Back in the eighties Maggie Thatcher decided to sell back swathes of housing owned by local authority to the private property market. This covered everything from post-war tower blocks to semi detached housing. The result: property that was cheap enough and more affordable for first-time buyers and lucrative opportunities for the canny buy-to-let buyers. The beauty of these properties is you are likely to get more bang for your buck and council flats are often are very central.