Sunday, Aug 10, 2008
Get your teeeth into this
BBC 'News': Desperately hoping for a new home
David and Nicole Redman are in danger of joining the thousands of Britons who have lost their homes amid spiralling repossessions.
They are due in court later this month, unable to meet increased payments set by their lender after they fell into arrears.
The couple, who live with Mr Redman's mother and their two-year-old son, have another baby due in November. They find they are unable to sell their home to clear their debts.
"We were stitched up with the original mortage deal. We took out the mortage in August last year because my mum went bankrupt, and we had to buy the house - otherwise we would all be homeless.
"Even if we manage to pay off the arrears, we can't afford the mortgage once it comes off the fixed-term in January"
Posted by little professor @ 08:23 PM (1012 views) Add Comment
13 Comments
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1. Ccamper said...
Oh how enslaved the pathetic British have become if the cheapest slum ends up costing them £800 per month for rent or mortgage.
And the only alternative is a knocked up bashing booze birds hostel.
GO TO YOUR LOCAL PETROL STATION, FILL UP 4 DOZEN BOTTLES AND START A RIOT!!!!
Even if you get caught you would be better off in a nice open prison......
2. Stevie Dee said...
See... What benefit is this example for society? It's like something out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".. where everyone is sleeping "Top & Tail" in the same bed. Is this really 2008? This typifies why the housing market is a complete disaster or totally unethical. Yes, I sold out in time & made a couple of quid, but this situation is disgusting, and I gain no happiness to read about these unfortunate souls. The sooner this HPC occurs and the government actually take over the housing stock, the bloody better. If it seems like communism, well so be it, they have been practising such a system on forces camps for years, OMQ's, SNCO MQ's, MQ's, BARRACKS, etc. I don't want to see a HPC III in my lifetime, as after HPC I, & II, the whole thing is becoming a bit predictable & boring!!!! And if the government don't like it send them & their families to Zimbabwe!!!
3. crash bandicoot said...
"we had to buy the house - otherwise we would all be homeless."
Now the problem is they can't sell the house and are going to be homeless - without even being able to rent easily. How much more ironic could it be?
4. yorkshireman said...
The banks had the party,but we just get the hangover. Surely it makes more sense to have people living in a house and contributing something rather than have an empty house which you are unable to sell. That approach would require the banks to be reasonable and caring. Unfortunately that is not going to happen, so David and Nicole along with thousands of others have to suffer the consequences. They just want somewhere to live. Not much to ask is it ?
5. Bananasplit said...
I sold to rent and am enjoying the price correction but the negative side is highlighting a problem that is going to have serious consequences for the lower paid and their children, the UK is pampering the rich and forsaking the needy and the young. The welfare rules are changing and this will stop some fraud but will hurt the very people that need help...... we pay councillors 200k and footballers 10 million but stop low earners from getting wage rises to cover inflation. There is a disparity in society that makes me feel sick!!
6. nooneo said...
Oh dear, the vicious cycle of the repossessed not being able to get a rented property because they fail the credit reference!
Ooh, didn't see that one coming gordy....... Call yourself a Labour politician ! Where's your free market economics now mate !
7. quiet guy said...
Yes, it's a terrible story but there are a few things that pop out of this article for me.
"The couple ... have another baby due in November."
Why have a baby when you are financially stretched?
"We took out the mortage in August last year because my mum went bankrupt, and we had to buy the house - otherwise we would all be homeless."
but later:
"We can afford £750 a month - we can afford to go out and rent a house, but no landlord will rent to us."
If they can afford to rent now, why couldn't they afford to rent last year when they bought the house? Because if they didn't buy they'd be left behind ... property prices never go down ... renting is money down the drain ...
"The council can only provide us with temporary accommodation, reserved usually for single, teenage mums. It's just down the road from where we are, and the police are there all the time."
OK, living in a rough area isn't fun but it can be done if you don't have a choice.
In some ways, I feel sorry these people (especially the children) but at the same time, I wonder what they'd be saying later if their gamble on the property market had paid off.
"We were told it was the only deal we could get, but could remortgage later on after the fixed-term was over and get a better deal that was more affordable."
If that's true then it was truly awful advice from the lender. I doubt that they will be able to prove this to the satisfaction of the judge at their upcoming court appearance. Pehaps there is a lesson here: always keep detailed records (record phone calls?) when sold a mortgage.
This article makes my problems (priced out) with the property market seem trivial. The price boom has been a disaster for this country.
8. Eternal Sceptic said...
This is a sad story that will be repeated endlessly during this downturn.
I may be financially naive but it seems to me the owners of mortgages are indulging in a process approaching usury to rebuild the profits lost through greed and reckless lending. Perhaps the government and FSA should be focusing their attention in this area of the market and DO SOMETHING.
9. inbreda said...
Yeah - I'm with you quiet guy. I think the only reason most people on this site have sympathy with the redmans is because we have been pointing out for years the social damage this boom was having - it's just that no-one paid us any attention while the value of their home was going up.
10. nooneo said...
quite guy and inbreda
Yes the property boom has beeen an absolute disastor and the social damage of the last 30 years has been enormous (the whole of thatcherism really, and no , I don't wanna see a return to socialist nonsense, just social thinkling).
The property owning democracy is a bit of a phallusy really. Look's great on paper but in practise it's a bit of a sow's ear. It takes generations to actually increase a nations wealth and you don't do it in a mostly service based economy.
Brilliant idea to get rid of all the council houses so only the real lower class want to stay there? Brilliant idea to first nationalise all our industry and then p1ss it all away in a frenzy of public flotations (the bits that hadn't died through the initial nationalisation). And the friggin labour party ! They take all these bad ideas and run with them. Easy credit, galloping house price inflation, and in the meantime tax the crap outta us, spend it all and then say "ooh, we didn't no about the CREDIT CRUNCH (Lifesaver that one!)"
And no, no-one really paid any attention to this site really, we were all just silly little people, running down the economy with our doom & gloom. Not like those sunny and always smiling property pornstars (We know who you are)
11. Stevie Dee said...
#10, Nooneo, Superb. You have to think about it. These individuals would live anywhere, just for that security. Council houses have earned an unworthy reputation for being sub-standard and thus stigmatised. But the houses built in the late 60's and 70's were by far a most lasting and soundly built than the cardborad walls & general structure in comparison to the fast built bullsh!t that has gone up in the last 15-20 years. In truth, it has been the policy since Thatcherism (continued by New Labour), that has created this social maelstrom. The destruction of the community or society. With all due respect, in future years, Thatcher will not be likened to Churchill but more to Stalin.
12. renting2 said...
nooneo @ 10:
"phallusy ..." - freudian slip?
13. Whostolemyendowment said...
I sold in late 2005, after putting my home up for sale in Feb 2005.....it still took several months to shift it even in those halcyon days! The reason I sold was not to bank the money, rent, and sit back and gloat when the crash came.....but to ensure I was 'able' to sell at all, and then buy my next home when prices were more affordable. I thought there would be a gentle correction.....but with the advent of the credit crunch last year, higher interest rates, and harder to find mortgages.....anyone with a mind of their own can see that prices will crash back to a least 30% below the peak.....I'll wait a little longer to see how this all pans out....and rest in the meantime.
For those that will be left out in the cold - literally - due to the blind eye policies of the government and BoE.....I can only feel pity, and thank God that I had the foresight (reinforced by this greeat blog of HPC) to duck out while the going was good.