[LiveAndLetBuy]

VeryMeanReversion, on 10 April 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

I wonder if there is an HPC on posting pictures to contest this.



I was renting a £500K place for ~£1kpcm, an even lower yield than 3%. It was the best rental property in the village. However, with two kids in school, if the landlord would have wanted the house back then there were no other good rental properties. In my 40's with two young kids and £300K+ in the bank and eight years renting, it was just not worth waiting any more.

A house came up in cash-range with two thirds of an acre and outbuilding for conversion so I took it. I got a mortgage at 2.19% (HSBC) and kept much of the savings in NS&I (RPI+1%), a nice interest rate differential producing a tax-free £4K per year. Next job is extend my place to the same size as the neighbours, two of which have just sold for £600K and £700K.

I'm now protected from the money-printers.

Reminds me of some friends who got a good deal renting in a village from a decent landlord. Unfortunately he passed away and his daughter gave them two months to leave as she wanted to cash in. Very difficult for them as they had 3 kids, 2 of them attending the local school. Fortunately they lucked out and were able to buy a nice house in the village at a "reasonable" price during the 2008/9 crash. But it was a bit of an eye opener for me. When it comes to living in a village there are far more risks associated with renting than many of us city dwellers realise.

[zebbedee]

VeryMeanReversion, on 08 September 2008 - 08:15 AM, said:

Anyone else getting grief from the other half about not buying a house?

At this rate, I'm going to be a forced buyer. Either that or get CSA'd and end up living in a bedsit.

Must resist, must resist.....

VMR.

Jesus

Just rent a place with a patio, after 6 months move on, it'll be years before the find her.

[MrB]

VeryMeanReversion, on 10 April 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

I wonder if there is an HPC on posting pictures to contest this.



I was renting a £500K place for ~£1kpcm, an even lower yield than 3%. It was the best rental property in the village. However, with two kids in school, if the landlord would have wanted the house back then there were no other good rental properties. In my 40's with two young kids and £300K+ in the bank and eight years renting, it was just not worth waiting any more.

A house came up in cash-range with two thirds of an acre and outbuilding for conversion so I took it. I got a mortgage at 2.19% (HSBC) and kept much of the savings in NS&I (RPI+1%), a nice interest rate differential producing a tax-free £4K per year. Next job is extend my place to the same size as the neighbours, two of which have just sold for £600K and £700K.

I'm now protected from the money-printers.

I think as you gradually amass more money in the bank then it makes gradually more sense to buy. I'd probably be borrowing at around 4.75% ish, but only getting around 3.5% is post tax on savings so the pendulum does swing in favour of buying as your capital increases and your leverage reduces partly due to this arbitrage IMO.

LiveAndLetBuy, on 10 April 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

Reminds me of some friends who got a good deal renting in a village from a decent landlord. Unfortunately he passed away and his daughter gave them two months to leave as she wanted to cash in. Very difficult for them as they had 3 kids, 2 of them attending the local school. Fortunately they lucked out and were able to buy a nice house in the village at a "reasonable" price during the 2008/9 crash. But it was a bit of an eye opener for me. When it comes to living in a village there are far more risks associated with renting than many of us city dwellers realise.

I guess it's a risk/reward conundrum. I'm aware of families who have STR, to rent in a better area to get their kids into a decent school. But you're right - there are 0 othe rrentals in my area.

[Spoony]

My ex and I split up about 2 weeks ago. We argued a lot generally but one of the things that really were the worst arguements was about house prices. A typical snippet from one:

Her: "You've been saying for 10 years that prices will crash"
Me: " They have crashed"
Her: "No they haven't"
Me "Yes they did, in 2007 and going lower still now"
Her " Well they haven't in St Albans"
Me: "Thats because its overpriced due to London, places away from London are still going down"
Her: "Well I suppose if you keep saying it will crash for long enough, one day you will be right"
Me: "(Fuming!) You have no idea really at all. One of these days you will see what I mean and come around to reality and the fact I was right all along. You need to read some articles online."
Her: "You can't get a better investment than a house if you have spare cash, look at all the rent you'll get instead of it sitting in the bank. I've advised my cousin (who has lots of money) to invest in housing.
Me: "Sit down, do the sums and work out the yield, it really is not worth the hassle. Money is better in the bank. (Angry here) Its people like you who got the country into the state it is today speculating with housing and watching too much property porn"
Her: "Why are you so angry all the time, you used to be so fun and now its all doom and gloom, you hate banks, builders, the government, the bank of england, councils, estate agents, mervyn king, in fact nearly everyone. Don't you think you could be wrong about this?"
Me; "Of course not"
Her: "Thats right, EVERYONE is wrong - you are right!"
Me: "You make it sound like I am the only person with these views, I tell you I'm not. As I say, forget your ideas forced into you by the mainstream media and do some research, theres plenty of it out there and use your common sense.......

