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You are correct, this is not who I am referring to. Unfortunately I couldnt tell you even if you did guess right. But I stand by my previous assertions that there is a lot more deep doo-doo around than people suspect. Lotsa new cars around too, no? Place is stuffed with new 5 series, noticed that? Big mouth, big ego, 'businessmen' doing well for themselves? Well, no. Ever wonder how many of these cars are bought on the never-never? Then when the contract ends if the owner cant afford the 'final payment' they have no option but to roll into a new 3 year contract or lose their 'equity'. Sound familiar? Poor little rich men getting trapped in their gilded cages......

Anyone got any idea which Alty estate agent is going under? Which one has run through all their money and is running on fumes? Well....I do, but thats not the point, is it? Do any of you?

I'm gonna stick with my recent theme of 'the pips squeaking' in the wealthy quarters. ***I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE*** But I've heard recently from more than one source that River Island and Next are vacating their premises in Alty. However another person connected to the Chamber of commerce has denied it. This would be a hammer blow to Alty and clearly sign the direction and value of local property. I am also hearing that rate reviews are being delayed by the council in order to inflate revenues and this is pushing businesses to the brink. Rates, incidentally, are based on rents. The last review was in 2006 at the top of the market. Now that businesses are closing (the chipper opposite the train station closed down due to attempted rent increases - the asking rent was between 40k and 60k, I heard. Insane. Should be closer to 10k for that location and type of business. Another tale of woe is of one landlord announcing that the rent was to be upped by 3k per month. The tenant was about to ask for a large reduction and was gobsmacked by the increase demand. They are now leaving the premises (although the landlord doesnt know it yet). The opinion was that the LLs are living in 'cloud cuckoo land'. Apparently another source tells me that the LL is in 'deep doo-doo' and desperately needs the money as his own business is sinking. I noticed last night that the Sabor Do Brasil (sp?) restraunt has gone under with a notice pinned to the window on behalf of the LL claiming reposession for unpaid rent or somesuch. In addition I am told that empty premises no longer qualify as paying only 30% of due rates and must pay full rates. Cant be long before these 'investments' become very serious liabilities. Still no movement on the Altin homes mini-site. Hearing rumours that the AltAir development on the Carpark (near Tescos) is about to start. I'll believe that when I see it. In short, people, the upper crust is starting to get burnt. There will be carnage before this is over.

Heres a house I notice recently went sold STC. - Alstone drive in Alty (down near the narrow bridge/ post office) far end of Oldfield road. Viewed the house years ago, it was very small and asking £270k in June 2010 with Bridgfords!!!! http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-16366725.html Delisted from Bridgfords and moved to Thornley Groves after gradually declining to £211k until march 2011 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-17742654.html relisted by TG in May 2012 at 200k http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37828064.html and seems to have sold for 190k in Feb 2013 http://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/altrincham/alstone-drive/?q=Alstone%20Drive%2C%20Altrincham%20WA14&search_source=house-prices Nice round 30% drop right there from beginning (6/10) to sale (2/13). These people wasted close to 3 years of their lives before they got 70% of their original asking price. I think we considered an offer higher than the sale price but lower than the then asking price and were told that the buyer wouldnt take below £X. Too bad. Very, very glad we didnt buy that one.

Excellent post and remarkably well informed on the minutiae of Italian electoral politics.

Anybody who believes anything written in this 'magazine' deserves to be fleeced.

Depressing though it may be you must stick to the rules my friend. Henceforth it isnt Budenburg, its Bunburger. You should give it all the respect the name implies!!!!

I notice that a few new places are on the market in the Bunburger complex. Both under 100k.... 1 bed at 92k - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25689834.html 2 bed at 99k - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26621421.html Interestingly enough I have noticed quite a few sales falling through in Alty recently, I'm sure you have too. Waterstones in particular seem to be updating their properties en masse. (I noticed it recently on a Saturday morning, clearly the kid minding the shop was tasked with it then). I told you a few posts back that the pips were beginning to squeak in the leafier areas. I stand by that. I know it to be true.

Get it in writing. Next time you make a query do it by email.

