Pob

We bought one similar last year, a little early but due to financing etc and with the expected plunge in sterling vs euro we took the decision to go for it and in reality the fluctuations have held us steady. Currently a holiday home but with 6 acres the plan is to move out and become self sufficient. A few sheep, pigs chickens etc and with some great growing land (may need a polytunnel or 2) based on peat soil so very fertile we can grow all we need year round. Already planted a 30 tree orchard with nut trees and soft fruit bushes. With room to expand, no-one looking over us and space for our little one (cuurrently 1 year old) to run around without fear of peadophiles etc and busy main roads we are looking forward to it. Just getting the mortgage paid off on our UK house to act as a rental income to allow some money coming in so we won't have to work so much over in Ireland. Luckily both wife and I have skills that are required in Ireland and we could do some dabbling consultancy, working when we felt like it. Yes cost of living is high but with no council tax and low water bills (we actually have the option of our own well in time as there is a spring well on site) its cheap from that point. Small little community with a pub a mile away and whilst bear is expensive it is VERY cheap to brew your own from base malt (and very nice indeed). If you want to give self reliance a go and reduce your consumerism then it's a great idea and whilst immigration might be a problem in the east coast cities the West is still very small tight knit communities with very low immigration levels and a really friendly atmosphere of inclusion. Crime is basically non-exisent out the West and there is no need to worry about drugs and knife crime (we live near Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield and Dewsbury and have a big problem with immigration and fighting between the various immigrants with knife and gun crime rapidly increasing). We live in a relatively nice place but the school I went to some 20 years ago has become a haven for drugs and bullying. Whilst Ireland has its problems it is certainly a place I would rather bring up my daughter in. If you however want to consumerise and rely on getting everyhting provided easily then the cost of living can be crippling. Just some thoughts.

I think again people are making the mistake of assuming that increases in prices = profit. For most people increasing prices just means more wasted money on cr@p and higher debt. More MEW and more leverage. Realistically the only people making real money on property are parents who bought back in the 1960's. This profit is generally only considered if they downsize or die. Neither of which I feel should be taxed. Also bear in mind that any taxation woud be duductable based on costs. So you could deduct all mortgage interest repayments agains any proft. You would probably find there wasn't much profit left after a 25 year mortgage. Don't get caught in the trap of "My house has gone up in value by £100 K so therefore I just made £100 K by doing nothing". No you haven't. You have an asset that has increased in value but until it is sold and you move into cardboard city you have'nt made a bean. My parents tend to do this with sharess, "we made lost x today on our shares". Not until they are sold. In the mean time they are as worthless as used bits of toilet paper (dividends excepted of course).

Like labour now this was a vote candying move. Round that time home owners tended to vote Tory so she sold the houses cheap to allow the masses to become home owners and thus Tory voters.

Don't even get me started on this one. I have worked in the labs where the proflligate waste occurs. They are paying PhD students £18K when others doing non medical research get £8 K. Why the difference, and no it doesn't have anything to do with ability. As to selling the house and buying the farm, she can do that but then she won't have anything in the UK to rent out and provide an income, and no I'm not a buy to let investor, just using the property as a savings scheme and investment vehicle whilst giving me somewhere to live. We are well off to be honest compared to the average but it really does wind me up seeing all the waste and benefits thrown at the bums. Ironically I am with you in the fact that I don't really blame the people for doing it. I have chosen a route that will hopefully elevate ourselves above their level and that is my choice. My point is that the government shouldn't make the choice available in the first place where people are able to have a better life by not contributing. If we were back in the jungle they would starve, or get killed after trying to steal someone else's food ..

