SueDeNimm

Afraid I disagree...entirely possible that he paid a fortune given that late fees/charges etc would have been slapped on at an incredible rate. We just don't know. I read the whole point of the article as 'don't do something as serious as this off the back of an advert' Hey, I don't need telling that.....but I guess there are plently who do.

Don't forget Childcare! Further into the red.

Here's a real life anecdotal. The DWP is creating a new personnel database. This is for its own internal systems and will not affect non-employees of the DWP. Original budget £20m. Currently running at £160m and not finished. The staff are milking it for all its worth - overtime at time and a half etc. The budget paid for several christmas parties and bottles of wine and chocs for everyone working on it. The majority of the money is going to the consulting firm. The thing that really riles me, is, no-one is accountable. If someone at my firm forecasted spending at £20m and then exceeded it, they would not get near £160m before being dismissed for incompetence.

Ok I've emailed them requesting a comments section. Pointing out the fact that 4 months ago she was brown-nosing her IFA and suggesting people don't have much sympathy for someone struggling with BTL's and taking our large personal loans to fund a business. Maybe their next blog could be "My landlady defaulted on the mortgage and I'm going to be chucked out". Now that I would empathise with.

I'm confused by this. A girl I know moved in with a boyfriend, a year later she cheated on him, he threw her out, and she successfully got cash for half the amount the house price had increased while she was living there (paying half the mortgage). She moved in with the guy she had cheated with and a year later did exactly same again. Successfully got cash. How come she did this if the law hadn't been made yet? Or was it just that she got cash for the increase- rather than 50% of the whole quity?

Of course it is still his fault. Do you feel sorry for people who are claiming incapacity benefit yet working who get caught? The system let them get away with it until they were reported. I would report him asap to the revenue, the police and anyone else who would listen!!

I assume you are not interested in a quick reminder of why there's never been a worse time in history to be buying a house? No, didn't think so. Just like all those 'forced sellers' that we gleefully anticipate, there are bound to be some 'forced buyers' too. Just think of all the 'told you so''s that you have in store... Um off top of head... Why are you looking to move? / Have you lived here long? Have you done any DIY 'improvements' to the house yourself? How old is the boiler/central heating system? Has it been regularly serviced? Has the house been rewired? How much are the utility bills? There's probably loads more. DO check on the exterior of the house, the quality of the maintenance and paintwork. If the exterior has been well maintained chances are the interior has too. Look for evenness of floors/ceilings. Do your research like a demon. Go in hideously under offer. Well as much as you can without being served divorce papers. Find a house that's been on the market ages and not shifted. Being a (potential) FTB mean no chain, use this when negotiating in your favour.

If IRs are reduced then borrowing becomes even more attractive! If you're of that mindset anyway. Maybe huge IRs would stop people borrowing but not the other way round. How long til the next announcement?!

Steve is right, get to grips with what is happening on your very own doorstep. Watch it like a hawk. Also don't believe everything you read! I'm turning schizophrenic and having arguments with myself. This situation plays on my mind, its not good. I firmly 100% believe that 5 years from now it will be possible to pick up a dream home for 3.5 times salary compared to what I'd get now for much more. But can I come to terms with renting for that amount of time? Can I buggery. I turned 33 on Sat and I just want to put down some roots. I'd like to get a dog....I'd like to get a bit arty with the old interior dec, I'd like some privacy sometimes.....etc etc...... I just want a bloody house that's all.

Shouldn't they be putting that lovely £200 a month "profit" into an investment vehicle to actually pay for the property once the interest-only mortgage expires? Or perhaps into a fund for when the boiler blows up and the tenants start revolting!

I drove past that very house the other day, my OH commented on the for sale board to which I said "they won't get much for that, they've put the windows in upside down". Can't wait to see what its actually gone for.

People. Advice/opinions requested. Please feel free to speak your mind, I shan't be offended. If you were to make an offer on a property, what kind of % would you be knocking off the asking price at the moment as your initial offer? I'm thinking property advertised at £170k start at £130K? 76% ish? In my town there are only a handful of properties I'd be looking at - what happens if I get a reputation for taking the p*ss? Or, would that be not taking the p*ss enough. Should it be further down. This is Fylde coast area BTW.

Nope every time I'm tempted (read: various VIs try to give me THE FEAR) I just think what a mug I'd feel paying £800 every month for a mortgage when if I wait a couple years I could have the same house for £600 a month! Rather use that £200/month to get a sporty little convertible I do understand some people are not in a position to wait tho.

