Harry in Germany

I can feed a family of three on around 100 - 150 euros a month so not too far off (excluding electricity costs). Everything made from scratch, a healthy diet with a good variety. It's taken some time experimenting with different ingredients to get to this stage but if I used sugar and cheap fats more often I could get it below 100 a month. It takes a lot of time to do it and we're not big meat eaters so I guess it's not possible for everyone. We're also lucky to have a great farm shop nearby and a flour mill where we can source a great range of flour in bulk at good prices. Bread bill for the month once again excluding power costs is less than 5 euros and we (well I) eat a lot of bread. A 5kg bag of dried chickpeas costs 10 euros and I make allsorts with it. Falafel, veggie burgers, chickpea veloute, cakes, muffins and even chocolate truffles. I'm just about to try a new cookie dough pie using chickpeas as the main ingredient. I use chickpeas or equally cheap lentils to bulk up fishcakes, burgers, curries and other sauces as well as making other veggie recipes like filled tortillas, tacos etc. I made an enormous leek and goats cheese quiche yesterday. We get the goats cheese for free so that's the biggest cost taken out and the whole thing cost just over 2 euros and there's still half of it left. There should be a thread on here for people to give tips on cheap recipes as it's my current obsession

I don't really understand silver rampers. Surely you will have more fiat to buy more at some point in the future so why would you want the price to explode now? I like silver and I'm buying it every chance I get but I hope the price remains low so I can stack more. It's a long term investment (5-10 years) so if the price jumps now and remains high I'll be disappointed. If you want to keep relentlessly ramping silver go over to Kitco and join the 'to da mooon' gang. Although there aren't many of them left after the latest price smashes.

China are buying g%&d and silver hand over fist at the moment. Their citizens can buy PMs through their bank accounts and many are doing so. 50% of properties are paid for with cash and the other 50% are bought with a 30% deposit (according to Chinamoneyreport.com). Loans are apparently difficult to get without significant cash up front. Bank CEOs earn relatively modest wages when compared with their western counterparts and the bonus culture doesn't exist. Two so called investors have recently been sentenced to death for fleecing customers in a Ponzi scheme. I know who I'll be backing to do better over the next 10-20 years.

It's been posted before but here's the link to all the Keiser Report shows: http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/ And here's a link to all Max's 'On the edge' shows on Press TV. http://www.presstv.ir/section/3510532.html

http://ia700701.us.archive.org/31/items/MaxKeiserRadio-TheTruthAboutMarkets-29October2011/TaM291011.mp3 Starts about 18 minutes in talking about inflation before moving on to UK property.

Looking forward to seeing this on Homes under the hammer. The buyer will pay over the odds for it. He will put in a new kitchen, central heating system, boutique bathroom and a complete redecoration on a reported budget of 500 pounds and a curly wurly. Two spikey haired bellends will come in, look at the ceiling in every room and declare that it's worth 95K.

No I actually think it's a fair point, I'm just sick of hearing it put that way every 5 minutes from people using it to convey greater knowing and wisdom. They may have greater wisdom, like the poster who mentioned it here, but then again they may not. Such as conspiracy theory nut jobs etc. I just find it a bit cringeworthy now after hearing it sooo many times. My problem I guess

Can people pleeeaaasssse stop saying this. Or similar derivations of it like 'People are too busy watching Sky+' etc. It's getting boring now. Whether it's the 'sheeple' (zzzzz) who are blind to the financial goings on in the world or blind to the fact that commercial airlines are spraying us with various chemical compounds to ensure the lizards take over or something, just stop it. Stop it now.

