Ignorant Steve
Members-
Posts
2,132 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Everything posted by Ignorant Steve
-
Given that the OP had an offer close to his asking price why is everyone giving him a hard time. Seems to me that he pitched the price correctly. Pricing lower wouldn't have stopped the chain from crashing. Nor would it guarantee a proceedable buyer. No point throwing money away. Of course NOW the market price IS probably lower the conundrum is whether to hang on with the original prospective buyers or re-market to try to find new buyers? Or forget about selling entirely - too late in the cycle. I think I'd forget about it. Let the current prospective buyers come back to him IF they can get a decent proceedable offer.
-
£220 A Week Goes On Running A Home
Ignorant Steve replied to cashinmattress's topic in House prices and the economy
Me too - our cleaner does get through a fair bit of stuff though. Maybe she's taking some home! It's a big house though - 3 bathrooms, 4 toilets etc etc. -
£220 A Week Goes On Running A Home
Ignorant Steve replied to cashinmattress's topic in House prices and the economy
Thanks for the info. I'm more of a JIT buyer. Not too worried re budget analysis we're comfortable with our lifestyle. -
£220 A Week Goes On Running A Home
Ignorant Steve replied to cashinmattress's topic in House prices and the economy
No, 2 kids. But the biggest cost isn't food it's toiletries / cleaning products etc. -
£220 A Week Goes On Running A Home
Ignorant Steve replied to cashinmattress's topic in House prices and the economy
Our weekly grocery shopping bill has gone from £200 per week to £250 per week over the last few months. Some strange increases. eg pesto sauce - has been £1.79 a jar for ages. Yesterday £2.99. (I switched brands - hope it tastes OK). Similarly Fairy Washing Liquid up from £5.39 to £7.15. I think supermarkets are starting to target those shoppers who perhaps don't look too closely at prices! -
Borrowers Fail To Use Low Rates To Overpay
Ignorant Steve replied to cashinmattress's topic in House prices and the economy
We're overpaying massively. We've got the rainy day fund sorted and various other bits and bobs. No point in having too much cash, and I'm too nervous to go back into shares. Could be an expensive mistake shunning shares at present. But I think being a homeowner rather than mortgage payer is a good place to be. Mortgage now only has an IO portion remaining (it was part and part). Monthly mortgage bill now £237 compared to £1650 3 years ago. We took a 5 year fix so rates are still unchanged for us. We'll switch to repayment mortgage at the end of this year, and probably reduce the time frame too. -
Why Don't Lenders Just Increase Svr's
Ignorant Steve replied to Letsdance's topic in House prices and the economy
But if you're an existing mortgage holder coming to the end of their current fix the SVR is 2.49%. -
Property Crash Porn Tonight
Ignorant Steve replied to djm1972's topic in House prices and the economy
We've got a nice villa in Nueva Andalucia (just outside Marbella). So I shall watch with interest. I look on websites regularly to check on whether we might trade down to something a bit more easily manageable. Prices down at least 40% in the mid range ( 3 bed, shared garden, shared pool). Hardly anything selling if at all. 400K Eur would buy something really nice now and I think they'll carry on falling. Very top range 4 -5 million stuff not reducing and not moving. Couldn't afford it even if they dropped 70%! Between the 2 ie detached, 3 - 5 bedrooms, private garden, private pool still seem to be selling prices only about 10% down in 2 years. I assume the programme will major on the halfwits in 2 bed appartments. -
Best Places To Live Near University Of Warwick
Ignorant Steve replied to kilroy's topic in House prices and the economy
I merely pass I what some friends (who are lectures at Warwick) told me. If you've not tried to drive into Westwood between 7:45 and 9:30 then don't assume that crossing the M40 or Leamington / Warwick rush hours are the biggest issue. Having said that if the OP is used to London rush hours then nothing around here is an issue. Except when there's a major problem. -
Best Places To Live Near University Of Warwick
Ignorant Steve replied to kilroy's topic in House prices and the economy
Having thought long and hard about this. Well 10 minutes anyway. Bubbenhall (village) is my recommendation. Not too close, so away from the students, easy drive (or cycle if you're fit!). Surrounded by countryside for an idyllic childhood upbringing. Easy access back into Leamington for shopping / schooling. Sorted. -
Best Places To Live Near University Of Warwick
Ignorant Steve replied to kilroy's topic in House prices and the economy
Can't add much to the excellent advice above. When we first moved out of London we rented in Leamington - not bad. Bit like a middling London suburb (Ealing etc). Travelling to Uni from Leamington is a bit of a pain if you drive. The schlep off the A46 is horribly congested unless you nip through Kenilworth and enter via Westwood business park end. I'd either plump for Kenilworth (shopping is improving - new Waitrose last year), or North Leamington, or one of the villages between Leamingon or Rugby (this means you can go into Uni via A45. Can't comment on living in Coventry but the decent areas are on the Uni side anyway so worth an explore. Don't look anywhere on the Stratford side of the M40 - commute would be bad. Almost forgot - if you're thinking of putting your children in nursery there's a Childbase nursery in Westwood Business Park. Our kids were there when we first moved up - I'd recommend it. -
Oh My God! We're Fighting For A Property...
