General Chat

[Ingram85]

If the government and the housing companies could stop catering to the middle class and build homes affordable for the working class that would be a good start. You need £200k plus for a decent house in brum. We need £150k houses. 

[lapal_fan]

11 minutes ago, Ingram85 said:

If the government and the housing companies could stop catering to the middle class and build homes affordable for the working class that would be a good start. You need £200k plus for a decent house in brum. We need £150k houses. 

With district ground source heat pumps to go with our carbon commitments! 

Go green man. 

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, villa4europe said:

I completely agree with sidcow why you should buy a house and that renting is dead money I just don't see how a young couple in their early to mid 20s could ever be expected to save the £15k+ to buy something

Quite so. And this is why I don't slag off the Yoof of Today, and why I totally understand why they resent my (boomer) generation.

My wife and I bought a 4 bed terrace (needed lots of work, so we had to spend money on new central heating, full rewire, etc.) in 1984 for £20K. Sold it in 1997 for £97K, and bought a 5 bed semi (same deal, needed money spending) for £112K. Paid off the mortgage in 2013, it's now worth over £500K. So we've done nicely. 

By contrast, my kids look like they'll never be able to do anything like that. We help out as much as we can, but we can't afford to just give them our life savings - and that would be a drop in the ocean. My elder daughter's in-laws (better off than us!) did give them a bit, and they scraped together the deposit on a 3 bed ex council house - £187K and a big mortgage. But at least they're on the ladder. But our other daughter and her partner are still in the rental trap - low paid jobs and apparently no chance of ever getting their own place. I suppose at least when we pop our clogs they'll inherit this house, but I hope that's not too soon! 

[chrisp65]

On the presumption nothing unexpected happens, I have 46 mortgage repayments left. I’ll be mortgage / rent free before I’m 60. IF nothing comes along and rocks the boat.

That was a pretty standard life plan when I was starting out with my first mortgage on (literally) the cheapest crappest house in town in a run down area.

But that first house has quadrupled in ‘value’. I don’t think starting salaries have quadrupled. So everyone is given more credit than they ever would have been previously, so they can stretch to the £179,950 starter home made out of brick slips and lolly sticks, or the £175,000 mid terrace doer upper.

On our current combined salaries, on the old 3+1 mortgage guide, today we couldn’t get anywhere near the house we are in now, we couldn’t be in this end of town. We’d be in a different postcode, where the schools are a bit more shit, where there are more bookies than veg shops, where life expectancy is just plain lower and there is a government sponsored scheme to persuade people to send their kids to school. After a life of work, we’d be barely one click up from that first mid terrace wreck with no heating and a view of the night sky, from the ground floor. 

Nobody wants the bad post code and all the stuff and association that comes with it. Nobody wants that post code on their CV, or their 19 year old kid’s CV.

So they sign up to the insane finance deals.

Because someone withdrew the other option, of genuinely affordable decent accommodation for local people. Why give people what they need, when you can get them to pay through the nose for it. 

I don’t envy young people or young families. 

 

[Genie]

25 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Quite so. And this is why I don't slag off the Yoof of Today, and why I totally understand why they resent my (boomer) generation.

My wife and I bought a 4 bed terrace (needed lots of work, so we had to spend money on new central heating, full rewire, etc.) in 1984 for £20K. Sold it in 1997 for £97K, and bought a 5 bed semi (same deal, needed money spending) for £112K. Paid off the mortgage in 2013, it's now worth over £500K. So we've done nicely. 

By contrast, my kids look like they'll never be able to do anything like that. We help out as much as we can, but we can't afford to just give them our life savings - and that would be a drop in the ocean. My elder daughter's in-laws (better off than us!) did give them a bit, and they scraped together the deposit on a 3 bed ex council house - £187K and a big mortgage. But at least they're on the ladder. But our other daughter and her partner are still in the rental trap - low paid jobs and apparently no chance of ever getting their own place. I suppose at least when we pop our clogs they'll inherit this house, but I hope that's not too soon! 

You could downsize from your £500k, 5 bed house and give some money to your daughter before you die to see her setup her own home  

Edited March 16, 2021 by Genie

[Seat68]

8 minutes ago, Genie said:

You could downside from your £500k, 5 bed house and give some money to your daughter before you die to see her setup her own home  

I could put you in touch with a colleague who could help you do this. Just saying. 

