c_f

Possibly the most succinct description of a typical HPC user ever posted. 😀

"We are not worthy!" ?? wtf?? If you are not worthy, then either you sell yourself short or you are an amoeba piggy-backing on a flea. I'm sorry but I felt that the article was dull. Is this thread merely another back-patting excercise? Why am I even writing this? Jeez.

Oh dear zzg, that's a BIG caveat, as you well know and it completely changes the impetus of the comments made by RJG and yourself. Fundamentally, a defaulted payment would flag you up in the lenders eyes immediately as a current potential risk, which is very different from the lender systematically going through it's books and chasing every BTLer in negative equity. It does sound like scaremongering when you look at it that way IMHO. I'm with BBB on this one, as I don't see any evidence to support RJG/Vans comments. Of course, I am open to have my mind altered

I suppose it's always best to specify thicker chipboard sections. We had to do a Doctor's Surgery and the contractor mistakenly ordered 18mm chipboard for the floors. The deflection was horrendous!! It was like a trampoline. I think we specified 25mm chipboard, and the deflection is negligible. I quite like the 'softer' underfoot feeilng anyway (is that weird?) By the way, the floor joists were timber as well and we haven't had any problems with warping over time. I assume that timber joists/chipboard are a better combination than concrete/chipboard - better air circulation...? Generally we use pot and beam floors with a concrete screed though. And it's less hassle with fire regs, which I always like As you are a floor tiler, can I pick your brains? If I had a kitchen floor (traditional timber joists and floorboards) one half (4x2m) and concrete floor the rest (2x2m), how would you prefer to make it up to receive a mortared tiled finish? BTW it's a shame that this hasn't been a thread on its own as it has diverted from the original title.

I love it!

It's true that cavity construction is, on the face of it 'a natural' for our climate. However, the cavity wall also relies on workmanship to keep the water out. Unfortunately, I have seen endless cases where the cavity has been bridged for various reasons (often due to insulation not being tied back or mortar being dropped into cavities by brickies) thus causing damp to the internal leaf. And that's expensive to fix if it isn't checked during construction. There are hugely varying climates in the USA, and Canada for that matter where timber frame is successful so it isn't a simple case of saying 'it's timber so it isn't compatible with our wet climate' per se. The Segal method of construction brought to popular attention the timber frame self build method and this wasn't developed in a dry climate, it was developed in Sweden (?) I think. It all comes down to the quality of construction. Timber frames are now factory produced in general and not hacked about on site, so there shouldn't (and I repeat shouldn't ) be as much opportunity for poor workmanship here. Thank you for speaking for me zzg... in my absence, but I would like to point out that I'm not on the fence. I would look at the individual case for timber frame construction on a project basis, considering cost, timeframe, ground conditions, building type/layout, type of contractor etc etc. Buildings in the UK are unlikely to come up against the kinds of hurricanes that consistently hit Florida. All construction in the UK is subject to building control and consequently to wind loading requirements-timber frame is no different. By the way, most timber frame construction in the UK is just that - timber frame- ie. the internal leaf is timber and the external is usually brick or cladding. I would not be concerned with the notion that timber frame construction is not compatible with our environment as I don't believe it to be true. Frames are wrapped in a combination of a vapour control layer and breather membrane which work together to keep the timber intact. Don't dismiss the construction method - look at the quality of construction. Whether it be mass concrete construction, steel frame construction, loadbearing brick/block construction or timber frame construction. We all know that housebuildes (and contractors in general) have managed to balls up jobs perfectly well without using timber frames! Why am I posting on a Sunday!? I just wanted to check my emails. Duh.

You still have to plaster a dry-lined wall. It just means that you put some battens along the wall, tack some plasterboard to the battens and then plaster over. What's nice about it is that you get a 'services-cavity' behind the plasterboard. You can get dry-lining boards that are pre-finished, but they aren't great for a smooth (plaster) finish. This is why timber frame is so great. You don't have so mmuch 'wet' trades (brickies/blockies) slowing up the process and bringing thousands of litres of water into the equation. That's right. It's a pain. You have to detect the timber frame behind (if it's on battens) and screw through that to the masonry behind. The same problem is inherent in timber frames houses. It's a sensible option if the walls are really poor, but it is more expensive than simple plaster/skim. And you'll lose at least 40mm around all of the walls. Medium density blocks are generally used internally for load bearing walls as they are cheap and have no need to have insulating properties. Light density 'aerated' blocks (Celcon etc.) have high insulating properties and are used for the inner leaf of external cavity walls. Sorry to 'butt-in' on the thread, but it beats the pointless arguing between BBB/Monkey etc!

