Never thought of that. We're high up and on a steep road, so it would have to be something drastic to affect us floodwise.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
I think it would be pretty drastic if we were flooded as well as even when it was really bad and the area was on flood alert last year the river was nowhere near bursting it's banks our side but try explaining that to the insurance companies!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
I have to say that I didnt choose to rent, I just couldnt manage the mortgage on our large 4 bedroomed house on my own when I split with my ex. I hated renting in fact as people often judge when you say youre a council tenant and my daughter had a really miserable time at school a couple of years ago. In my circumstances and status as a single parent, I am happpy that I dont have to worry about anything going wrong with the house. I used to feel 'beneath' mortgage payers now I dont.
I am on a hill but I still got flooded out when the drains around here couldnt cope, it did thousands of pounds worth of damage to my kitchen and downstairs bedroom. Although it was a huge stress at the time, it was sorted out without any cost to me.
I think it all depends on your circumstances, financial, employment, health and marital status.
I totally agree with you Lily, and I certainly wouldn't judge anyone for renting. When we lived in the flat we talked about selling up and renting, just so we could get away. If I could live in the area I'm in now it wouldn't bother me whether we rented or not - it all comes down to the house, area and more importantly the neighbours.
My parents still live in the same council house they have rented since 1958. I was brought up in that house and have rented in the past myself. I prefer to own though and be able to choose what I do to my house and when.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
We have been in our council house for nearly a month now and still cannot believe its our for life! Its taking some getting used to now, all the stress of the bankruptcy and having to move twice in 18 months, I am a bit down at the moment but happy to be here, does that make sense? I still cannot relax, feels too good to be true but I am NEVER moving again.[:D] We are in a nice area, the house has been renovated throughout and the rent is so cheap. I am not ashamed to say I live in a council house, they are like golddust in this area, we feel very lucky.
I also have to say that with council property its a bit hit and miss, I have been really lucky to land a rental in a very nice area. I was really scared when I had to move from my last house as I didnt know where or when it would happen. As my boys are vunerable I was so scared we would end up in some hell hole but no, the only house in a close with bought houses and I got it. I think generally people in bought houses care so much more about the surrounding area, gardens etc, I guess that makes me sound a little bit judgemental but you protect your own, right? If you rent privately I guess you have a little more choice but sometimes its actually cheaper to buy.
I do feel so much for people who come here with the dreadful stress of debt and the fear of losing their homes. Just how scary must that thought be for so many? There are many blessing to be counted when you think about that. In fact, I counted the blessing that I could stay in my home if I had gone BR more than a few times.
Know where you are coming from Jane, I was feeling so down two weeks ago too. I dont think you come to terms with the huge stresses faced over the last three years so quickly. I still dread the phone and the postman. I dont know how to move on either, it was a fight and a climb for so long, I have forgotten how to walk and let the guard down. I am back on the happy pills.
I agree with what you are saying about caring for your own Lily, but it's not always true. That was one of the problems with the flat. When Dave moved there you hardly saw anyone new. As the years went on it seems that more and more of the flats were short term rentals. Most of the people didn't seem to care about the place and it used to really wind me up - I dread to think what my blood pressure was! We had communal bins and people didn't put rubbish in them, they dropped it next to the bin - I watched them do it (I never caught anyone when I was outside though!). Cars were parked outside other people's garages or blocking other cars in. It was always people who seemed to appear and then disappear a few months after.
I know not everyone is like that, and I could never think like that, but sadly a lot of people do - oh it's not mine, I won't be here in 6 months, what does it matter?
Mind you, some of the owners or landlords were as bad - I put up a sign with directions to the local dump as people used to leave washing machines, cookers etc by the bins. There was even a toilet once! It's a shame as it could have been a nice place.
The ironic thing was the people who finally convinced us to leave owned the flat downstairs from us. They were really noisy and you cound hear everything (and I mean everything [xx(]!) that they were doing. They rowed in the middle of the night - broken glass, the lot. We tried banging on the floor, shouting at them to shut up and nothing worked. In the end we put a sign on the main door -"To whoever was making all the noise at 3am I hope you realise that the walls are VERY thin, and we can hear EVERYTHING!" The sign went very quickly and all went quiet for a while. I couldn't stand her anyway - she was very rude, and would walk past and completely ignore you.
Our private rental was on a new housing estate and it was so quiet at first but then most of the houses were going up for rent and the riff-raff moved in, I call 'em that because they had no consideration for other people, they shouted in the street at night and played loud music all the time, cars with their noisy exhausts constantly turing around, the neighbours were not too quiet either, they had a dog and it would bark and yap all day when they where not in!
Our new council house is in an area where most of the houses have been bought and our neighbours on both sides are privately owned. It only our back garden that is letting the area down, there was a garage there but the council have removed it and are supposed to be levelling the garden off for us.
I probably will settle in over time, but I am still on the "happy pills"[:D]
Stay on those happy pills Jane, I came off mine in early August and I really did notice the difference. If it wasnt for Skip and Aguise I dont know where I would have been now.
I am lucky my neighbour is the nosey type, what she doesnt know isnt worth knowing and if she doesnt know she will stand at the edge of our garden and ask, we dont use the front door as our house is on the corner so we drive up the the back gate, she finda an excuse to stand outside there too. She is lovely really and I know she wouldnt miss a trick so I dont have to worry. I am about twenty years younger than the other residents so I dont have to worry about loud music and my kids have it stuffed in their ears most of the time (even when I am talking with them one ear is stuffed with it) I just mouth the words until they take it out.
Lets hope other people who fear losing their own home are encouraged by our storys of renting somewhere nice.
Skip, sounds like you had a right nightmare in your other place. I guess you can get riff raff anywhere if the land lords dont care. You wouldnt get away with anything with our council, they dont tollerate scruffy front or back gardens or bulky rubbish, even unrully children. Such crimes are a direct breach of contract and will not be tollerated.
Glad to hear you are so happy in your new house.
We are lucky and have great neighbours, it makes such a difference. I know people who own their own homes and still have probs with neighbours.
I never understand why some just dont care about their home whether owned or rented. The way I see it I live there and I want it to be nice for me. Like Lily my housing association will tell you to tidy your garden up if you dont look after it, you even have to ask where you can put a shed or fencing, so you dont block others views etc. Some see it as restrictive at times but it does make better for everyone.
Stay happy jane.