[villa4europe]

15 minutes ago, Genie said:

You could downside from your £500k, 5 bed house and give some money to your daughter before you die to see her setup her own home  

I have sympathy for that too

You spend 25 to 35 years paying for something and looking after it, doing it up, sinking a ton of cash in to it to get it exactly how you want it to be... to then be expected to downsize and live in something else that won't feel as "yours" but you won't have the money to do anything about it

It doesn't work for old people either 

Like I said earlier I think the idea of the ladder is outdated now, I have bought 1 house but had to sell it because of leaving the country, now if / when I come back I plan on buying 1 more house and that's it, I'm saving for a house that ticks all the boxes in one go rather than moving about, moving house is shit 

[Genie]

11 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

I have sympathy for that too

You spend 25 to 35 years paying for something and looking after it, doing it up, sinking a ton of cash in to it to get it exactly how you want it to be... to then be expected to downsize and live in something else that won't feel as "yours" but you won't have the money to do anything about it

It doesn't work for old people either 

Like I said earlier I think the idea of the ladder is outdated now, I have bought 1 house but had to sell it because of leaving the country, now if / when I come back I plan on buying 1 more house and that's it, I'm saving for a house that ticks all the boxes in one go rather than moving about, moving house is shit 

I don’t think it’s expected, just an idea. If you’ve got a big house with 3 or 4 spare bedrooms, tonnes of equity and your child is struggling it’s an option. Many others aren’t in a position to help. 
 

[mjmooney]

5 hours ago, Genie said:

You could downsize from your £500k, 5 bed house and give some money to your daughter before you die to see her setup her own home  

Oh, we've discussed that. Not as simple (or as wise) as it sounds. 

[KenjiOgiwara]

Are housing pricing as bonkers there as here then? My colleague bought a terrraced house in 1993 here in Oslo for 65 k. The neighbour just sold for slightly beneath £ 2 million. Just stupid.

We also have a thing where the banks will ask you to front 15% of the purchase. The average square meter price in Oslo is £ 8000 including the shadier areas. So out of university with loans you are supposed to save £70 k before being able to join the market, and by the time you save that money the market will have eclipsed you by 5 x that in market price increase.

[KenjiOgiwara]

9 hours ago, villa4europe said:

I think it's ingrained in English culture to buy a house, you have to buy a house, rent is dead money, the amount of times I was told this by my family in my 20s when I was renting was mad, I came under a lot of pressure to buy a house, I bought one and sold it when I moved 

Now living in Germany everyone rents, house prices are mad 

My personal reason for wanting to own a house was the freedom of being able to do what I wanted with it... And then I did very little in terms of DIY cos I hate it and then also the retirement safety blanket of being mortgage free or maybe even downsizing and pocketing the cash but no one does that anymore 

And I'm looking now at the housing market to see what would happen if I came back, I'd need £20k for a deposit, £5k for the rest and that'll get me an OK if I'm lucky 3 bed in Kidderminster with a 25 year mortgage with repayments around £850 a month without insurances...

This confuses me. Really? I thought housing in Germany was cheap? I remember looking at apartment prices in Berlin and thinking it was cheap. That was 5 years ago or so, but still.

I also remember talking to my S.O.'s family, quite recently, who lives in Cologne and they talked about some kind of rule about how you can't raise rent in Germany if you initiate a contract or whatever. I only got half of it, but I got the impression housing in Germany was very cheap compared to other western European countries.

[KenjiOgiwara]

On 12/03/2021 at 10:04, Ingram85 said:

I’m a bit of a weirdo, I never once enjoyed going out to get drunk or just have a few drinks and dance in the clubs etc... I hated it all. Academy, Snobs or wherever. It was something I just did to fit in as my mates were doing it. I wasn’t confident, girls didn’t like me, I found the whole thing miserable. Led me down a dark spiral that period of my life. Ugh, lot of bad memories of late teens/early 20’s. 

Always preferred going out for a couple of drinks and a meal with a few mates or family instead.

Well described, except the family bit.  I think that goes for a much much larger percentage of people than what's perceived. The amount of great pre-parties I've been too and hopes for a good evening, destroyed by some shit club or disco. Think that goes for a lot of people. Probably more men than women mind.

Edited March 16, 2021 by KenjiOgiwara

[villa4europe]

33 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

This confuses me. Really? I thought housing in Germany was cheap? I remember looking at apartment prices in Berlin and thinking it was cheap. That was 5 years ago or so, but still.

