally less popular than privately built properties, and with likely purchasers on limited budgets, pushing for an early sale is likely to reduce the potential sale price.

4. In getting a value for your property, make sure that you speak to at least 2 or 3 agents. Beware automatically taking the agent who gives the highest valuation. It is not uncommon for some agents to over-value property purely to get instruction - that's the easy part; they may find difficulties when trying to sell at that price.

5. Do make sure that you tell your agent how quickly you want to sell. The fact that a property needs to be sold quickly will inevitably reduce its potential sale value. With the property market currently picking up after a dreadful couple of years, now is a good time to look at a sale.

If you are thinking of buying or selling an ex-council house, make sure you speak to experienced conveyancing solicitors.

Tim Bishop is senior partner of Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of UK conveyancing solicitors with offices in the south-west, offering legal services to private and business clients. Tim has spearheaded the firm's expansion, seeing it grow by 1000% in the last 12 years. He is responsible for major and strategic decisions and sees himself as an entrepeneur who owns a law firm.

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