So true

I've lived here for 8 years now and would never consider coming back to the UK. It was the easiest and best decision I ever made. I cannot recommend it highly enough. The knot I had constantly in my stomach, as my car was broken into again or another friend was beaten up outside a nightclub for no reason, or my elderly parents once again had their car vandalised by the local oxygen thief, disappeared as I came in to land. It has never returned as I'm no longer subjected to plastic gangster culture, pumped up cokehead grown men in pubs sticking their chests out, or young gym pumped whoppers prepared to take on the world after a belly full of ale and a nose full of candy. It's also a much better sight watching the stylish ice queens walk by than a procession of knuckle dragging, empty headed, ignorant abortion dodgers walking to wherever it is they go for their 'scrip'. I could probably leave every door and window open and just go out for the day. It's amazing to walk around and see people leaving their garage doors open with bikes and expensive tools lying around. I once saw a girl get of a bus at the end of the day and just take the bike, that she'd left up against a fence without a lock, and ride home. Nobody would even consider stealing it. What would be the point? There's no market for stolen goods and stealing is a c***s trick. It's liberating walking through a large town or city at night with your wife, having enjoyed a nice meal and a couple of drinks, safe in the knowledge that it is highly unlikely some bellend is going to spoil it. I never worry when my wife is taking the train home late at night and I have never, ever, EVER seen a gang of youths hanging around somewhere pointless, mindlessly intimidating people. If you ever get the chance, give south west Germany a try. Visit Lake Constance where you can take a ferry to Switzerland or Austria. Visit Stuttgart - a place that's good for people of any age. The Black Forest is peppered with charming towns and villages and the scenery is stunning. Freiburg and Tübingen are beautiful university towns. You can be in France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland in a couple of hours. The beer is the best in the world and the people are nice (if not as warm as Brits). They don't shout much over here either. Which is awesome.

I don't really understand why the Germans don't buy (houses) even though tenancy rights are so secure. I can only give anecdotals so maybe you could come up with your own ideas (which I would be interested to hear). All the properties I will show here have good travel links, are in relatively wealthy areas and have numerous facilities and large companies within easy reach. Firstly I think buying a flat here is a terrible idea. Take this one for example: http://www.immobilienscout24.de/expose/58642882?&is24EC=IS24&style=is24&navigationbarurl=/Suche/S-T/Wohnung-Kauf/Baden-Wuerttemberg/Boeblingen-Kreis/Sindelfingen/-/-/EURO--50000,00 A €50K flat with extra costs (including heating, water etc) of €370 a month. In fairness this is an extreme example and probably includes charges for renovation of the whole building or a new heating system but it helps to explain why I think it's a bad idea to buy flats here. The extra costs are often high when compared to the value of the flat and you're often better off renting (with all fixed costs included in the rent). Have a look at this flat: http://www.immobilienscout24.de/expose/57875822?&is24EC=IS24&style=is24&navigationbarurl=/Suche/S-T/Wohnung-Kauf/Baden-Wuerttemberg/Boeblingen-Kreis/Bondorf Nearly 300K for a new build flat! With only 2 bedrooms. But the Germans love their new builds for some reason and this flat will probably sell with no problems. The cost to buy this flat is more than my large detached 1970s house in the same village (bought 3 years ago) + my renovation costs + stamp duty. My house sat on the market for months with no takers and I bet I would have difficulty selling it now (even at the same price I paid despite renovations) There are hundreds of new builds going up around the Böblingen area (SW Germany, lots of big companies, prosperous area) and they will not end up like ghost towns even though they probably should. Then have a look at this house: http://www.immobilienscout24.de/expose/59250122?&is24EC=IS24&style=is24&navigationbarurl=/Suche/S-T/Haus-Kauf/Baden-Wuerttemberg/Calw-Kreis/Nagold This is by no means 'in the sticks' or in a bad area because there are no bad areas here. Sure, it needs a bit of renovation but it is HUGE. You could keep horses on the land and have enough space for 20 kids and yet it costs nearly 50K less than a new build large 2 bed flats in a nearby village. Maybe ownership is so low because it's difficult to buy small and gradually upgrade to something bigger, or maybe people save and save until they can buy a house with a large deposit later in life. I know a lad here who grew up in a small flat. His parents are both teachers and have only now decided to buy a house in their 50s. I agree with the comment that a lot of Germans appear scared of debt or buying and I know people who have had their fingers burnt when buying flats but buying a house here appears to be a no brainer. Especially if you're prepared to buy a 'used' house and do a bit of work on it. So in conclusion to my rather meandering post, I think Germans rent flats simply because it's cheaper and more secure than buying and wait longer to buy houses for cash or with huge deposits. They also don't suffer from dinner party peer pressure so are able to make clearer decisions in their own time

