andybee33

This is the most depressing thread I've seen for some time. I've just bought a nice 5 bedroom house with 4 receptions, a double garage, garden and indoor swimming pool for exactly the same amount. Admittedly it's in the 'regions' so I guess this is what the London premium really means. Why oh why would you do this to yourself? If someone does buy it, they must be a retard. (yes, not very PC but it's the only word I can bring myself to use).

Perhaps you should have 'reconsidered' and accepted your own offer?! Would have been hilarious

Yes, I agree with the bond market sentiment. As things stand though, I'm quite sanguine about it all. I know I can afford the mortgage even if base rates go back up to historical norms and, like many of us I suspect, I've always secretly believed that as soon as I buy, the main part of the crash will get underway! Think of this as my taking a hit for the team

Thanks for the comments everyone. The one above has especially cheered me up! As for the kids bedrooms, I hate to think what lurid shade of pink my daughter is going to choose (only for me to repaint in next year once she is sick of it)! Still, at least it won't be 'landlord magnolia' - we've had enough of that to last a lifetime!

Hey all, Well, after a few years of lurking (and sometimes posting) on here, I've decided that voting against 'the system' (by not buying) and being fleeced by it (by QE 4 EVA) are sadly the same thing. With a slightly heavy heart, I have made (and had accepted) an offer to buy today. I know these things are personal, but here are my reasons/pros/cons, just for the record: 1 - I had to move area anyway, to be closer to a new office my business is opening 2 - I fancied a change of scene anyway 3 - The kids are 6 and 9 and quite want to have their bedrooms painted in the colour of their choice (oh dear!) 4 - My deposit is depreciating in real terms 5 - It's a long term thing, so I'm largely ambivalent about paper price drops 6 - The bitter pill has been somewhat sweetened by the fact that I'm moving to a comparatively 'cheap' area (north Lincs) where you still get quite a lot of house for your money. The good news is that I have paid exactly the same price for the place as the vendor paid in........2002! I will still come and lurk here. I like to be among relatively sane people Best, Andy

Best comment I've read for a while. I would also take issue with the endless comments about the British being lazy. Some are, some aren't just like anywhere. I've just come back from working in Poland and found many of the Poles at the site I was working at to be among the most lazy, feckless people I've ever encountered. A big factor is motiviation. If working hard in the UK makes you a king in whatever village you come from in Eastern Europe then great. If working hard on min. wage gets you less than someone on benefits gets for sitting on the Playstation all day, it must be that bit harder to get out of bed in the morning and trudge through the drizzle to work.

Absolutely. The first world debt crisis is over, the US is growing strongly, QE and other forms of currency debasement have stopped, the green shoots of recovery are here and Freddie Starr ate my hamster. Think you'll find that grotty houses in poor low-low employment bits of the UK are way way overbought. I have no axe to grind, I bought most of my metal in 2008 - but you sound very sure of your position given the amazingly contrary and uncertain times in which we live.

I was expecting the turkey to be dead! Plucked and on the worktop or something. I feel really quite unsettled now.....

To the OP - good post! Yes, of course there are many possible variables but your illustration is clear and makes a valid point. There is also maintenance - I know this as I rent as 'my' modern, efficient and just 3 year old oil fired boiler blew up the other day and the landlord got stuck with the near- £3k bill to replace it - aka 4 months rent. Had I owned, this bill would have been for me. You might add another common scenario where the purchaser gets an IO mortgage! This really is the worst of both worlds - all the costs and hassles of buying and you are still renting (off a faceless corporation to boot!). Anyway, nice job! A

This is a great thread as (1) it is entertaining - the above anecdote has just made me laugh out loud as I know the type all too well and (2) it goes right to the heart of the HPC problem. We have a tendency here to talk about macroeconomics and/or the concerted effects of VIs acting in tandem while ignore the simple human 'problem of reference' - that all human beings are as unable to relate to their own insignificance as they are to properly grasp the exponential function. This, in my opinion, leads to a situation where everyone believes themselves to be exceptional in some way and so, what you get in the housing market is simply a 'herd effect' where people all stampede off in the direction of their own self aggrandizement. I'll be that nearly everyone in that muppet in Wandsworth's street believes exactly the same thing of themselves and their house as he does of his - which is why we have the ridiculous situation that you would pay even £600k for a mid-terraced in an area which I (as a fully paid up Northerner!) think is a scabby overcrowded dump, let alone £1million. Anyway, my point is that this is exactly the phenomenon which provides the pressure that pumps up the baloon of the market. Loose monetary policy and dangerous and unethical lending practises are simply the gas. Btw, I think it's FarrOW and Ball. :-)

Excellent idea - I do bank with the Co-op (via their Smile internet banking arm) and have done since the week that Smile was launched. I will send a similar note to yours and will close my account with them if they don't withdraw these parasite-feeding products. Best, Andy

I totally understand your point and, as a small businessman (my business is small, I'm of average build!) I'd tend to agree. BUT this overlooks the fact that literally 10s of billions of pounds flood into the UK from defence export programmes. 72 Typhoons at £65million quid each - plus the same again in support and spares - that's just one contract! Yes ALL defence spending is by governments, but much of the revenue of BAE Systems and its ilk comes from cash rich overseas nations (especially in the Middle East). Believe me, without it our balance of trades deficit would look a heck of lot worse!

Good point - just goes to show how warped everyones viewpoints get. Btw, this post was picked up in the 'mindfulmoney' attack on HPC. I take that as a compliment :-)

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a worrying trend. I don't believe you can build an economy on powerpoint and 'have a nice day' - but that's just me.

Well said. I was surprised to see one of my posts being quoted in the article. I have to admit that, taken out of the HPC context, it did look a little harsh - bit I would still stand by it. The argument made about homeowners holding onto their equity was specious. The real issue here is the debt-fuelled pyramid and the original article fails completely to address that.