Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008
I no longer care about house prices!!!
Key worker scheme: Free from the rat race!
Well guys,. crazyness. I just bagged me a self contained studio flat in zone 1 for £90/week on the key worker scheme. 5yr tennancy. House prices would need to go down about 90% now to make it worthwhile for me to buy, so I no longer give a s%^t!! :-) I would hate to be a buy-to-let person competing with this type of deal, yer, a small part of the market, but there are some good deals out there!! Hopefully I'll have enough cash saved at the end of the 5yrs to buy a flat out right, once house prices are bottomed up.
So, there are ways to insulate yourself, if you look hard enough. Maybe others have some tips on how to protect our wealth against the housing market and the high inflation that is here and on the way? Any stories from the coal face?
19 Comments
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1. hpwatcher said...
90 quid is a very good deal; not worth buying with rent like that!
When is the house warming?
2. Basildonbond said...
Cool I fancy a peppercorn rent as well! I currently find it impossible to make meaningful monthly savings paying nearly a grand-a-month renting my current shoebox
This is a real worry for me 'cos even after the great crash - the BTLers will have already bled me dry :-(
Anyone HPSers know what the government criteria are exactly for 'keyworker' status? Is it basically a bi-word for public sector? I know that teachers qualify, but I teach in Higher Education (and thus don't have QTS) so I have no idea if I am eligible for these kinds of schemes or not....
Basildon
3. Bye_to_let said...
Very nice!
4. drewster said...
Well done p4ac!
Does your five-year contract have a get-out clause, in case you decide to move cities or get promoted or get married or something?
The key is really to lock in those long-term tenancies. Most of us private sector tenants are screwed over by rolling Assured Shorthold Tenancies, basically meaning the landlord can evict us with just two months' notice. It might be possible to secure a deal with a private landlord directly - although again, you'd need a one-sided get-out clause.
5. planning4acrash said...
I only have to give 1 months notice!
6. planning4acrash said...
Basildonbond: http://www.housingoptions.co.uk/ho2/ho2/eligible.asp
7. planning4acrash said...
In reality its a 1yr rolling tennancy, but you can stay there for 5yrs if you don't trash the place and if you pay your bills and get on with the neighbours, so its as much as assured as anything else. These guys won't benefit from re-letting because they aren't in the business of hiking rent by silly amounts.
8. Jsp said...
I rent a really big nice house with three others and it is great. We always have good company, and the rent and bills are super cheap. We also have a huge garden for wonderful summer barbecues. I don't know why anyone would want to pay a lot to live alone.
9. doomwatch said...
Good luck. The only good BTL is a bankrupt one.
10. jack c said...
P4C - good luck with the new pad - presume you will still contribute to the news blog?
11. little professor said...
Well done. A good deal, I'd go for it if I was in the same situation.
5 years from now you will have saved up a considerable pot, and prices will be reaching the bottom, so you will be very well placed.
12. This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.
13. Basildonbond said...
Thanks planning4acrash... It only mentions that teachers in schools or FE colleges are eligible not HE - so I guess that counts me out :-(
It seems to me that the notion of key worker is a little bit arbitrary and unfair given that we are all tax payers...I don't understand why a "Football Liaison Officer"!? or "Local Authority staff employed as a Phenotyping Officer"? are considered as a greater government priority and the rest of us have to cope with whatever rents market forces throws at us... maybe its time for a career change...
14. bidin'matime said...
Well done P4C - I've mentioned before bagging our dream house at a rental of around 2% of the market value - right on the seafront, beautiful views - people passing on the beach think we're millionaires, but we'd never be able to afford to buy here (this side of the crash..) - renting is the biz if you look for the bargains.
15. tyrellcorporation said...
Key worker my ars, anyone who pays tax and generates wealth for the country is a key worker IMHO. Good for you mate but what if you happen to work outside of the state comfort blanket??
You're fooked basically!
No pension for me either...or early retirement...or flexitime...time to get out of this effing sh*thole of a country.
16. Orwell said...
Counter inflationary measure, like BP was..
17. crash bandicoot said...
P4AC, well done. The whole ethos of this website is that waiting will bring dividends, yours have just come a little earlier.
18. Fedupwithhouseprices said...
Sorry but I think that throwing away £360 - 400 per month on a studio flat that is never going to be yours is not a happy ending. You are only ecstatic becuase buying is way out of reach. That's not good.
19. jack c said...
@Greenbay (12) I'll stick my neck out here - fantastic deal go for it - you could of course pay a liitle more on the rate and use the Giraffe carbon offset mortgage which would also enable you to do your bit for the environment.