roy?

People have the right to demand what ever they want for their properties. Likewise, potential buyers can offer what they feel is adequate. The problem i have is that buyer folk feel get all indignant and up in arms when sellers demand a specific sums for their property. Forgive me, but who in their right mind would price their property at an ‘affordable’ price so as to appease the buyer? Similarly, buyers would not pay 5k more to spare the vendors. If you don’t want to pay a specific price do not bid. The really pessimistic lurkers on this site need to understand that everything is relative and one day they too will be sellers. And they wll market the property according to what they feel is right. And this will correlate to expectations and sentiment. All is fair in love and war

Your post is riddled with a racist undercurrent and there are times during this tirade you realise this and refrain. I don’t feel sorry for you. Why should I? You are a deluded man. Get married. Your wallowing and yet sanctimonious nonsense is troubling. Perhaps your partner will share the financial burden of your woes. Please explain why you are apportioning blame on the ‘ Somalian’ lady. The same demographic you clearly wished would flood the country at the onset of your depression. You work hard and she does not. Is that what you’re saying? Please tell me There are also inconsistencies in your tale. You say you are an above average earner – and have purchased an ex council property in an estate. It seems you have no dependants and have benefited from lodgers. How then can you plead poverty? Rhetoric notwithstanding, I simply cannot fathom why you are under the impression that as a British citizen, you assume a superiority position and blame the foreigner. Do you even know that 80% of benefit scroungers are of the white, native variety? But continue to blame the Somali lady for your plight. Ignore the fact this country is bereft of tangible resources, minerals and produces nothing. Add to that a population full of drunks and depressed folk. There is your real problem, not the presence of a lady who has come here to give her kids a better chance in life. Move on and find a wife. Maybe even a Somali one.

The fact is when rates go up and they will, property will flood the market and the distressed sellers who have taken refuge behind cheap repayments, will be left out to dry. However, they will not reach 15% or even 8% as people here are dreaming. They will probably stutter towards 2-3 and hover there for a number of years. I think this will be enough to weed out those who have delayed selling and the many developers who have handed their properties to the local government to house the lazy. Those who have been prudent and practice sensible finances, avoid illogical borrowing, such as credit cards and loans, will survive. All others will struggle to cope and the country’s finances will be reset. As long as rates remain this low, no-one will be inclined to sell and the stand off between sellers and buyers will continue, save for a few cash buyers and rich folk who don't care either way, First time buyers are the driving force behind the upward movement of property prices. They remain in limited supply and will be squeezed out until one of the following takes place: Loan to Value rises to an average of 90% Wages increase by 10% Lending criteria is significantly eased. But no-one really knows. I always say if you can afford to buy, do so and if you cannot, don't. Stop waiting for prices to fall because no-one really knows if this will happen. If you are 35, with 1-2 children and are ready to buy, will you hold off for 3 years just to save 10k?

This is not the place for good news. On here, purchasing or doing something positive is received with contempt and viewed with the most severe scepticism. I would advise against seeking validation from people who, from my observations, are clearly depressed. Now, i do not mean everyone, but those who have cast a negative doubt over a person who has bought a home. Depressed and bitter folk congregate here and round on anyone trying to make a buck. Whilst this site is, at times, a very informative facility, it also harbours the most deluded and frankly, acidic humans in this country. Anti profit and sad.I call them finger-pointers. Soceity's worst. You’ve done well. You do not need me to tell you. Likewise, you could do without a sanctimonious fool who has trolled the sites in a dark rook for the past decade, all the while blaming the world for everything and anything, criticizing your business decisions. House process may fall. They also might rise. So what? People will always need somewhere to live. I say if you could afford to buy, do so. If not, then don’t. Let’s not over complicate matters. Why put your life on hold for 3 years in the hope that you might save 10k?

Why do you people always resort to insults no matter what? It’s easy to sling mud from the refuge of your dark, isolated room. Come up with something tangible-as soon as there is a dissenting viewpoint, you revert to type and to these tactics. That my comments have affected you to this degree is stunning. A sad, pointless existence you must lead.