I could go on but you get the general idea. Do you think I'm best off out of it!>>!??! She probably would have taken half my house anyway. I think the best idea is to find a girl who already has a house these days so you are on an equal footing.

This is a typical example of probably not to handle a girls nesting instinct but then again we never communicated well anyway when she got in that kind of mood. And an example of the damage high house prices cause relationships.

MrB, on 10 April 2012 - 11:35 AM, said:

Lots of HPC heroes have fallen to to OH pressures, to be honest I find it quite funny! I especially love the U-turns regarding trends and analysis to add some quasi legitimacy to their decision, when it's pretty obvious there is a hen-pecked numpty with extra small gonads caving in to his missus...

No small gonads over here. She was a big control freak at times but I wouldn't cave in over housing or most other things.

This post has been edited by Spoony: 11 April 2012 - 12:07 AM

[Paddles]

We have three kids under 6 and my missus isn't putting me under any pressure for us to stop renting.

In fact, last month she started looking wistfully at a rather nice catamaran currently up for sale with the thought that we could live on board for a year or two and then use the saved rent to fund a two year circumnavigation.

I guess I married well......

[Tiger Woods?]

Spoony, on 10 April 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

My ex and I split up about 2 weeks ago. We argued a lot generally but one of the things that really were the worst arguements was about house prices. A typical snippet from one:

Her: "You've been saying for 10 years that prices will crash"
Me: " They have crashed"
Her: "No they haven't"
Me "Yes they did, in 2007 and going lower still now"
Her " Well they haven't in St Albans"
Me: "Thats because its overpriced due to London, places away from London are still going down"
Her: "Well I suppose if you keep saying it will crash for long enough, one day you will be right"
Me: "(Fuming!) You have no idea really at all. One of these days you will see what I mean and come around to reality and the fact I was right all along. You need to read some articles online."
Her: "You can't get a better investment than a house if you have spare cash, look at all the rent you'll get instead of it sitting in the bank. I've advised my cousin (who has lots of money) to invest in housing.
Me: "Sit down, do the sums and work out the yield, it really is not worth the hassle. Money is better in the bank. (Angry here) Its people like you who got the country into the state it is today speculating with housing and watching too much property porn"
Her: "Why are you so angry all the time, you used to be so fun and now its all doom and gloom, you hate banks, builders, the government, the bank of england, councils, estate agents, mervyn king, in fact nearly everyone. Don't you think you could be wrong about this?"
Me; "Of course not"
Her: "Thats right, EVERYONE is wrong - you are right!"
Me: "You make it sound like I am the only person with these views, I tell you I'm not. As I say, forget your ideas forced into you by the mainstream media and do some research, theres plenty of it out there and use your common sense.......

I could go on but you get the general idea. Do you think I'm best off out of it!>>!??! She probably would have taken half my house anyway. I think the best idea is to find a girl who already has a house these days so you are on an equal footing.

This is a typical example of probably not to handle a girls nesting instinct but then again we never communicated well anyway when she got in that kind of mood. And an example of the damage high house prices cause relationships.



No small gonads over here. She was a big control freak at times but I wouldn't cave in over housing or most other things.

It sounds as if you have very different views of the world, and that the way you are arguing shows a lack of respect towards the other by one or both of you. This isn't compatible with long term happiness in my opinion (and experience). Ceteris paribus, get yourself another lass who has a world view more compatible with your own. Divorce is too expensive and destructive in the long run, and as a male you will come out worse from the deal. Mrs Woods and I have a similar view on the world, and when we differ we never have an argument like the one you outlined above (and I have some pretty strident views.) It is a blessing. The same could not be said of previous relationships and, from where I am sitting now, I am glad I didn't marry any of them.

[Tiger Woods?]

Paddles, on 11 April 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

We have three kids under 6 and my missus isn't putting me under any pressure for us to stop renting.

In fact, last month she started looking wistfully at a rather nice catamaran currently up for sale with the thought that we could live on board for a year or two and then use the saved rent to fund a two year circumnavigation.

I guess I married well......

You married well.

Make sure you keep some cash spare to pay for the Malaccan or Somalian ransom. Oh, and read this book first: Survive the Savage Sea: by Dougal Robertson.

[Paddles]

Tiger Woods?, on 11 April 2012 - 12:50 AM, said:

You married well.

Make sure you keep some cash spare to pay for the Malaccan or Somalian ransom. Oh, and read this book first: Survive the Savage Sea: by Dougal Robertson.

Yeah, 3/4 circumnavigation is the new circumnavigation apparently; Asia to the Med or vice versa, leaving out the Indian Ocean.

[scottbeard]

Spoony, on 10 April 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

Her: "Why are you so angry all the time, you used to be so fun and now its all doom and gloom, you hate banks, builders, the government, the bank of england, councils, estate agents, mervyn king, in fact nearly everyone..."

I could go on but you get the general idea. Do you think I'm best off out of it!>>!??! She probably would have taken half my house anyway. I think the best idea is to find a girl who already has a house these days so you are on an equal footing.