This is my village in the Böblingen Kreis, Stuttgart 45 mins, S-Bahn 8 minute walk, autobahn connection close by. It's one of the more expensive villages in the area due to the good travel connections and plenty of facilities but not much more expensive. The land prices for new builds are as follows. First price given is the Grundpreis in Euros per square metre. Second is the price per m2 with all connections for a single level house and third is the same but for a 2 storey house. Privatpersonen (i.e. someone from the village) 207,00 240,41 248,75 - Grundstücke entlang der L 1184 (this is for land along a road) 179,00 212,41 220,75 Auswärtige Bewerber: (People from outside the village) - Grundstücke entlang überörtl. Straßen (land along a local access road) 222,00 255,41 263,75 - Grundstücke entlang der L 1184 (land along a road) 194,00 227,41 235,75 - restliche Grundstücke 237,00 270,41 278,75 Typically for a detached family home the plot size would be 400-500 sqm with about half that for a semi-detached. There is a fair amount of building going on in my village. With around 6000 inhabitants there are only 11 'second hand' houses for sale at the moment here.

I remember people in 2005 debating whether there would be a correction or a soft landing. Inexplicably, interest rates were cut and HPI continued. Prices entered the damaging bubble phase and this short period has made the problems for the housing market much worse. But maybe there was a soft landing of sorts. Sure, it was a bit bumpy but now prices have dropped back to 2005ish levels that could be it. People are going to be stubborn about their prices if they want to sell and renting is now becoming at the very least a spin of the coin choice when compared with buying. Low interest rates make that big mortgage affordable while new mortgages are difficult to come by. Supply and effective demand are both drying up. Is it beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that prices could stay at their current levels in nominal terms for the next 20 years? Take Germany as an example. It's impossible to find sale prices so I have to use my own limited experience to give comparisons. I bought in 2008 and the price I paid was similar to what the house cost in 1978! The house my wife grew up in (bought early 80s) was sold in 2006 at a (small) loss. A friend of mine bought a 2 bed flat in the mid 90s and sold for a small loss in 2009. A friend of my wife's family bought a 2 bed flat in the mid 80s. Current value as far as I can make out is roughly the same. Maybe a little bit less. I know attitudes/demographics are different here and renting is more secure than the UK but people do still buy here - especially when they have kids. 90% of the people I know here with kids have bought. I would say prices are stable here with no sign of a boom just because we happen to be in the middle of a long shallow trough. Rents are stable, yields after extra costs aren't great (although tax breaks help) - in short, there is no reason for the market to go anywhere. Could this happen in the UK? I have to say I'm more in favour of the cataclysmic crash supported by any bubble chart in history but the longer the people remain on economic life support the more I like the long shallow trough theory.

I'm confused. Is the UK effectively insolvent and in real trouble or are we a shining economic example to the world with a dynamic manufacturing and services industry, lucky enough to have had a genius in charge through the storm?

I'd say do it but do you really have to buy? If you want to move to East Germany you can rent very cheaply and live in a relatively nice area. The properties you're looking at are effectively worthless IMO. I've considered buying in the East as I have friends there but after just a tiny bit of DD I decided against it. It was an easy decision. If these houses were such good value the Germans would be snapping them up as they're very property savvy - but they know that outside the nicest areas of the big cities, the east is a poor investment and a different world. What about the SW? This house is a cheapie. Excellent travel connections, lots of nice respectable people and the beautiful University city of Tübingen close by. No need to do a Kirsty and Phil on this one because the Germans wouldn't touch it. http://www.immobilienscout24.de/expose/55434070?is24EC=IS24&style=is24&navigationbarurl=/Suche/S-14/Haus-Kauf/Baden-Wuerttemberg/Tuebingen-Kreis Or this one not too far away. A few kms from the S-Bahn and autobahn and surrounded by the countryside of the Gäu valley. http://www.immobilienscout24.de/expose/51781483?is24EC=IS24&style=is24&navigationbarurl=/Suche/S-14/Haus-Kauf/Baden-Wuerttemberg/Tuebingen-Kreis They're not great 'investments' but it's MUCH nicer here than the East for not much more money. You can find stuff even cheaper than this if you're prepared to live in the sticks here. Edited to switch umlauts.