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Prof

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  1. All that needs to be changed in this post is that "I earn good money" should be "I earn reasonable money" and "i have also paid into a pension since I was 18", I started late, at the age of 20. If these alterations were made, it would be identical to a post that I could have written. Sam, you are not alone, but sadly, people like us seem to be the minority in 21st centruy (not so Great) Britain. If there is one crumb of comfort, I`d like to think that those of us who haven`t taken on loads of debt will be able to sleep a little easier if there is a crash in the housing market, or a slowdown in the economy. As far as those in serious debt being able to walk away is concerned, a few will be able to do that, but I`m sure that the lenders will start getting a little less "generous" if they start losing too much money by people going bankrupt.
  2. Good news for those who have had their houses for sale for over 12 months, and still haven`t sold. If they stay on sale for another 12 months, they`ll get even more money when they finally sell ! Also, the BOE had better lower interest rates pretty quickly, or the punters won`t be able to afford the mortgages for the 15% more expensive properties. We`re all going to be so rich !!!!!!
  3. Eric Pebble`s post is spot on. The "big boys" are controlling the market, to their advantage. A small proportion of the population of this country are making money out of HPI. However, it`s the normal "working man" that is, or will be the loser. Unfortunately, a lot of "working men" have been conned into thinking that HPI is a good thing, and play the game. It will be too late for many, when they finally realise what`s been going on. Happy 2007 (the year of the crash ?) everyone !
  4. Maybe this is a sign that Prosche/BMW drivers are the only ones who can afford to buy a house in that street. I have noticed that in certain areas, the quality of vehicles parked outside houses has increased in the past few years. I think it`s a mixture of MEWing and better of people having to join the "housing ladder" on a lower rung. When I moved into my very modest property about 12 years ago, I could have bought a BMW 7 series (just about) or the house. If I were buying my house now, I could decide to buy 2 x BMW 7 series instead !
  5. MEWing - spending tomorrow`s wages today. MEWing is for the impatient. It`s also risky, what if you stop earning ? My method ? Spend some of what I`ve earned, not most of what I might earn. As a general rule, it`s cheaper to save up and buy that flat TV, than use borrowed money.
  6. It will be interesting to see what happens, in the event of a crash. We are constantly told that there is a shortage of property in the UK, and this is part of the reason that HPI continues. Is this shortage caused by greed, or is it a genuine shortage ? If it`s a genuine shortage, I`m sure that builders will remain busy (but not make such large profits). If the shortage is being caused by investors buying up anything made from bricks and mortar, then the construction industry may well suffer.
  7. I sort of get your point, but surely, the family wanting to move to a larger house would find it cheaper if their own house, and the house they are buying had not increased in value over the past few years. It`s the old argument that the step up the "ladder" would not be such a large one. I`m not suggesting that house prices should not increase, but HPI closer to the normal rate of inflation or wage rises would be more acceptable (to me, but not to those who want to make a fat profit). Simple equation : Smaller mortgage payments = more money to spend on other things.
  8. From that article - "lots of families have seen their wealth increase dramatically in recent years as the value of their home soared." Here lies the problem, IMO. Families, who have one house that they live in, are no wealthier today than they were 5 years ago, due to the increase in their house value. The only way they would be wealthier (money to spend), is if they MEW`d, and even then, they`d have a larger debt to pay back. If a family`s home drops 20% in value over the next 12 months, they have nothing to worry about, as long as they can pay the motgage. This is the illusion that many people in this country have fallen for, they think they are richer because their house has increased in value. The treasury, EAs, BTLers and lenders are arguably the main beneficiaries of this housing boom. The sooner that more of the public realise this, the sooner we`ll see some common sense return to the UK housing market. In fact, I think that the UK`s long term economic prospects would improve if our houses were cheaper.
  9. I`m sure that many prospective first time buyers will not think it`s "damaging". And there would be no "damage" if we hadn`t had the last few years of madness.
  10. IO Mortgages - just another desparate measure by the banks to keep HPI on the boil. I wonder what they`ll come up with once IO mortgages are too expensive for people to afford to buy a house ? I don`t expect the housing market will reach that point, the brown and sticky will have impacted upon the rotational cooling device, and we should hopefully go back to sensible repayment mortagages. I`ll stick with my offset, repayment mortgage, thank you very much. Interest rate rises ? Bring them on !
  11. I know, every time Haliwide tell us that prices are up again, with a smile on their face, I`m amazed that they have the cheek to try and imply that all is well. Miss Early has just been on Sky again (with a grin on her face. OK, not a grin, but a little smile, knowing that Nationwide are making record profits out mortgage lending) - "There are some sound fundamentals why house have increased really for over this period. And one of those is the really low levels of interest rates that we`ve had. So just like lots of other things that you can buy, if the price is cheaper, then you`ll do a little bit more of it. And people have been borrowing more, and being able to get onto that housing ladder, that they wouldn`t have been able to do otherwise". SOUND fundamentals ? I`ve got it all wrong, everything is OK !!!! Great ! Of course Miss Earley, the price is cheaper, so let`s all go and buy a house, or move to a bigger place, as it`s cheaper !! Oh, BTW Miss Earley, I`d like to know what rate of interest you are paying on your mortgage, if you have one. I`m pretty sure that bank and building society employees get a decent discount, especially those near the top. Speaking for myself, if things are cheaper, I don`t "do a little more of it", I just buy what I want or need, I don`t go and buy stuff just because it seems cheap. This leaves me with a bit of money in the bank, so when I do need something, I don`t have to go into debt, and line the pockets of the lenders (like Nationwide, for example).
