robbingXpat

Similar thoughts. Have a Skoda Fabia (£20 tax) as a runaround, plus a top of the range (even got TV!) Skoda Superb (£30 tax) for long trips. Both purchased at 4 years old for about 35% of their 'new' price! But just one bike, for good weather days. Very rare, but if my wife needs to drive she takes the Fabia and I'll use the Superb. Never looked or considered a 'monthly' cost posh motor, far too tight to change by lifetime habits of buying around the 4 year mark.

National builder ('Developer'!) in our small market town has smelt the coffee, and reduced their prices by £20k, but still way beyond the reach of local wages! £20k is just the beginning, reductions will have to continue if they hope to sell anything.

I'm not tech savvy, but 'googled' and saved, spot on. I prefer 'Zoopla' because of the price history, now have it on both. Happy property addict (just one 2 & 1/2 bed semi), always check what's happening locally, neither selling or buying, just an interest, like HPC!

Anyone recommend Virgin Bank? Never dealt with them, due to Branston!

One notable exception to that rule! TORY donor, NHS privateer, rail subsidy receiver, sues NHS for losing 'privatisation' contracts, hugely wealthy tax dodger, private island owner, but being a non tax payer is no handicap for not receiving low wage earners, tax payers, cash!

1949 baby, 'boomer' too. I found HPC in about 2007, kids left home, house too big, so we sold up to rent our way through the impending crash! (what crash) 2014, still waiting for that 'crash', we got impatient watching house prices still going up, and started looking to buy in again. October 2014 we buy a new build '2 & 1/2 bed' semi, still expecting that crash to come (and still believing it's around the corner, even now!), but our 2014 purchase has gone up about 25%. Never in our 36 years of home ownership had we lived on a housing 'estate', only had a very old place and two 1930's, but from our experience our 'new' home is perfect, loo upstairs and downstairs (3 actually!), superb insulation, plumbing and electrics, economic bills, if we ever move again it will not be an old place. Will we ever get the crash, I honestly hope so, for the sake of the following generations. 'Eric', was my HPC hero in those days.

Boris is OK?

Except that through their work they did pay into the system for a pension, that was then withheld for 7 years. Pensions have now been reassessed as 'benefits', next step is to means test it? So, you could have paid into the pension pot for 40+ years, only to find that because you've be successful (lucky?), with money in the bank, you won't qualify for what you thought you'd be receiving, penalised for being thrifty! That's not the boomer generation (that are despised here) it's the ones coming along behind, so who will be blamed (still boomers?).

At the risk of being called a communist I agree 100%. I see nothing wrong with 'socialism' if all are included, sadly, since 'snatcher' Thatcher we have become a nation of hsve's and have not's. The generation of 'loads a money' spivs from snatcher's time have now moved on to become MP's, Tory MP's, like chancellor Javid!

I'm in Glos, close to Herefordshire border, and tend to agree. Spoke to one of our (3) agents in town last week, apparently the market is very quiet, sales and rental. Nothing coming onto the market, those that have in the past few months either get snapped up within a week, or linger, and linger, and linger. Ours is 5 years old, one of our original neighbours (when brand new) moved out over 2 years ago (house 2-3 years old then) to a slightly older 'new build', but a 3 storey with an extra bedroom, been trying to move again for well over one year, just no interest, must be the oldest reason ever, 'location, location, location'! Could it be the nearby social housing apartments?

Agreed. (Similar feelings about France, lots of closed shops, hotels, restaurants, bars and car dealerships. On our travels we used to say, next village or town we'll have a coffee, not so easy now, when we arrive at the next village or town the bar/restaurant is frequently closed down. Petrol, diesel, electric all gone up drastically, diesel is definitely cheaper here, it was never that way in the past!).

EXACTLY, but not just housing. Cars are going the same way! Apparently 2016 was a record year for car sales (PCP's?), now that 3 year deals have ended/ending their are far more vehicles than buyers, some models (like my C3 Picasso!) Ford Focus etc. loosing up to £500 per month, and diesels are less desirable! Even convertibles are not moving off forecourts, in July. Plenty of info on line. Seems I'll have to keep my Picasso, but it is only £0 road tax.

My 1st contribution since 2011! (long story). I started following HPC with great enthusiasm in about 2006, totally convinced that a crash was around the corner, so we STR in early 2008. My HPC hero in those days was ERIC, plus, I find 'Durhamborn' is very interesting, and worth following. So, since my exile over 7 years ago we have reversed our STR decision, and rejoined the OO, but sadly, we are surrounded by renters. 'Sadly', because the LL's are of my generation, pricing out the young from owning, rather than renting. Our cash in the bank was earning not a lot, so reluctantly we did buy again, a new build 4 years ago. A neighbour has just sold at a figure of £40,000 more than the purchase price, so £10,000 per year HPI, that's way more than some can save! I'm still waiting the 'correction' that I put so much faith in (on HPC), in 2008, but HTB etc. has kept it pinned ever higher, still when the crash comes (still around the corner 10 years later) it will be greater than it would have been, without the government props. I don't believe that buying property now would be a sound investment, but, I thought the same 10 years ago! IT CANNOT CONTINUE, can it?

Can UK plc really afford to underwrite these games? I'm sat on the fence (not 100% for, or against the olympics) but did labour seriously do the mathematics to establish the true cost of this event before bidding? I know it has already provided employment, but for which nationalities? More debt upon the huge existing debt will probably go unnoticed, but does it provide any cheaper housing in London?.