Buying ex-council house: need to prove "housing requirement"

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animha

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Hi, there's a house that I'm very interested in from an investment point of view but I have been advised that because this is the first time the house will be sold after being purchased from the council, that the purchaser will have to prove they have a 'housing requirement' ie FTB or going to live there. Has anybody come across this? I won't be living in the house initially but may do at some stage....
 
You will have to get a "consent to purchase" from the local authority, contracts are usually signed subject to this. If they don't consent you cant buy. These properties are usually restricted to those "in need of housing", usually, but not exclusively first time buyers. There will be an application form which asks about your income and current housing, these vary from authority to authority. As an investor you are unlikely to get consent
 
A friend of mine was in the same prediciment when trying to buy husbands family home from the parents, someone from the council then told them on the quiet that if they sold their own house first then they would be officially homeless so they would be able to be class them as in need of housing. They did just that and stayed with friends till they bought the house.
 
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