Bemmymate

I'm looking in 230k range and there are about 330 properties available. when i was looking last year there were about 200. I'd say prices have levelled and maybe dropped 5% or so but still not really selling. I'm also now seeing the odd house come up in that price range which I hadn't seen before though they need work and in not great areas but still a good sign. I'm gonna start making offers in march as I cant wait forever and I'm spending £750 a month to rent a room in a HMO so may aswell pay the mortgage at this point.

Some Smart meter facts for you all: Better tariffs for off peak hours, run appliances, charge cars or what is becoming more popular battery storage to charge at night and then be used in the day when usage is high on the grid. Feed in tariffs for solar so you can get paid without having to send your solar meter reading off. See what appliances actually cost to run as everybody's home are different and have different things from hot tubs to workshops to kettles and tv's. Balance energy on the grid so we don't produce more than is needed at any time. To change to keymeter's without someone coming to pick your lock and enter house to do so. This can only be done without permission if it's gone through court though many people opt for the switch to happen without it reaching that stage. Signal issues are improving though there are some cases where limited signal in the house stops meters connecting which could be meters in a basement, thick stone walls or blocks of flats. They run on the 2g network so as long as you have phone signal you should get a connection. There are trials going on now where an Ariel is put outside and ran back to the meter where possible. You can switch supplier and continue using your smart meter, there were issues with this years ago but it is now fixed. So you don't have to send readings off yourself, though some are fine to do this other prefer to not have to, some meters are not in easy to read places everyone has different capabilities and lifestyles and don't always want the hassle. To listen to what you're saying in the kitchen and explode when china commands.

Because they can't sell the latter at a profit after they've used it.

Yea I'm trying to google stuff now. She says she wants to rent the place out as one unit with a lead tenant but its set up as a hmo. all ensuites with 2 rooms upsairs with kitchenettes and the 2 rooms downstairs share the main kitchen. Also just looking to see what else is available to rent but there not much in Bristol. Maybe I just join the dark side and get a btl myself but live in it..

Im not sure tbh as we do have a contract that says bills are included in rent but I'm not sure how binding that really is.

This did not age well, less than 24hrs after writing this landlord messaged saying shes changing the house to rent only and someone will have to be allocated as lead tenant to handle the bills... FML

and I'm in Bristol/ mini london

I live in HMO and bills are included. Luckily I had a rent increase in Feb of only £25 and can only have a rent increase once a year so I'm safe until next feb. my housemate who moved in in march however has just had hers put up by £50 to £700 per month, £100 more than what I'm paying.

The Barrister didn't buy because the CT went up though, they would've bought regardless.

There's something like 750k second homes in the UK, I wonder how many homes we're actually short on to restore the status quo. Even if the second home owners changed them to BTL that would still be a win as the supply of properties to LIVE in becomes greater which would still help towards dropping prices. Cornwall could do with this coming in. I was looking at leaving Bristol for Cornwall but when I looked at flats to rent on Rightmove there were 47 flats available to rent in the whole of Cornwall across all price ranges. I don't think LLs are the enemy really, just the super LLs building huge blocks of flats to rent at stupid prices when they could rent them much cheaper and still turn a profit and also the ones who own more than a fair share, or the ones charging way over the odds for a place they bought years ago for 50p, or the rouge LLs....actually maybe LLs are the enemy 🤔 Also I don't think Airbnb are included in this as they come under business's so actually have a reduced rate of CT so imagine the extra properties that would become available if they were hit too. I think Airbnbs should be for spare bedrooms and alternative accommodation only (Yurts, converted sheds etc)

This is fantastic news!

sadly this is hard to believe while demand is so high. A 10% drop will only take us back to a year or so ago anyway. The only way for prices to drop to realistic levels is to increase supply. The easiest fix would be to ban second home ownership which would put an extra 700k+ properties back on the market while giving the housebuilders time to actually catch up. Putting pressure on LLs and residential home owners doesn't fix anything. I live in HMO and if my landlord decides to sell up there is not magically 4 new properties appearing to house me and the 3 other tenant's.

Is there anyway to read without paying?

Is that drop or rise in Bristol? I'm looking there, or waiting rather, few reductions but only on leaseholds really with high service charges or short lease's. I'm only looking in sub 200k listings and although a few have been up for a while theres still 1 beds with no gardens or balconys going for 170/180/190k. It wouldn't be as painful to spend somewhere in that price if they didn't come with £100 pm service charges. An identical flat that I pulled out of buying in lockdown, after waiting 8 months since offer being accepted mind, just went stc with a asking price of +7% on what I was gonna pay. was up for 2 weeks so can't imagine it was knocked down much on price. Bit of a gutter but after lockdown I wanted something with a garden anyway, or at least a 2 bed. On the other hand, the EA that I pulled out on rang me few days back asking if I was still looking and when I said I'd be waiting until next year they sounded very down hearted and said thats what most FTBs seem to be doing. Think they're having problems with the start of the chain maybe but who knows. Bristols a mini london nowadays with daft prices that people seem to be going along with. Also one of my customers at work today said they had just moved in before lockdown, same area I'm looking to buy, and had paid 320k for a 2up2down terrace. Madness.

My deposit is not all of a sudden gonna be worth way less next year that could only afford me some chocolate bars. I never even think about the interest on saving accounts because it is so small, I just think of it as I'm saving in a piggy bank, the interest on savings doesn't come into it because it thats small, sure 1-2% interest on the total cost of a house is worth thinking about when you've got to pay it off buy 1-2% interest on a deposit thats being saved isn't worth much thought at all really.

So whats happening, are house prices crashing or are they gonna tripple and saving will be worthless? Some of you are suggesting that because interest rates have now dropped that people will pull their money out altogether because they're loosing 1-2% interest until rates rise again in a year or 2 even if you've got 100k in savings which most probably have not, that's a very small loss in the grand scheme of things to then have to go through all the hassle of looking for an investment equal to it. Apart from the very savvy investor who is confident at playing the stock market surely most people will just accept interest rates are low for now but carry on as normal and then be happy when they rise again.

I'm maybe 4/5 months off my 20% deposit for what I can borrow and I'm so bloody confused lol

Are you saying you don't want cash in the bank or cash in the market? If a HPC does happen then cash in the bank and a secure job to borrow with would be a good position would it not?

But then you've got to plan to eat ice cream on your walk and take the ice cream with you and eat it before it melts. Theres always a way to save money but sometimes it takes the fun and enjoyment out of life.

yea I'll have a look

Ah okay I'm with you. Any recommendations for those or is that more hush hush?

What do you mean by royalty company?

Ah yea, I was just listening to someone else suggest mining shares. Got any suggested websites/forums I could look at to get a better understanding in that? I know theres risk in property as much as anything else but my first goal is to get a place to live before it is to try and become rich but I hear what you're saying. I saw that silver topped at £29 a oz in the last recession for quite a short period too before it came back down so if it was at £20 now with the vat taking my break even sell price to be £24/25 I'd need it to be hitting that high again to be making a 20ish% gain on the investment. I suppose that was a 2011 price so there would be some added inflation now that could maybe push to £30 but even so. I'm not trying to be a smart ass here just more a devils advocate for my own learning and benefit.

So it really is a long term investment or buy at the very beginning of a recession. Was gonna look for a place to put my deposit for another 6 months now to see how the market went before buying but sounds like 6 months wouldn't be enough as the big jump in silver has already happened and the risk factor of dipping over the next 6 months would be much higher now than if I'd bought 4/5 months ago.

okay the spot price is higher than the price I see on graphs then? so its around £20 a oz now does that mean the spot price is £25? where would I go to sell it at that price and make a profit?