Penny Drop

Stop spouting shite. What a load of crap - we could all be dead in 10, 20 or 30 years - and who the hell can plan anything that far ahead?....Most people cant even see two years ahead...Look at how gobsmacked the whole world was about the financial crisis and housing crash - from 2007 - 2009 the whole financial scene changed - and that was bloody obvious to anyone with a third of a brain... By all means think a year or two ahead but 10, 20, 30 years...even the Communists only dreamt up five year plans. The only real certainty all of us have is the here and now anyway - all the rest is just apple pie in the sky.

Honestly not sure SA is better than UK...OK, the weather maybe, but the crime and pockets of poverty and deprivation - which encourage the crime, especially the rape statistics (and even with babies involved) - would seriously make me think twice...

UK = where it's at, family, non extreme weather, culture, sense of humour, media, arts, diversity, central location and for most of us it's home... UK = great sense of humour, yes, agreed but necessary to cope with the following without going insane: great democracy (unelected PM refusing to step down) fantastic weather and very efficient weather forecasters (c/f Heatwave BBQ Summer becomes disastrous washout) culture (Jack Tweed, Girls Aloud) food (except for Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese and every other nationality of food) ...Q. Are there any British restaurants anywhere else in the whole (afternoon tea shops and pubs dont count)? greedy bankers parking (especially in London) bus lanes and speed cameras average speed checks on motorways healthcare PC (no more conkers in schools) The list could go on.... I think the honest situation in the UK is that it has become over-governed, too many laws, rules and regulations, stifling the country and people - and no one knows how to reverse the madness. I left the UK and am always horrified when I return about how restrictive it is and how you have to pay for everything...parking and driving restrictions have especially gone totally mad... In France, you can park for free at train stations to take the train and there are always places. A monthly train pass from France to Geneva, a 50 minute journey, costs Euros 79 for the month, unlimited travel...When you need to see a doctor you see one the same day. There is not a single comparison where UK manages better - except for the sense of humour.

Offer 40% less than the asking price. Anything more than this and you will be in serious negative equity. Are you really sure you want to live in Canning Town far away from all shops etc? Why not Stratford or Leytonstone where there is more life...?

Nice, sexist pig comments - great. Good to see how evolved you are - prats. Oh and while we are at it, "Are you both well hung?"...your brains seem to be in your trousers anyway. Looking forward to the indignant backlash...

Since when is Stratford a high crime area - you need to go South of the river for the serious crime...? It isnt Harlem or Brixton - in all the years I lived there I never once even saw an incident let alone lived in fear of it...you have to be careful everywhere in London and Stratford is no worse than other areas. Actually, there is less pretention, so you are possibly safer. Walthamstow and Leytonstone are far rougher.

Looks very nice but who today has 1.8 million pounds to spend? I'd expect a palace and servants for that - or at least a castle with a moat.

I bought in St Ratford in 1997 and was always amazed how close it is to the City - door to door in 20 minutes - that is quality of life and it has great public and road transport links. It is a surprisingly family minded area - albeit a melting pot -which is great and always interesting. Slowly over the years, the shopping and restaurant and entertainment facilities have improved. It is a much better part of London than some of the more traditionally "desirable" areas...the East End is authentic and has no pretentions. It has become a bit too expensive though of late. I bought the 3 bed terraced in a central nice road for 69k and sold in 07 for 307.5k - knew things had gone mad and I could buy back the same house in a few years for a third or so less (at least). Real value is somewhere between these two figures but I generally agree with Whizzer about the area.

Geneva, Switzerland housing laws have prevented a BTL bubble. Only Swiss nationals or Permit B holders (foreigners with a job which makes them almost Swiss) can buy property in Geneva. Capital gains on a property are taxed at 50% - and only decline to zero over 25 years - even on your main home. All capital gains reported must be justified by works or improvements carried out out on the property, with recepits etc. So you cannot buy a wreck, do it up and sell it on at a quick profit, even if it is your main residence and only home, without giving the tax man a huge share of any gain... Taxation on rental income: Secondly, all rental income on property is taxed at the rate of 48%. No quick buck to be made from rentals without sharing a huge chunk with the tax man. Plus the law is strongly biased towards the security of tenure of tenants - and there is an organisation whose role is to protect and enforce the rights of tenants. Also, a tenant can turn around within one month of renting a property and contest that the rent is too high - and they will likely win if the rent is too high or has been increased arbitrarily without any justification due to renovations or repairs etc.. All of this means, there is no BTL property bubble and hordes of BTL'ers in Switzerland.

If deflation and wage stagnation (God forbid, wage decreases) become a serious problem then this will make the relative size of debt seem bigger (especially the mortgage)...

Offer more, string them along and then back out. Then get some friends to do the same. Then again. Greedy people deserve to be wound up a bit.

If you write yourself a bogus cheque (from a different account) - apparently it shows on your statement or account for a limited time before it bounces. Some lunatic who had pretended to all his family that he had won millions on the lottery did this - and showed them his bank statement (as, funnily enough they didnt believe him). He kept up the charade for a few more weeks, buying houses, cars etc - all using his dodgy bank statement as proof. I always thought this was a crazy story, but it was a documentary on the BBC - perhaps banks have now closed this loop hole...

Minus -17.9% and counting.... Although who judges the winner - depending on who is deciding statistics, they vary by up to 100%...daily mail says house prices have only dropped by 9% this year...total bollxcks if I may say so...?

Mortgage of 50% of value (being conservative, not 2007 prices).

Being honest to anyone who has a BTL (or many) about the negative equity they are sitting on will not win you any friends (and may well lose you some)... One of my friends with ten BTLs is so proud - it is impossible to broach the subject of how much negative equity she is sitting on - and according to her, it has just shifted from a sellers market to a buyers market and is a good time to buy but no cause for concern...just a little temporary blip in the otherwise unstoppable march upwards of property prices.