Look, in all seriousness, perhaps not thousands but several hundred. You only need to evaluate what it people spend on a night out in the City centres. My two points are that you can find a good investment in London provided you do your research and secondly, that despite this recession, drink is vast money is still being spent of drink and eating out. I know someone who purchased a studio flat in West London, achieving 11.80% return.

If you do your research, and plan well, there is good money to be made from being both an investor and collecting a rental income. I know it's rare, but there are some studios in Greater London (west) that can be bought for less than 100k. Now, studios in West London can be let for between 650-750. This represents a good return and no-one can deny this. Sensible and prudent investment is necessary in everything, not just buying houses. People spend thousands eating out or drinking. Yet, they complain about houses prices being too much (which they are) but if you do the maths, the amount the average person spends on frivolous items such as alcohol, takeaway and gadgets, you could well be talking thousands a month. In any case, if house prices were to fall by another 30% as some people are seeking, then this will inevitably trigger another serious boom phase and they'll return once more to levels of 07. The question is: what will rise first, house prices or interest rates?

Look, it all depends on location and individual circumstances. If you purchase a flat in London for 75k and let it out for 700 a month, is this not a fantastic deal? But to let is potentially a brilliant investment but you must be careful. You should avoid interest only and voids. This is what will kill you. There are opportunities to buy and collect a handsome return but you must be patient and do your research. The key is rental return and not reliance on capital gains, ala the sorry Wilsons. If you’re prudent, are sensible with money and have an excellent credit score, you can find a deal at 85% LTV.

I very much agree with the comments about apportioning blame on the players as opposed to the rulers. And for those who believe the Wilsons are actually in overall negative equity, you are likely mistaken. Even if their net value is 2m, it makes them wealthier than most (probably all) people on this site.

Stop quoting me and come up with something credible. It’s either insults or hostility towards dissenting viewpoints on this site. Yes the Wilsons were driven by greed, but this is that is capitalism. People want to make money and do what they can, within the law, to succeed. Further, do you actually have evidence that ‘ families’ were priced out the market? Making silly statements and being indignant about two individuals you know very little about indicates a foul bitterness. I urge you to make a valid point

Debt isn’t wealth? They bought their homes in the early 90’s and 2000’s. Even if prices decline 50%, they will still have substantial equity. Let’s just be realistic and accept it. They are wealthy. One minute people are saying when inflation arrives, it will destroy the pound, yet the very same people will continue to pour scorn on those involved in property. If there are any people in this site who genuinely deny the Wilsons’ wealth, I for one will be stunned.

It makes no sense. How did the Wilson’s price local family out of the market? This is ridiculous.

It’s very easy to impugn people like the Wilson’s but how many people would turn down the opportunity to possess such wealth? Even the most conservative estimate makes them multi millionaires. There ought to be a balance in making views and less vitriol towards anyone who has made money from property. They were brave enough to deviate from their ‘comfortable’ lives as teachers and gamble everything. I do, however, find it insulting and indignant that he is denouncing flats as being for poor people and tenants. I found this odd given all his houses are tenanted. Further, he is deluded if he thinks prices fell in the middle of 08 and have since recovered to their pre-decline levels. This is simply untrue. In Kent, prices have fallen and have not made any real recovery. Ultimately, I would refrain from proclaiming any such persons who have made 100’s of millions as ‘think’ or ‘stupid’. We’d all swap bank accounts given the chance.

I am merely stating that the underlying factors that drive both economies are very distinctive. There is a massive service sector here. It’s finance based and as such, more susceptible to fluctuations. The Yen has been globally exploited for much of the past 15 years. Yes, sterling is due to take a beating, but I doubt it will ever be an international carry trade to the same extent. This needs to happen if we are to see 20 years of nominal stagnation (and real time declines). But please do not quote me, it’s pure conjecture on my part. No-one really knows.

No, people should dispel this myth that the prices here will mimic Japan. They are not obsessed by property. It’s only remotely linked to their economy. In this country, there will always be boom and bust in property. They produce things and we use those items, purchased with fiat currency. No similarities and no price stagnation for a generation.

I think your offer is reasonable, but in a stable market, this would go to sealed bids and you would be competing with about 10 other young families. I suspect you have exposed the fact that you do not want to lose the property and the Agent has detected this. If so, then you are no longer a buyer with leverage. If you want the property as a home, paying an additional 15k is worth it. What’s the point of saving that when your family’s future and stability is on the cards? Hoe it goes well.

