Dundee City Council has decided that when it comes to getting rid of surplus housing you have to spend money to make money.
It is planning to spend £186,000 on doing up flats in a fire-hit tenement block in Charleston and then selling them on the open market.
If it can find buyers, it stands to make a substantial profit which will be ploughed back into improving its other properties in the city.
Housing convener Jimmy Black said: ”This is the first time we have tried something like this, but having taken a long and thorough look at the situation I believe we have arrived at a solution that benefits everyone.
”Clearly, from the council’s point of view, if these flats are sold at current market value we will have money to invest in our continuing efforts to bring every local authority house in the city up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
”But it also means that there will be five newly refurbished and upgraded flats for sale that would be ideal for first-time buyers, who can get help to get a foot on the property ladder by applying to the council’s mortgage scheme.”
The five flats the council owns at 17 Buttars Place are uninhabitable because of a fire earlier this year. Housing director Elaine Zwirlein ordered an appraisal of the options for the block, which included demolishing it, bringing the flats up to standard and then trying to rent them to tenants and selling them to owner-occupiers. Improvement for sale came out top in an evaluation.
Sales data on similar flats in the area showed that the lowest price paid recently was £55,000 while the highest was £76,000.
Councillors will be asked to back the proposal on Monday.
Meanwhile, the city council is to spend £820,000 upgrading homes in the East End ward. The works include the removal of electric heating and its replacement by gas in 56 houses, boiler-only replacement in another 34 houses and new kitchens and bathrooms for 90 houses.
The affected properties are in Aboyne Avenue, Huntly Road, Kemnay Gardens, Banchory Road and Dean Avenue.
Photo by Flickr user woodleywonderworks.