Ignorant Steve replied to Barb E Dahl's topic in House prices and the economy
I hate science fiction. I watched a few of the early Star Trek episodes - got a bit scared by one where some beautiful woman turned old and ugly. Scared me for life. Not looking forward to old age myself. Imagine being surrounded by a childhood nightmare. -
Oh My God! We're Fighting For A Property...
Ignorant Steve replied to Barb E Dahl's topic in House prices and the economy
Income tax is rising to 50% for some of us. Hence why we are reducing monthly spend by overpaying. -
Oh My God! We're Fighting For A Property...
Ignorant Steve replied to Barb E Dahl's topic in House prices and the economy
I piled in a while ago. Completely wrong timing. Having STR'd at the wrong time too I am happy to admit to be ignorant. On the other hand our monthly mortgage is now £360 a month, 3 years ago we were paying 4 times that in rent. -
Oh My God! We're Fighting For A Property...
Ignorant Steve replied to Barb E Dahl's topic in House prices and the economy
But what if you're wrong? BTW you used to be funny. Nowadays you seem to be a tad vitriolic. Lighten up it's only life, nothing serious. -
Invasion Of The Reality Snatchers
Ignorant Steve replied to The Masked Tulip's topic in House prices and the economy
If you go back a few years in this forum most people didn't expect more than a 25% drop from peak. Then most claimed they'd jump in and bag a bargain. 25% (and more) has been acheived - why are so few now diving in? Is it greed, fear, intelligence, or something else? Do we really want yet more economic armaggedon? -
Baby Due In 3 Weeks
Ignorant Steve replied to babesagainstmachines's topic in House prices and the economy
It happens though. We were 2 weeks away from moving into a new rental when the landlord initially insisted that our 3 yr old signed the contract(!) and then subsequently refused to rent to us when we pointed out the absurdity of his request. He may have lost several months rent but we were potentially homeless or having to find something (anything) very quickly. Not ideal with a heavily pregnant hysterical wife to placate. -
Baby Due In 3 Weeks
Ignorant Steve replied to babesagainstmachines's topic in House prices and the economy
We had our 2nd child whilst in rented accommodation. Didn't make a jot of difference to him. But where we did have issues was with organising education knowing rental contract was ending and new location uncertain. Perhaps we were being picky in the type of houses we wanted to rent, but at the time (2005) decent houses were few and far between. The potential schools we were considering all had waiting lists and weren't keen to add a child if a stable home address couldn't be provided. It was one of several deciding factors to buy (again) rather than rent. -
Welcome to the real world. Everyone wants a decent place at a decent price, those that are willing to view during the day clearly get to the front of the queue.
-
? Which is more important? An EA "not doing his job" (or as other posters have mentioned weeding out potential time wasters) or a homeless OP?
-
Why? If you find it hard to be motivated yourself why expect anyone else to bother about you? If you're homeless in August who's to blame? And will it actually help you if you think you can blame an uninterested EA?
-
Estate Agent Behaviour
Ignorant Steve replied to BigHandsOliverKahn's topic in House prices and the economy
Used to be common practice. I had to provide mortgage in principle evidence in 1991. I think it's a reasonable question, if only to weed out the time wasters. EAs (and everyone buying and selling) want proceedable chains. Perhaps EAs are finding too many naive FTBers actually can't get a mortgage! -
April Data Now Available
Ignorant Steve replied to Caveat Mortgagor's topic in House prices and the economy
I take exception to you stating this is a horrible looking house. It's a perfectly good 2nd level house, ideal for a young family. It is not a typical FTB property. Why would anyone buy this house if they don't have children? I think the buyer has bought a very cheap family home - well done to them. May well be a canny BTL professional who can rent out profitably! -
Becareful you don't miss the bottom of the market. At this rate they'll start sending out stuff just before the next crash. Perhaps you should be a bit more proactive?
-
Should We Pay Off The Mortgage?
Ignorant Steve replied to Second Time Around's topic in House prices and the economy
We're doing similar to the OP. Savings rate for spare cash as a higher rate tax payer are so bad that we're paying lump sums off our mortgage AND taking a hit on the early repayment charge (3%). We lose a few quid over the year but gain peace of mind when considering a high inflationary period. Start of this year our outstanding mortgage was £220K we're reducing it to £50K by the end of this year.