Timber frame construction is not an inherently 'bad' method of construction. What you have to understand is that a poorly built masonry (ie block/cavity/brick) house is just as bad as a poorly built timber frame building. In my view, timber frame is the only current method of construction that is even remotely sustainable and this probably makes it a winner in the medium to long term for domestic construction. It's also far quicker to build than brick/block as the frames are factory-built - a block of, say six flats can be watertight within a week of the frame arriving on site. This method of construction is still a subject of much research, but I think we should be careful before dismissing it. Apparently, 90% of domestic construction in the USA is timber frame based! And everybody knows that the Americans know best

Oh dear. Webmaster - the site has degraded into a farce yet again. I thought that we had done away with this stupidity when it was decided that registering would be introduced. bottom feeder: FYI, my previous moniker was coldfusion, and so c_f was used for the new board to avoid an overlap (and because I lacked the imagination to come up with a deep and meaningful, or even topical name). Anyway. I've read BBB's posts in the past and hated him at first, but enjoyed his ability (and TTRTR) to stir up reasoned responses from the more adult posters. Also, I really don't believe that TTRTR is the same person as BBB. BBB was juvenille and TTRTR was not. It would be a shame to lose them ( Although the loss of BBB may reduce the silly flame wars). I feel that many of the veterans on HPC have already decided that the arguments for and against a crash have all been done to death and have left. We are again left with childish and spiteful rants from various veteran trolls. It's a shame, because I quite enjoyed this forum. Anyway, I'll let the children have the last word... Go on....

Belittled? Do me a favour! So, if you take the p*ss out of somebody - it's a laugh? If they take the piss out of you - you are being belittled? Purrleease.. Are you an adult?

I don't want to labour this little off-thread discussion, but I'm always amazed how many of the (terminally one-sided) posters on this forum are happy to take the p*ss out of btl'ers/landlords/owners etc, but can't take the slightest jibe at themselves. It's that HPC hypocrisy rearing it's very ugly head once again, I'm afraid!

zzg: As you can see by the use of emoticons, my comments were tongue in cheek! There is a difference between a troll post and a lighthearted post. Maybe it's lost in translation. dom: I commend you on your constructive response Sheesh

If all tenants refused their rent increases, there would be cardboard cities springing up all around the place I say, the landlord is weak and should kick your butt the hell out! Apparently, there are lots of people out there renting rather than buying, therefore lots of prospective replacement tenants

...or could it be that it's not such a forgone conclusion! Maybe they're cautious because they're just not sure. (40% drops, I mean)

Starcrossed: I agree with you completely. The amount of tax we pay is, to some extent a red herring. The important thing is where that money is spent. It's a matter of personal principle (and politics) as to whether you want the government to redistribute your money 'fairly' or whether you'd prefer to go it alone. BTW, I appreciate that this line of discussion is actually tangential from BT's original post. All that your saying is that 'predictions' of overvaluation should take into account tax rises, which is fair enough. Not sure how fundamental it is to the crash theory though.

Despondent, you really are a big whinger! At 23 years of age I had the same kind of debt, but after seven years of earning a living, I could finally (just) afford to buy my own house. I was never under any illusion that I could afford to buy my own house at that age!! Grow up and get your a*se into gear buddy. Sheesh, people really do want everything now, don't they. btw DrBubb's advice to ensure that you don't get into any more debt is totally sound. I did get into more debt (cc's, car loan) and it hampered my house buying power for a long time. Anyway, happy house hunting (in 2010!)

Whether it is fixed or discounted may be a semantical argument. It is in effect a discounted mortgage in that a discounted rate is offered initially on the proviso that the full svr (or svr+ x%) is paid for the remaining term (imo). The rates after the first two years would have been calculated (printed) based on an apr linked to the rate at the time of the calculation.

I thought that the general consensus is that equity withdrawal from house values has had a huge impact on consumer spending and the economy as a whole, so the BoE must at least have a passing interest in house prices.

It's just that the 'time bomb' aspect is not a big story. The person on the £150k mortgage would indeed have to pay about £900 today(rather than £320 when the loan was taken out). But they would have anticipated the rise to be about £830 anyway (The mortgage agreement would have it printed in black and white), even if rates had stayed at the low levels at which they were when the mortgage was taken out. So the great 'time bomb' amounts to a *surprise* increase of only about £70 per month.

Good reply TTRTR. Some sense amongst the sensationalists!

Were SVR's ever at 4% !? Discounted mortgages always presented a huge hike in payments. An extra 1% (if your one of the relatively small number who took at a discounted mortgage when rates bottomed out) due to rate rises constitutes only about 20% of the expected rise in payments: Best case: 2.5% in years one and two 6% SVR in years three to five Actual: 2.5% in years one and two 7% SVR in years three to five Anybody who doesn't allow for that small additional increase is doomed to failure anyway.

These are not fixed rates. They are discounted rates. The only people that I can think of for which these are appropriate are those who expect to have big pay increases/change in circumstances by the time the discount stops. I looked at these when I took out my 'proper fixed rate' and couldn't believe the payments at the end of the discount! The details of the mortgage payments would have been explained by the building society. I mean, it's going to be *very* difficult for a BS to hide a 4% rate rise at the end of the discount and most people would be aware of the hike in payments. Of course it's a 'mortgage time bomb', but the person who took out the mortgage will be watching the clock ticking down. Maybe a little sesationalist.

Hedi: If you remortgage with the same comapny, they tend to use their own 'house price index' and check the value of your house against that. They will only do a valuation if you want to remortgage for more than the value on their index (eg if you've done a big extension which you think puts another 10% on the value of the house). And this is only likely if you want to MEW to the max.

The 3.5x multiplier was passed a few years ago, but prices have increased anyway.

There's nothing new about this. Governments have been fiddling the unemplyment stats for generations! It's not a New Labour invention by any stretch.