  12. Great post Bearfacts ! Especially what you said about a house being just a pile of cheap materials put together by semi-skilled tradesmen. Of course, some see a house as being a huge pile of money, that just keeps growing (at the moment).
  13. Yes, they should be lined up against a wall of the property they own. Just before they`re shot, the deeds of the property should be handed over to their tennants, or a young couple who are struggling afford their first home. That`s justice !
  14. If you have no mortgage, or a lot of equity in your property, not a bad investment. Any investment is only a good investment if you cash it in. I pay into a couple of stock market funds, they have increased around 10% over the past 12 months, and are easy and virtually free to sell. Can the same be said of a property ? I live in my house, I invest in the stock market.
  15. I heard Miss Earley on Sky News. She mentioned solid foundations and the banks increasing lending. Apparently, according to Nationwide, average houses prices rose 1.2% in December. It`s getting a bit silly now, IMO. If prospective buyers actually thought about what they were doing, and weren`t "brainwashed" by the smiling "experts" on the TV, most would probably not go ahead and resign themselves to 25 years of paying a large mortgage. The reason a lot of people do go ahead and take on huge debt is the "promise" of more price increases (by smiling "experts"), and the worry of "missing out". And that just about sums up the situation at the moment. Us bears believe that prices are too high, and are not willing to pay 1.2% more for a house than we would have done last month, or 10% more than last year, or twice more than about 5 years ago. I`d rather have some money to spend on things I want/need, rather than paying over the odds for a pile of bricks and mortar.
  16. Good point. And I expect that the government will soon be issuing vouchers to benefit claimants for free copies of their newsletter, I mean The Sun.
  17. I won`t bore you with the technical pros and cons of digital TV reception, but I agree that 600 million seems a lot. It seems that this could be another case of giving financial assistance to those who "can`t afford" the upgrade to digital TV. It is a shame for those that have to sit at home and watch TV for most of the day, the fags and booze that they have to buy are expensive, and they couldn`t possibly afford a new aerial/set top box with their benefits. What an excellent idea, get other license fee payers to help them out. Afterall, if the unemployed can`t afford to watch TV, how are New Labour going to communicate with their voters ?
  18. "Set top boxes" may be relatively cheap, but a decent aerial is often required to get decent quality pictures. Maybe some of the 600 million is going to be put towards aerial upgrades. I install aerials for a living, which involves a fair amount of working on rooftops. Any "odd job" men care to assist me ? I`m very busy at the moment.
  19. It could be dangerous for the government to get civil servants to teach shoppers basic mathematics. If they are succesful, the shoppers will suddenly realise how much financial sh*t they are in, and stop spending !
  20. Dell do some pretty decent PCs. I used to build the odd machine or two for friends/customers. Now I just point them in the direction of Dell. I`ve setup a couple of Dell systems and they seem quite decent. On the subject of "special offers", it`s the oldest trick in the book. Advertise some "special deal" to get the punters through the door, only to tell them "we`ve just sold the last one, but we have this one for just a few quid more". New Year sales ? - I`m not getting involved.
  21. Don`t worry, the retailers will be OK. As I stated in another thread, earlier today I heard a reporter on sky news ask a retail worker, just before the start of the boxing day sales, "how are you going to cope with the onslaught ?". An onslaught, eh ? Blimey, those retail workers better get some body armour on, it could get nasty !
  22. I think I heard a reporter on Sky ask a retail worker "how are you going to cope with the onslaught" !! Oooh, if there`s going to be an onslaught, I`d better get myself down to the shopping centre before everything runs out ! When will retailers and the media realise that sometimes, we consumers might not want to spend more than we did last week/month/year ? And if we don`t spend quite so much, is it really a disaster ?
  23. I had double glazing (locked), didn`t stop my them wrenching the window open and breaking into my place a few weeks ago. A few "enhancements" have been made to my alarm system, as the one that went off during the last break in was not enough to stop them from "helping themselves". I`ve added extra locks to all the windows, feels like i`m in prison !
  24. Sky News have just reported on the increase in crime, and the need for more prisons. Now they`re talking about problems with debt and a slowing economy. Suddenly, what most of the people on this forum have been predicting for the past year or two, seems to be starting to be recognised by the media. Absolutely typical of the government and media in this country, allow things to go wrong, then try to put them right, rather than prevent things from going pear-shaped in the first place. Happy New year, UK.
  25. House builders, mortgage lenders, estate agents, I predict most will be making record profits. Where do these record profits come from ? Housebuyers, that`s where. So, the builders, lenders and selling agents are making stacks of cash and the treasury are taking huge amounts of stamp duty and inheritance tax. People who are buying property are supposed to making a good investment, everyone`s a winner !!!!!
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