StuffIT

scarlets79 ... I think you will find it difficult finding a rental property that would be that flexible. Have you considered renting a room from a similar positioned home owner, you could cut a good deal as you wouldnt be there of a weekend ... just a thought .. you sound like you would be someones pefect lodger. Can't tell you much about rents in Liverpool .. but I have been looking recently .. as im moving back up and will rent before I buy again. My priority list: * As few a number of scallies as possible in local vacinity (a task that gets more and more difficult as the days go by) * Open Space - being able to find safe open local space - with wildlife (note: a crackhead does not mean "wildlife in this context); * Decent local pubs and transport links. I dont know south liverpool well, but for open space you can't be the north liverpool shoreline of waterloo/crosby, lots of rental property in that area .. but some not cheap. I guess the sefton park areas might be worth a butchers also.

Yeah but Bath is different from most of the UK. The centre is beautiful, one of the prettiest in the UK - hence all the tourists. If ya wanna live there then you will have to pay - decent rail links to bristol/reading/london will cause that. However the road network getting in and out of bath is pants. Why not chippenham for example ? Cheaper than bath and 13 mins by train ? But no .. you wanna buy in Bath ? Well ya probably wont ever be able to .. so move on. Or why not Twerton ? Of course not .. so move somewhere else like most folk have to !

I moved away from liverpool 10 years ago, but ive kept a check on house prices over those years. Ive been amazed at the increases in the last 6 years, they are as far as I can tell - simply over inflated. There's not alot of professional work in the area and the "scally problem" simply gets worse. Property is now cheaper on the "Wirral" which was always considered "posher" than the 'Pool. An area I know well is Waterloo in north liverpool, its now being marketed by some EAs as "Brighton Le Sands" as they try and squeeze every last drop out of the place. I can understand house price inflation in london and areas of the south east commutible to london and the M4 corridor - simply because their is work there and hence more people wanting to live there. There is not the same level of work in liverpool. New jobs being created are for supermarkets and drive-thru KFCs .. hence in my opinion the house prices are much more unsustainable. Im from the city and can see its potential .. but too many scroungers pull the city down and try to out scally each other - shame as its got alot of good points. To summ up - I would not buy in Liverpool at present, an area in the north of city "Crosby" is simply a normal suburb of any city - with a semi going for 210k and the average salary (although I see very few jobs advertised for this amount) being 26k then you can see the problem.

I might sound like a complete tosspot now .. but ive often thought ..why do they have to expand an existing village/town, why not build somewhere in the middle of two existing towns/cities (if there gonna use greenfield land anyway). Then they can design a workable public infrastructure and a development that can evolve rather than a tiny civic centre getting huge estates attached onto the outskirts. I guess someones gonna tell me im talking B******s ?

The fact is - the guy needs to take responsibility. Why should the tax payer do so? Never mind the posts of "yeah but we all do it" - b******s ! Shop him - and shop him quick! He can afford to financially look after his future child but is deciding not too .. sounds like a "real man" to me. I'd give him 5 years hard labour the b****** ... im sorry but this attitude of some people today really gets my goat .. honestly what if we all sit on our backsides and let someone else pay. Grrrrrr ..... why do I get soooooo angry with these topics ... is it just me ?

Now then, now then, My first post - as a soon to be non-home owner. It appears that the FTB is alive and well - infact around by my me .. their breeding like rabbits the pesky little blighters.. I thought I would contribute with some stats of my own situation over the last three years: 3 Years Ago - House went on the market Asking price: 103k Offer Price: 98k Time spent on market: 4 months [sale never went through] This month: Asking price: 130k Offer price: 129k Time spent on market: less than 2 weeks [sale presently going through] Now I agree that prices are over the top - I boughy my place for 50k eight years ago - paying a 95% mortgage which equated to a monthly payment of 24% of take home pay. Now I could not afford this if my we equate the price today with my salary 8 years ago (even equating for 4% pa salary increases). So - who can ? Well my place is being bought by a FTB - and as mentioned above - sold in under 2 weeks! And all the 2 bed terraced houses in my area are being snapped us and soon as they go up. Who can afford them ? Who's buying them ? Are they crazy - or are you waiting for the crash! As for me .. well .. can't afford to move up .. so will rent for now..