I think people should live their lives and not be too concerned with where house prices are going. In general, prices rise for 10-14 years before a correction takes place for 2-3 years. I think there are members who have hovered and lurked for a 5 years for prices to collapse. Yes, they have declined, but why put your life on hold for that time to save money? It’s not worth being consumed by this cycle. There is more to life. There are people on this site who tend to live in this world where everything is negative and there is always a dark cloud loitering. It seems people are losing sight of what really matters. Just live and stop dawydreaming about an Armageddon.

It's not a good post because there is nothing in it that suggests the problems are all over. Though I do not think prices will crash by another 25% + as some people are professing, I do feel however, that by the middle of December 2010, prices will be lower than they are now. I've always said that the snake in the grass is interest rates. This will determine whether an already fragile owner turns from ‘reluctant landlords' who dig their heels in and let, to distressed landlords who HAVE to sell or have their units repossessed. Likewise the average home- owner occupier. Also, unless First time buyers re-enter, there will not be a healthy market. They will only enter when the correction is full and complete. Then, and only then, will banks deviate from their caution of modest LTV deals. At the moment, the UK housing industry is caught between a rock and hard place. Nothing spectacular is happening. Prices are not really falling significantly enough for serious activity and they are not increasing by any real amount to call a proper botton. It will probably be 18-24 months of a drawn out correction, before a new boom begins. This is how it has always worked in England. We will be here again in 15 years. This is the UK, where there is an over reliance on fiat currency and the service sector. People never learn.

I think any investment, if managed properly and diligently, can reap good benefits. Property however, offers long term stability. Say you spend 75k on a flat in London, and rent for 650 a month, you are getting more than 10% return annually. This would make a great investment. However, the problem in recent years has been the disparity between rent and purchase prices had reached a ridiculous margin. Professional and smart landlords (not always together) look at the margins. Over the last 5 years, any fool investor who entered the market was benefiting from capital gains. This then took precedence over the rental returns. You were seeing ‘investors’ purchase property with 2-3% returns. All good, whilst prices were going up. Problem when rents and prices were falling. Hence the correction we are now seeing. The real correction will not take place until rates rise, preferably before prices Now though, they are re-aligning and the profits are there to be made. The pretenders have been eliminated and only strategic, sensible and responsible landlords remain. These are the ones who make money and ensure a healthy market place.

I disagree with people saying prices will stagnate. Perhaps in real terms they might, but in nominal terms, in this property obsessed nation, prices will always go either up rapidly or crash. There is no point comparing the UK to Japan. Different culture, socio-economic values and sentiment towards property. And crucially, this contry's economic structure is contingent upon the withdrawal or excessive supply of fiat currency. In Japan, they make things. They may print money, but it makes little difference. They produce and sell to us and the Yanks. By 2015, UK propery prices will be inflated again. They will rise for probably 6-8 years before falling somewhat. Up or down. Boom or bust. This is the UK.

I do not think there’s too much wrong with the pricing. Perhaps given current market conditions, buyers can probably demand 20k off. However, to impugn the poster, who has come on this facility to seek advise, by suggesting a potential home on for ove 200k is worth 100k, is staggering. It’s ridiculous to make statements like this. This type of home represents 75% of the UK stock and you think it’s worth 50k, being the South of England? Some members on this site need a reality check. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sa...homes/property- This studio in Brentford West London is on for £200k. This is a genuine example of a rip off. I would pay about 95K at best. However, if you examine the sold prices for 2009, you will see they are selling for aproximately 160k. For a new build, this is too much, since there will be massive service charges associated with it. The lady's example is not a rip off.

Agents are like this. You simply cannot trust them., as a vendor or buyer. They are incredibly sly. I would simply make the offer you think is right. All properties eventually sell. Be careful not to be dragged into this world of buying and selling at the right time. The time is right when you can afford it.

I think a 20% decline is very unlikely. That would mean a 40% drop in a short time. I think perhaps another 8-12% at best, but probably another 5% south. Anything more is very optimistic. Is everyone on here looking to buy homes or investments?

right

It's not fair? Am i reading this right? Just because they made millions, it's not fair? Lord!