AJ2

I hope I didnt give the impression that Dog Kennel estate was some sort of hell hole. Its got quite a good reputation these days, but I think that it would be very unwise to buy a leasehold property on a Council estate and assume you are in the same situation as buying into a private development. Its true that its quite possible to live a lifetime on an inner city estate and experience no problems, its also possible to experience a considerable amount of grief. If you are going to buy on any estate then I think you need to be realist about the potential risk you are taking. The number of 'second generation' leaseholders who complain about their neighbours behaviour is beleve me alarming and a running joke in housing management circles! Its true that social landlords have greater powers these days, principly the use of 'introductory' tenancies which in essence give the landlord the ability to evict a tenant within 12 months if they are unhappy with the tenants conduct. But otherwise you will have to convince a County Court Judge to give you a possession order , not an easy thing to do. And thats presuming that the problem is not caused by people who dont even live on the estate. Thats also not taking into consideration the behaviour of tenants which may drive you to distraction but for which the Landlord could never get a possession order. On the issue of Capital costs its true that you should know what the score is for the first five years but after that anything can happen. I've been involved with redevelopment schemes in which leaseholders have been landed with bills of ?30,000 plus! This is isnt an arguement believe it or not ,not to buy on estates, depending on your circumstances it can be a good move. But you really should go into it aware of the potential problems

It all depends on whats in your lease. However normaly you'd expect to pay a substantial annual service charge for services like 'cleaning,caretaking,etc etc'. In addition you will be 'recharged' for any communal repairs. If they are major repairs then the cost could be considerable. Moreover this does not take into consideration any future refurbishment, improvements etc for which you will have to pay your share ( depending on the nature of the funding there may be a limit on your totaly liability ). The up side is that any improvements usually increases the value of your property! The other thing to keep in mind is that Dog Kennel hill is local authority social housing. Your neighbours may turn out to be the salt of the earth but given the nature of Southwark as an inner London authority there's a strong chance they may have serious mental health problems or be simply 'difficult' etc. The bottom line is you will be paying less up front but you will have ongoing financial liabilities and possibly 'difficult' neighbours. ( Of course possible anywhere but living on an estate is a different ball game ! ) By the way Dog Kennel hill still has the virtualy complete remains of WW2 communal bomb shelters and 'classic' GLC WW2 surplus 'stretcher' fencing!