[Venger]

And he even has the nerve to expect, and to actually ask his bank, to write off half of the negative equity he's now in.

He paid the price, where many renters refused and stayed in rented for years, paying rent. He only thinks of homeowners, because his expectations would see those renters, and the young coming through, having to pay more for homes.

Directly because he, and people just like him, were happy to take on debt to pay new peaks for housing over the years.

He doesn't at all consider the position of people who don't have a position in housing. Just the home owners and the debtors.

This post has been edited by Venger: 27 March 2012 - 12:22 AM

[MRMX9]

I note some of the comments on here about Irish property taxes being so low - but what really is penal in Ireland are the inheritance tax rules (or capital acquisitions tax as it is known). So they really clobber you once you are dead by almost forcing your relatives to flog off assets or the home to pay the tax bill.

The tax free threshold is only now 150,000 euros in Ireland if you are a child inheriting from a parent (cut drastically in the last budget) - and you pay 30% on the excess. Even more penal however is how the estates of the childless are treated - the tax free threshold if you leave a legacy to a brother or sister or nephew/niece is only about 33,000 euro. So anything you inherit (including a home) which is not from a parent worth above £25k UK sterling is subject to a 30% tax on the excess.

But even worse this tax free allowance can only be used once as its a lifetime one for a beneficiary. Say your sister leaves you her home worth 33,000 euro - and you use your tax free threshold on that. But then an uncle leaves you a home worth £50,000 - as you have used your tax free lifetime allowance you pay 30% tax on the entire legacy. And for any other legacy you ever get in Ireland from a relative you pay 30% tax on the entire suk. If the legacy is to friend then the tax free amount is negligible e.g. 15,000 euro?

Its quite a brutal tax regime - because the tax free thresholds are linked to the beneficiary not each estate. Contrast this with the UK where the tax free threshold is £325,000 per estate whether you leave it to a child or a friend and if someone receives multiple legacies the £325k tax free threshold applies again and again irrespective of previous legacies.

[Mrs Bear]

Saberu, on 26 March 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

You can rent a half decent small apartment in China for 1.4k a year. Oh you meant council tax didn't you? And here as me thinking you meant rental cost

Sucks for you Brits, I like being an expat. I don't know what the fuss over the NHS is, I had a semi-serious health condition and got it treated for just 300 pounds here. Healthcare isn't a ripoff in most countries, just in the US which is a health insurance cartel.

I guess it's all very well for you, being a (presumably) relatively well-paid expat.

Same in a lot of countries where a relatively well paid expat can live very well compared to many locals.

As for healthcare, there are plenty of countries where even if it's very cheap by our standards a lot of locals can't afford it at all.

[Traktion]

Venger, on 27 March 2012 - 12:07 AM, said:

Banks have also got a right to go after debt they are owed. Renters have a right to expect to pay realistic market value for homes they hope to buy.

Your guy doing all the talking there bought at the peak, for what it got valued at; €452,000. Putting down the proceeds of the sale of his smaller house, €150,000, borrowing €310,000 on an interest only subprime mortgage, pay €652 A WEEK.

That's the point though - they don't have a lawful right.

The guys in the video are just standing behind the law and it is the banks (and by extension, the state) who were taking liberties.

Their argument is that the maximum amount they are liable for through the legal system is a fraction of what the bank wants. The bank has no right to claim any more, regardless of what was promised. The banks should have done their home work, rather than just relied on state manipulation and fraud.

As this sort of this harming renters, I doubt it. It will drag down the price of housing, as the banks will be forced to extend credit only up to the amount that they can realistically retrieve.

Alternatively, the banks will just fail, especially if there are tax strikes preventing further bailouts. Then this whole, sorry ass system of obfuscation, fraud and corporatism can implode on itself. We can then try something else more sane instead.