Good topic. There are many attributes that are important when buying a house but they vary with the buyer and the location. For example, before we had kids, a small back yard for drinks and BBQs was important as long as it was low maintainence. Now however, a garden is vital. Here are a quick few of mine - Terraced house - make sure you have your own 'down pipe' from the roof gutters. If not, you are relying on your neighbours to keep their gutters clear to prevent flooding/overflow on your property. End terrace houses - it is vital to get the outer walled and roof structure checked. The reason for this is that the weight of the whole terraces roof is resting on your outer wall - not just your own roof. Watch for neighbours who have new roofs because they may have more modern and heavier tiles that the original building was not designed for. This can cause structural problems for you. New build houses 1970s/80s on - many of these houses have shared drains/sewerage that often run through an individual property before they enter the public system. As a result if this junction occurs under your property and the neighbour decides to flush concrete down the drain you are liable to have it cleaned as its on your property. Also the drains/sewerage on these houses is a very small diameter so a big neighbour eating a lot of Christmas pudding can caused a neighbourhood blockage. Again you could be liable. The most common cause of this incidentally is baby wipes being flushed down the toilet. Aspect - what way the house faces. Most people prefer a north facing aspect because the sun shines on the rear of the house for most of the day. Personally I have found an East facing aspect to be better as I only get to use the garden in the evening. Location, near a train station is good but this causes massive vibrations that unsettle the foundations and can cause subsidence. Trees are nice but they too cause subsidence - a big tree can drink 200 litres of water from the soil per day. Trees in the garden - within 10 metres of the house - are a big 'no-no'. more later.

I'm talking about private individuals here, not corporate property magnets. Solicitors, lawyers, doctors, small business owners, that sort of thing. They made huge money during the boom years, far more than they needed. The excess was put into property, pension funds etc.... Now, cash reserves have been run down - they are out of cash - and they have to start liquidating assets to maintain appearences and/or keep their businesses afloat. The types of people I'm talking about have already been ground down. They are the asset 'rich'/cash poor crowd. Whats happening now is that when they need to liquidate assets they are finding that their properties (comm and res) are worth a lot less than they thought. They need prices to stay high but they also need to be able to sell. Some are in very, very deep trouble - they literally have no money and cannot sell their 'assets' at levels that will leave them any cash. It is these people who will suffer the most in the coming year.

Hello fellow Hale/Alty/Timperley HPC'ers havent posted in a while but have been checking in periodically..... Just read through the thread from end of last year onwards. Noticed a lot of despondancy with regard to prices not falling. Cant say too much here but I am fairly convinced that prices will continue to fall especially in the more upmarket areas. The reason for this is that I have a very indiscreet friend who works in finance and knows about the various investments of the wealthy who are generally concentrated in these areas. These people are heavily invested in property commercial and residential and are basically broke. From what I understand their businesses have been savaged over the past 4-5 years - as you'd expect, I suppose. However, believing the recession was a 'normal' recession (it isnt) they drew down all their cash (pensions, savings, bonds) and pumped it into their companies to keep them afloat in the interim. Unfortunately the 'interim' has turned into the long term and now, devoid of liquidity, they are either closing their businesses or desperately trying to sell commercial property. Take a drive from Alty to Manchester city centre and you'll run out of numbers before you run out of For Sale or To Let signs. And thats just on one road. For example was told of one architectural practice where the turnover is down 90% and the owner is at his wits end. I've heard rumours of another Hale based 'pillar of the community' who is planning to leg-it abroad and drop everything - thats just hairdresser-womens coffee morning chat though. Be in no doubt whatsoever the pips are very definitely starting to squeak. As are some very expensive wives...... The problem is that these commercial properties may now be converted to residential therefore removing a cohort from the buying market, further reducing demand just when it is needed. bbl - time to put the kids to bed...

Try changing some of the options under 'Styles' and 'Filters' you (or someone else) may simply have turned some of the options off. Is this on Rightmove or Property News? Have you checked the 'Styles' and 'Filters' options to see if anyone has changed your settings?

Okay peeps, what exactly are you experiencing? Firstly, on Propertynews, you have to click on the actual property before you see the PB output. It doesnt display on the front page like Rightmove. Secondly, PB is a plugin for firefox, there shouldnt be any need to un/reinstall Firefox to get it working. Can you let me know (here) what version of FF you have and when you updated everything. I'll help as much as I can, PB is a brilliant resource and HPC'ers shouldnt be without it.

Because, as I said waaayyy back in 2008..... http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=67982&view=findpost&p=965318 ...houses prices are a function of credit. Horsesh!t artists who claim that credit is a function of house prices are outright liars. Anyone, any professional, any economist who says otherwise should be jailed. http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=67982&view=findpost&p=965318