I would like to think that we have made some good choices and have the future we planned, nice retirement to a small farm (already bought nd paid for) out of the UK country to be exact. What galls me is that there IS this choice whereby you can take the easy route out and not contribute to society. If everyone decided to take this route then the whole system would collapse and anarchy would rule. I think she will actually have a poor old age as I'm convinced that she has made no provisions and whilst she will probably get a pension, whilst mine will be means tested and probably not happen, she will lose all her other benefits such as child allowance etc leading to a miserable life in the future. Society in general is degenerating as people on benefits have more kids just to get more benefits whilst the hard working decide to limit the number of kids so that they can be properly cared for and provided for. Net result is a degeneration of society into a workshy benefits culture. The ONLY way to turn this around is with readical reform to ensue that EVERYONE contributes to the society in which we all live. It is a known fact that benefits claimants are the most demanding in terms of public resources such as NHS, police, council services. Working people don't have the time or the energy to cause trouble and certainly can't use most of the 9-5 council services that are on offer. Over 3 million pounds was spent on the police hunt for the missing girl in Dewsbury. What have the people involved contributed to that, NOTHING, we are now having to further keep them in the lap of luxury in prison and then will probably have to supply them with new identities and re-location fees to prevent some retribution attack when they are released. There is no wonder the country is going to the dogs and why we have a nice little bolt hole in a foreign country ready and waiting.

She did start working part time recently, although to my knowledge her husband still doesn't work and never really has done. I do know the mortgage is with one of these sub prime lenders. She also had a small inheritance recently so I assume, though am not convinced, that she used this as well. Based on the lax lending recently it wouldn't surprise me if she could have got a mortgage on benefits tho.

So yet again the hardworking tax payers are further screwed over by this government. Why do we bother going to work to pay our mortgages on our nice houses that we have worked and done without to buy so that we can pay more tax and have more costs so that workshy bums can get further subsidised housing. Recently (2 years ago) my workshy bum of a sister bought her council house (nice large 3 bed semi) for £67 K when similar houses in the area were selling for £130 K. Nice nest egg for no work. She has never really worked and her husband, on disability for a bad back, could afford to go to the pub every night to play pool. Wife and I are having first child after very careful consideration and thinking due to our ages it is now or never. We now have a massive drop in earnings. People call us lucky but I studied on no money for 9 years with many sacrifices to get where I am and even then I aren't on huge amounts compared to London (30K ish). About 10 years ago my sister admitted it wouldn't be worth her while working for anything less than £16K. She has 3 kids and has no money worries, nice house, sky TV, new computers, new suite, new telly etc. She even sued the council at one point for extra money. :angry: When is this government going to wake up and realise that they don't have a bottomless pit to curry favour and gain votes through bribes and handouts and that these leeches are indeed just that, contributing nothing to society. Time for radical reform to sort out this mess.

Too true. I have a friend who has had an egg card cancelled. Never used it BUT does have a 10K limit on it. He has IO mortgage and lots of other things going off. In financial services and I think they see it as too high risk that he may suddenly think "Oooh nice, another 10K of available spend now things have got a bit tight".

Looks like the G7 are a bit spooked now. Yahoo business news FTSE doing OK tho considering.

Admittedly tho they did get done for fixing phone votes and actually taking money off people. Do we not think in this forum of conspiracy and gloom that someone somewhere will fiddle the results if it is looking too bad. Wouldn't want people chokeing on their cornflakes.

36.5% now. GO!!!

Hang on a minute!!!!! I thought GB and AD were calling for transparency last night at the big party they had!!!!!!! :angry: Damn turnabouts.

Just found this. Mysinglefriend Well that must be the end of the property market then!!

Aiming for it in 7 years having just bought another place after killing the mortgage on where we live. Not sold where we live but bought a small farm on west coast of Ireland (6.5 acres) for £105K. Planting it up with fruit trees now and plan to move out there once mortgage is paid (got mortgage on house in UK to make it easy). If it all gets too bad we sell up here and move out with no mortgage. With 6.5 acres we would be nearly self sufficient and with our transferable skills (microbiologist and nurse) we could work enough to pay bills etc. Kids on the way and not sure I want to bring them up long term over here. Only thing really stopping us moving sooner are ill parents. Don't want to be working myself into an early grave and having seen my parents plans for retirement go up in smoke due to ill health I want time to ejoy myself. (33 and 36 at moment BTW)

Noticed that too. Very funny. We might have the teacher strikes too, certainly got the lack of funding issue.