Welcome to the site. I'm not worried about these BTL landlords myself. When their "portfolio" is worth less than the amounts they owe on interest-only mortgages, we will see a satisfying correction. Don't gamble what you can't afford to lose, people. There's no such thing as a guaranteed winner.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Action: its £355k Reaction: hahahahahahahahahahaha

"Happiness is making the best of everything, not having the best of everything" (There's your hallmark card moment for today.) Unfortunately for lots of us in the UK atm, making the best of everything means accepting that we ain't gonna own our own place any time soon. Currently I am doing the right thing and saving - but once before I got so f*cked off with the state of this country that I took off and didn't come back for 2 years. When I came back I had to start again. I'm saving again. Maybe nothing will change and I might just be off again. My escape is getting on a plane and seeing where I go....others is 10 pints down the Bull&Poacher and a kebab and a fight on the way home.......but we're all escaping from the same thing. No future.

Hi there. I appreciate your quandary and think you are far more open minded than most to re-evaluate your decision in the light of new information. Whether you decide to go ahead or pull out your decision will be well-informed and you should then be happy with it whatever happens. Now for some practical advice. Check out rightmove.co.uk and see if you can find out what the purchase price was for the house if it changed hands quite recently, or others in the same street with similar specs. That should give you some clues. Also think what would happen if you continued to rent, how long would it take you to replace the money spent so far and could you indeed add to your deposit in a year and re-evaluate this time next year?

There's a static dormahome thingy for sale in my village for more than double that! http://search.estate-software.co.uk/(fvrcv...rtyID=464172083 The world's gone mad I tell you. Epicentre 11 Downing St. Regarding these crap ex-council homes now "worth" over £100k - I'd rather poke my own eye out with a stick. Unfortunately there ARE still a small handful of FTB out there who will take on second jobs, repayment only mortgages and parents' MEW to Live The Dream. Those of us who are single, no rich parents for our first deposit, too financially savvy to take on a 25 year debt and think about only paying the interest - and only have our measley >£30k a year in the northwest to fund ourselves with can't even afford an effing ex-council house in a crap area. The sooner the situation is redressed the better - if there is no real change by this time next year I'm emigrating. Seriously.

Done The most telling question was "do you have a property for sale?" Aye as if! cue contact from millions of EAs - VI site for sure

No need to apologise for the language I find myself getting quite, erm, animated myself when discussing this. I quite agree with the sentiment that the majority of people will believe what Kirsty and Phil (or whatever they are called) tell them, as opposed to what they can see with their own eyes. Its going on right under everyone's noses and its time to wake up and smell the s**t, to put it bluntly. Now that bad news is filtering through from the high street etc and actually making it onto TV and in the papers, perhaps people will believe it. Cheers for the comp also, I quite like the name myself

Hello, first post here, been reading a while. Thought you might find this interesting, this is actually happening at the moment. Location NorthWest Person 1: £10k deposit, literally all of life savings. Has taken a second job to be able to buy a not-great 2 up, 2 down terrace house in a poor area, offered almost full asking price. Mortgaged to the max taking into account salaries from both jobs but will need also income from lodger for at least 6 months whilst she furnishes the house etc, as mortgage payments are going to be aprox 50% of take home pay. From both jobs. Gets keys tomorrow. Person 2: has salary of 2 times person 1. Is said lodger @ £250 per month all in incl. bills. Whacks difference between measly rent and potential possible large mortgage payment each month into savings account. Which one do you think I am? I have tried over the last few months with no success to speak to person 1 about the sense of being a FTB right now. Would it really be so bad to rent for another year and see what happens to prices/inflation/interest rates/properties available? But no, the VIs have done an excellent job on her and she firmly believes that prices will rise ad infinitum and therefore will be completely unaffordable this time next year, given the extent to which she has had to stretch herself right now. I have no knowledge of economics, the FTSE, sterling and dollar fluctuations, I only heard of peak oil when I came here. BUT, I do have commonsense and logic, and to me she's made probably the worst mistake of her financial life. How any VI can dare say that its a good time for FTBs makes my blood boil. Why should I, a professional 32 years old woman, have to 'club together with 2 or 3 others in my situation' to get on the housing ladder?' Its insulting. Sure, if my partner and I combined our savings and incomes we could afford a lovely house, but fortunately he thinks the same way as me. The Great Housing Crash, Why It Is Inevitable, Debt and The High Street, and Did You Know That If Local Prices Continue To Rise At The Same Rate You Will Need £1M To Buy An Ex-Council House In My Village In 8 Yrs, are things I enjoy discussing with my peers. Not to mention the Spot Who's Been Paying Their Mortgage With Their Credit Card game. However, with all this logic, some individuals still persist in believing that prices will continue to increase, forever. And we just have to sit tight and wait until all those individuals have thrown their money away. Thank goodness for this site and I will continue to direct any interested parties/converts to have a look here. Hello all.