Perhaps you two were right to break up if you were always arguing. But I would be very cautious of letting housing dictate your relationship, rather than the other way around.

If you find the right girl, it won't matter if she owns a huge house or has no money at all, since you won't get divorced and so you won't have to give anything away.

The goal of our lives should simply be to be as happy as possible. And that has to balance both money and relationships.

If you disagree on housing that could definitely lead to unhappiness - I'll bet plenty of couples break up over the stress of being in negative equity. On the other hand, be wary of turning down a lovely girl just because she wants you to buy a house - if you marry the right person, they will still be there supporting you through thick and thin.

Anyway, I'm no expert and the above may be a load of rubbish, so I'm going to conclude with some advice from someone else:

Quote

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

This post has been edited by scottbeard: 11 April 2012 - 10:13 AM

[SeeYouNextTuesday]

More than a little glib. I'm not sure the miners strike is a distant memory to many of those affected by the closures.

[AThirdWay]

scottbeard, on 11 April 2012 - 07:26 AM, said:

Anyway, I'm no expert and the above may be a load of rubbish, so I'm going to conclude with some advice from someone else:

Use sunscreen?

[scottbeard]

SeeYouNextTuesday, on 11 April 2012 - 07:41 AM, said:

More than a little glib. I'm not sure the miners strike is a distant memory to many of those affected by the closures.

You are absolutely right, and I have edited my earlier post accordingly.

[SeeYouNextTuesday]

scottbeard, on 11 April 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

You are absolutely right, and I have edited my earlier post accordingly.

That's very decent of you.

I would still be very wary of saying we'll look back on now from 2040+ and laugh as someone who was worried in 1980 might look back on it now.

[scottbeard]

SeeYouNextTuesday, on 11 April 2012 - 11:06 AM, said:

That's very decent of you.

I would still be very wary of saying we'll look back on now from 2040+ and laugh as someone who was worried in 1980 might look back on it now.

I never said at all that we would laugh at anything! We certainly won't be laughing, any more than anyone laughs at the Great Depression or World War 2. What I said is, by 2040 now would seem "like ancient history".

What I meant by that is: things that might cause us to worry and even end a relationship now, might seem - by 2040 - not to have been important enough to lose a husband or wife over after all.

[LiveAndLetBuy]

Spoony, on 10 April 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

My ex and I split up about 2 weeks ago. We argued a lot generally but one of the things that really were the worst arguements was about house prices. A typical snippet from one:

Her: "You've been saying for 10 years that prices will crash"
Me: " They have crashed"
Her: "No they haven't"
Me "Yes they did, in 2007 and going lower still now"
Her " Well they haven't in St Albans"
Me: "Thats because its overpriced due to London, places away from London are still going down"
Her: "Well I suppose if you keep saying it will crash for long enough, one day you will be right"
Me: "(Fuming!) You have no idea really at all. One of these days you will see what I mean and come around to reality and the fact I was right all along. You need to read some articles online."
Her: "You can't get a better investment than a house if you have spare cash, look at all the rent you'll get instead of it sitting in the bank. I've advised my cousin (who has lots of money) to invest in housing.
Me: "Sit down, do the sums and work out the yield, it really is not worth the hassle. Money is better in the bank. (Angry here) Its people like you who got the country into the state it is today speculating with housing and watching too much property porn"
Her: "Why are you so angry all the time, you used to be so fun and now its all doom and gloom, you hate banks, builders, the government, the bank of england, councils, estate agents, mervyn king, in fact nearly everyone. Don't you think you could be wrong about this?"
Me; "Of course not"
Her: "Thats right, EVERYONE is wrong - you are right!"
Me: "You make it sound like I am the only person with these views, I tell you I'm not. As I say, forget your ideas forced into you by the mainstream media and do some research, theres plenty of it out there and use your common sense.......

I could go on but you get the general idea. Do you think I'm best off out of it!>>!??! She probably would have taken half my house anyway. I think the best idea is to find a girl who already has a house these days so you are on an equal footing.

This is a typical example of probably not to handle a girls nesting instinct but then again we never communicated well anyway when she got in that kind of mood. And an example of the damage high house prices cause relationships.



No small gonads over here. She was a big control freak at times but I wouldn't cave in over housing or most other things.

I had similar "discussions" with my girlfriend here in Madrid back in 2004. She was determined to buy in a cheap area on the outskirts because she was convinced house prices in Spain always went up, and that was the only area she could afford etc, etc. If she had done so she would now be broke and there's a good chance she would not now be my wife. We ended up compromising and clubbing together to buy a 1 bed flat in the best area we could find, while still being able to keep our mortgage payments reasonably low. In the end it worked out and 6 years later we managed to sell the flat for the same amount we paid for it. It still caused a lot of grief though, but at least she's now a lot less headstrong when it comes to deciding on where to put our money.