I also remember talking to my S.O.'s family, quite recently, who lives in Cologne and they talked about some kind of rule about how you can't raise rent in Germany if you initiate a contract or whatever. I only got half of it, but I got the impression housing in Germany was very cheap compared to other western European countries.

im bonn so looked at cologne, i would say cheaper than london more than brum, definitely a lot more than the town im from, you'd do well to get any kind of 3 bed house for less 300.000 on the outskirts of bonn and the the fees are crazy high too (circa 30.000+ in fees) my wife is from a village and they build their own houses which means it could potentially be cheaper, ive seen plenty of new apartment blocks going up but yet to see a single housing developer, my wife is confused by it which suggests they dont really exist

theres then lots of different little things too, you rent warm or cold, basically pay 200 a month more and your bills are thrown in, you dont pay council tax, the comment about raising rent is correct, my understanding is that if im here for 20 years ill still be paying what i pay but im not sure on eviction rights

im 2 bedroom 80m2 new build apartment, warm,  in a good area not in the centre with a good standard of finish and it costs me £1250 a month to rent...thats about £250 a month more than a 3 bed house in kiddy with the bills

the weirdest thing they do with rentals here...they dont come with kitchens...you have to do your own, the wife tells me that timber floors with underfloor heating is pretty standard though, she doesnt understand carpet, thinks its horrible stuff...she'll go down well in kiddy

[Xela]

18 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Why do you want to buy a house?

A lot of people have already said, but ultimately, its cheaper. 

My mortgage - £478 per month. To rent my apartment - £800 per month I reckon? Maybe more as I am top floor and have 2 parking spaces. 

Obviously I have extra charges (ground rent, share of buildings insurance, estate management charges) plus its my cost if the boiler breaks or repairs are needed, but its still cheaper. 

Plus if I sold up tomorrow to leave the country, i'd walk away with about £100k equity, once the mortgage is paid off. Renting, you walk away with nothing, save for your deposit back, if you are lucky! 

I never dreamt of being a property owner, and being rather clinical, the reason I purchased was because it is simply the best investment I can make for my future goals. 

We all need shelter - i'd rather pay my own mortgage than someone else's. 

 

 

[bickster]

53 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

she'll go down well in kiddy

 

[Xela]

8 hours ago, Ingram85 said:

If the government and the housing companies could stop catering to the middle class and build homes affordable for the working class that would be a good start. You need £200k plus for a decent house in brum. We need £150k houses. 

The Government and housing companies / house builders are in bed with one another. The latter are donors to the former. That allows them to build shoddy unsafe flats yet escape any scrutiny or pressure from the Government to remediate them. 

[KenjiOgiwara]

Here's a question.

I was reading about renewable energy and offshore wind. Big business these days, and the UK very much like us up north have been having a lot of it quite early. But I noticed that most of your operators were foreign. In fact I didn't find one that wasn't. It was German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish companies and more. But I'm sure the list I read wasn't representative, so I thought I'd ask here. What are the big British energy companies and operators of these farms? Are there any comperable to Siemens, Equinor, Ørsted, Vattf. etc? I read E.ON was big, but they are also German aren't they?

[Seat68]

7 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Here's a question.

I was reading about renewable energy and offshore wind. Big business these days, and the UK very much like us up north have been having a lot of it quite early. But I noticed that most of your operators were foreign. In fact I didn't find one that wasn't. It was German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish companies and more. But I'm sure the list I read wasn't representative, so I thought I'd ask here. What are the big British energy companies and operators of these farms? Are there any comperable to Siemens, Equinor, Ørsted, Vattf. etc? I read E.ON was big, but they are also German aren't they?

By the look of it all operators are mainland europe and Eire. Unsure why the UK hasnt jumped aboard as an operator, I would say though even though Siemens and E.on are european brands, they are close to household names over here. 

[KenjiOgiwara]

4 hours ago, Seat68 said:

By the look of it all operators are mainland europe and Eire. Unsure why the UK hasnt jumped aboard as an operator, I would say though even though Siemens and E.on are european brands, they are close to household names over here. 

Isn't that very strange? Almost seems like a case of national security issue to me. 

[Xela]

4 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

Here's a question.

I was reading about renewable energy and offshore wind. Big business these days, and the UK very much like us up north have been having a lot of it quite early. But I noticed that most of your operators were foreign. 

UK has no industry these days. All got sold off.