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efdemin

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About efdemin

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  1. No, as always it depends on your circumstances. IF you have a large deposit (>25%) AND you plan to stay there for at least 5 years AND the salary multiples are not too big AND you are in a fairly safe job, etc. etc. I don't think I have tried to push anyone into buying a house, I am simply saying it is not as clear-cut as some of the rent-only loonies would have you believe.
  2. As I said (but you seem to have missed it) 'value' is not a purely financial measure. Maybe you don't value having somewhere to call your own that much but other people do and good luck trying to convince them otherwise.
  3. Yes, but 'value' is not necessarily the price it would sell for is it? All I'm trying to say is there is no absolute right or wrong answer, only it depends on your own circumstances.
  4. In an actual house to live in, in a BTL, or in a property-based fund?
  5. Erm, how long has the reported CPI/RPI been over 3% now? And do you think that reflects the real rate of inflation in food, fuel and utilities? 7% gross, minus 20 or 40% tax, so in reality 5.6 or 4.2%. Just about squeaking past the official RPI/CPI figures - brilliant. NS&I index-linked certificates have done well though. I suppose the fund managers for my stakeholder pension are 'pretty stupid investors' because they have barely kept up with CPI/RPI as well. You could have done well in the yellow shiny stuff but equally, done really badly in FTSE trackers so good luck if you're currently up on your investments.
  6. Funnily enough, the money I am saving on rent (mortgage interest much lower than rent for equivalent property) means I can 'save' (i.e. build up equity) quicker than I could when I was renting. And it's an offset mortgage so it's not all locked away either. But I had to save for a long time to be able to get a big enough deposit to get a good mortgage deal. So in my case renting is not far more sensible. Swings and roundabouts, as I said.
  7. And for renting... Unless you are happy to stay on a rolling periodic tenancy you will have to re-sign a contract every 6/12/x months and this usually comes with a £50+ 'admin fee'. You still need contents insurance for your own stuff. For me, this was about half of what I pay for contents & building. Unless you are renting fully furnished you still need to invest in beds, sofas, TVs, kettles, toasters, possibly even a fridge or washing machine if white goods are not included. Rent levels can change as well. Although the rent market is just as localised and the buying market so they may go up or down depending on where you are. Over the length of a mortgage I'd bet the would go up though, particularly in the SE. You still have to pay council tax & utilities (although some may be included in the rent). Unless you are a good/lucky investor you will be seeing the real value of your investment pot being decreased by inflation year on year. Swings and roundabouts.
  8. This one is also bland and dreary. It's like someone who is used to more modest 4/5 bed detached houses thought that just because it was bigger it would be worth more i.e. they've missed the point of exclusive houses at very high prices. The one at £3mill or so looks good though, even if it is too big and blingy.
  9. What, so some fund manager can skim of a % of her hard-earned? She's learned about the loan sharks the hard way, I hope she doesn't find out about the investment sharks the hard way as well. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' springs to mind.
  10. It appears to have been designed by the architects Cut & Paste. It's bland and lacking any interesting features other than it is big and in the countryside. For the best part of a million quid I'd want something with at least a modicum of style. Whether that is an old house or a modern 'grand design' style it doesn't matter, but it has to have something. It's also built on land taken from another presumably older house, so is it overlooked at all?
  11. Fair enough, I was just playing devil's advocate
  12. Are you sure he's not just updating the property in order to get it in a good state to sell?
  13. I though we were talking about a house to live in, not to buy as an investment? If you were looking to buy as an investment then now wouldn't be a good time, generally speaking.
  14. On the other hand, they have no rent, no mortgage interest, no negative equity. In the long term not having those ongoing costs will more than make up for any short to medium term loss on missed investments. Knowing that the majority of your wealth is not passing through the hands of a load of middlemen each day is also a nice feeling to have.
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