janch

This is also my favourite thread at the moment along with Damik's Prime London crashing. I look most days so as to boost my spirits

Excellent post

So the idea of getting people to put money into pensions is so that they have enough income in retirement to carry on paying their mortgage. Up til now most people who bought had paid off their mortgage by the time they retired but those who rented had to carry on paying rent until they popped their clogs. So there will be a drastic drop in people taking cruises etc. Don't bother buying shares in these companies. Everyone will be working flat out until they drop.

re Whosaidthat I've seen this before too. I think it may be when an EA closes and moves all its stock to another agent (sometimes another branch of the same company). The stock includes all the properties on it's books ie newly listed SSTC etc. I could well be wrong but that's how I've explained it to myself. Be interested to see what response you get. If EA offices are closing it's a sign things aren't too good so good for HPC

I sold in 2006 and moved back to England (from Wales). Moved to a smaller house and banked the rest some of which I lived off for a few years until my pension. I hope I never have to work in a s***** job again. If/when prices fall I will be overjoyed as people with families are priced out at the moment and really struggling. My reasoning is/was: I would rather own than rent as I would be more in control of my own destiny and by buying a smaller place I would not have all my "wealth" in one asset class ie property. When I sold up the cash I released was earning a decent amount of interest but not any longer (sad face). However it was the best thing I ever did and I was so relieved to be off the treadmill. I realise how lucky I was to be able to do this and to be financially independent. I have a very low income but have never been happier/more content now my time is my own.

"it's a perfect example of how right to buy properties end up as BtLs." +1 Incredible! Good on the DM for rooting out such stories. As one of the comments underneath she must have no moral compass at all. She must have known how this would be seen by the general public when she stood as an MP.

Haa! Any leveraged portfolio LL reading this should get their skates on with putting their properties up for sale. Any HPCs wanting to buy their first home may want to haggle hard to get a "bargain" after years of waiting. Most ex BTLs are easy to recognise in my experience and just need a little tlc to bring them up to scratch.

When the system "blows" it won't just be property which takes a dive. How about equities/fine art/classic cars/diamonds etc etc. A lot of the mega-rich will lose spectacularly whist us plebs with nothing much to lose will be relatively OK unless you have a lot of debt.

"This would seem to support the idea that buy-to-let investors are not a reliable group on which to base a market, because compared to other market participants (most notably first time buyers) they tend to be overly enthusiastic during booms and decidedly unreliable during busts. It's very interesting to me that I came to this paper by way of HM Treasury and The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee, as it's clearly part of the matrix of fact against which Government policy towards buy-to-let is being formed." Indeed! It's good to see policy is being set with regard to previous experiments in a similar country. Of course there are a lot of differences between the Irish economy and the UK but at least any obvious mistakes can be averted by looking at previous experience. I'm impressed with your diligence in rooting out this research

But it's more than a hobby for him...he admits (saw a quote somewhere from him) it's an addiction. He may need treatment (in the Priory maybe) if there is any profit to spend when this is all over.

I don't think many builders question traditional building methods. It probably doesn't even enter their heads as bricks are what they've always used. Buyers and banks/mortgage lenders have the same conservative viewpoint and worry that anything a bit different won't sell. I would probably buy a new-build with in-built solar panels as standard for instance but I bet it will be years yet before that becomes mainstream.

Your last 2 graphs say it all....BTL fell sharply and FTB went up from 2008 ie desired result Well played ROI.

I don't think I'd wait too long to put your plan into action if I were in your shoes as I think it's a question of when not if the whole thing blows and it may be sooner than you think Hopefully....

They don't do anything useful as far as I can see so won't be missed if they fall down a rabbit hole.

The Chilcot report will come out (finally) around Easter time perhaps and Tony Blair will be put on trial for war crimes......sorry the last part is pure fantasy.... Property and other assets will tank especially at the top end

" .... what about the russian/chinese investors with 10s or 100s of millions? They're not going to be phoning around EAs one property at a time, they'll have a person or team who does it for them, and presents back with a list of options. Surely to god this "agent" will be asked about likely returns and state of the market.... and will need to have their finger on the pulse?" I wonder if Fat Fergus considered this option or if he's selling off his Ashfield portfolio/empire piecemeal through EAs and auctions. He's such a pro

"I suppose Putin could up the ante and annex part of the Ukraine in payment." Shhh.....don't put ideas into his head (in case he reads HPC!)

Why don't you rent for a while to get a feel of the place before committing your hard-earned cash to a house in what might be an area you might not like.?......alternatively write to Kirsty and Phil to find a place for you. In the meantime there might be a mega HPC with any luck and your dream home will be that bit cheaper.

I'd be pleased as savings rates might go up too

I got a quote for the annuity and did a quick calculation to see that it would take me about 17 years at the rate they quoted before I would be in profit ie getting more than I'd paid in. I didn't allow for inflation so it was only quite rough but I thought that was a good deal. I've had 4 payments already so only another 13 to go before profit. It's a very small annuity so I don't pay any tax but I reckon I should be quids in in the end. I'm determined to beat them (banks/insurance company/government) at their own game.

The only defence the middle class/working working class have is to learn to be frugal and live on much less.The first part of that is understanding bidding house prices up and debt is the main prop the government use to keep them at the coalface. +100%

Reading's no good. Houses are still way too expensive. Go a bit further and it's Swindon or Chippenham. Swindon already has some financial services (Zurich) and according to some Chippenham is a "hidden gem". Both on the direct line to Paddington. I worked for several years in Brunel House right beside Cardiff station and people who lived in the valleys got there a lot quicker than me from the other side of Cardiff because of the congestion and lack of parking. Train was a lot quicker.

Well done on timing the market twice London is falling and you are sooooo lucky to have ridden the wave. I've a feeling there are quite a few looking to leave London and cash in their chips by moving away; maybe not as far as Devon but within commuting distance if they're still working there. Wish I'd managed to do the same. My basic mistake was never buying in London in the first place. Who would have thought in the 70s when there was so much housing in dire condition that if you did up a house in London you'd be sitting on megabucks by now? In spite of following the market for some time I seem to get it wrong but it really shouln't be a market as we all know on here. Decent housing is a basic necessity.

Quick.......show this to the people in Cumbria who were flooded this week. I'd certainly add to my criteria "not on a flood plain" if I were looking to buy a house but I don't need a consultant to tell me.

I want a citizen's income.......oh hang on there is one already but the catch is you have to wait til you're 60 something to get it. Maybe they could lower the age a little to 30 something. That would be great