twatmangle

As you've taken the time and effort to accuse me of being a VI on several occasions, please could you specify where my particular VI lies? p.s I don't hate it, I couldn't give a f*** to be honest.

Why specifically young people? Any why must they?

Well, you're obviously not Bruce Banner are you? He can change the laws of physics as well. Anyway, renting is fabulous, just ask all the happy renters on here.

Yes they are, regardless. That's 2 sets of moving costs, plus the upheaval of moving twice within 6 months. Have you ever moved house? I bet you still live with your mum and dad. If so, you are ill-placed to give advice. Leave it for the grown-ups.

Changing the subject slightly...... This question didn't really warrant an new topic. Does anyone know the easiest/cheapest way to buy a small number of shares in an overseas company? I don't want to end up with excessive fees, or have to go there in person, in order to buy a handful of shares. Thanks

As soon as I can I will. I'm currently at a departure gate, so wait a few days and I'll get them to you.

I can show you examples of identical houses selling for 22% more than 1 year ago. I can also show you them selling for greater than asking price. PM me if you want details.

OK forget the fact that you seem to be relishing the fact that your friend is having severe financial problems. How about the many people who did buy and could sell for 20% above what they paid 18 months ago or even 12 months ago? What message do you have for them?

To save everybody the effort...

If I had a pound.....

It's scaleable You don't need a fixed mortgage for 5 years. Yes it is. You've lived in it for those years.

Quick scenario. You borrow 100k, at 7% over 25 years = £707 in mortgage costs. At 1.5%, mortgage is £400. Overpay by £307 (to match the original 7% costs), within 4 years you will have paid 30% of your mortgage. A 30% cushion against falls. c.f paying >20k in rent in those same 4 years, or living with your mum and dad for 4 years.

Not if you overpay, which the OP said he was doing. You could take the low IR circumstances to massively overpay your mortgage, so when rates go up, you've got a much smaller mortgage. Spend some time here: http://www.drcalculator.com/mortgage/ Especially the overpayments part. Try a few scenarios.... say you have a mortgage at 7%, then it dropped to 1.5%. But you carried on paying the 7% payment every month. Do that for say, 4 years (2007-11), then see how much it has affected your mortgage. Now add in 4 years of rental costs as well. See how it comes out. We all have our own scenarios, and we all have our own circumstances. There's no generic answer to whether you should rent or buy, it's down to personal circumstances. Some people are quite happy to take a loss on the house. I know of three people who are in the process of buying, or have bought recently. They are not stupid, nor are they sheeple, (I am very confident one of them reads this site). They are aware of the current situation, and I've politely spoken to them about waiting a year before buying, but they all say that they've factored in everything and on balance, they are going ahead. It's not always about the money.

I'd love IRs to rise. I'd get more income on my savings- however I don't see it happening for a while. What would the result be? FTBers would be even more priced out based on affordability and rents would go up. What's the point of 20% price drops, if you can't afford the mortgage on the new price. p.s What makes you think the OP is: worried over-leveraged over-bought a fool?

I agree about the there being some falls, but not your analysis. I don't think that many people will be in Neg Eq as you think based on your numbers. Don't forget that as time goes by, people will be reducing the size or their mortgage, and combining this with a 10% or 20% deposit will give most some sort of buffer. At 5% interest, with a 10% deposit After 5 years you have a mortgage >20% less than purchase price. After 7 years you have a mortgage >25% less than purchase price. At 5% interest, with a 20% deposit After 5 years you have a mortgage >29% less than purchase price. After 7 years you have a mortgage >33% less than purchase price. Although everyone one here bangs on about NR, IO, 125%, 6x etc, the reality is that most people have repayment mortgages and are plodding along with repayments which will increase their buffer each month.

Oh, you're in Maidstone?

25% within 5 years? In 2009 you had 25% in 12 months! If that's your goal, then you missed the chance last year. Think 40%.

I don't agree that it's definitely to do with expectations of falling prices - half the people on here seem to think that banks are deliberately engineering a situation to take people's homes at rock bottom prices etc, and so this is counter to this hypothesis. Lots of reasons why banks won't lend. Expectations of falling prices. Expectations of increased unemployment. Expectations of increasing inflation and having their returns being diminished in real terms. Maybe the banks just haven't got the money to lend. Maybe people just don't have the deposit. Maybe the banks are funding other opportunities with a greater return? In BRICs?

I don't understand I/O. You are admitting that you can't afford the house before you've even bought it. (OK maybe for BTL it makes some sense)

Not going to affect that many people. You must have a mortgage of over 25 years, and a LTV of >75% and have no repayment vehicle in place to be affected by this. (That's the way I read it, and it is a little ambiguous, maybe the devil is in the detail. Presumably it is only for new mortgage applications, not existing ones etc.??)

This is in Birmingham?

Yes, and now you're going to be forced at gun-point into a working party to go up on the roof in the thunderstorm to fix the roof, and maybe adjust the aerial whilst you're there.

No I didn't you bell-end. I am angry that we didn't get a [major] crash and I've been lumbered with the debts of others, higher taxes and a less secure future. This is what I think and is exactly what I wrote. What's so controversial about that???!!

and your point is?

You all wanted a house price crash, but all you got was higher taxes, someone else's debt, and a higher chance of losing your job. Yay! :angry: