Ursa Major

The problem is in Sevenoaks, the prices are so high in the first place, they can fall large amounts, and still be far too expensive to afford. If you are at the bottom end of the market (and contrary to popular belief there are significant numbers of people in Sevenoaks who dont commute to work in the City and who dont live on Kippington Road!), you will need utter meltdown in prices for them to become reasonable. Flats in Sevenoaks (according to the BBC!) have grown by over 4% annually, and by over 20% in the last quarter. It is the detached houses (which average at over half a mil!) that have seen these enormo-falls recently (once again if you have faith in the BBC!). That's not to say a crash cant or wont happen in Sevenoaks, but it seems unlikely to all happen all in one go, just as it is unlikely to happen overnight anywhere. A big one off fall in Sevenoaks may be of less worth to mr. average than smaller, more sustained falls elsewhere. Patience is probably a good strategy. I say all this as someone who grew up and lived in Sevenoaks for 20 years, but when it came to leaving home, found that staying there was a non-starter. I currently rent up the road in Bromley.

If they've got any brains (or b@lls!) they'll move to head off inflation, and reverse their earlier cut. But with the usual bleating from the retail sector/VIs, and some pretty bearish news reporting recently, they wont want to look like they are "kicking the economy when it's down" (though I belive a healthy dose of higher rates is "being cruel to be kind"), so they'll leave them on hold.

For anyone watching "Best and Worst places to live in the UK" on channel 4, you will have seen Phil Spencer banging on about him being a man of kent etc. and praising Ashford as the 4th best place to live in the UK (so their survey says). But you should also note: - a number of shots were not of Ashford at all, but of Sevenoaks which is nearly 40 miles away. - when talking about the excellent transport links to Ashford, no sign of Ashford International - there was however footage of the "slow" train from London to Sevenoaks crawling into Sevenoaks. Even worse, there was footage of the Gatwick Express leaving Clapham Junction - not even in the right county there Phil! Library footage is one thing, but this is blatant misrepresentation.

Taken from http://www.debtadvicebureau.org.uk/bankrup..._pros_cons.html "Bankruptcy: The Cons: Cannot hold certain public offices, such as MP, councillor or magistrate, or practice certain professions, such as solicitor and accountant." Not only would Blair lose his job as an MP (and presumably PM), but he couldn't even fall back on his orignial profession as a barrister! I believe in the event that a MP is declared bankrupt by a court while sitting as a member, he/she gets 6 months for the courts to change the order before actually losing their seat.

Julia Caesar (is this a "stage" name, or did she have wicked parents?) has done quite a few appearances on BBC breakfast recently (when Declan Curry has not been around). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_..._24/3687635.stm I didn't note the exact specifics of "what-she-said" and "when-she-said-it", but she reports falls in house prices as "bad news" (she doesnt say "bad news for homeowners"), and reports suggestions of cuts in interest rates as "good news" (rather than "good news for homeowners, bad news for savers"). She seems unashamedly biased!

I am very suspicious of the high number of "Sold" boards in the bromley area (where hometrack reckon prices fell 1.4% last month!) , compared to the number of "For Sale" boards. Is it all properties are selling "instantly the arrive on the market", or is it the "sold" boards are lingering on outside sold properties long after sales complete, in order to give a false inpression of prosperity?

What point is there in buying a house? As a renter, the last few years have given me good reason to want to own a home. In 2001, I rented a house on a year long fixed contract, with a landlord of some years in the letting game. In 2002, I hoped to be able to renew the rental contact, and stay at that location. The landlord decided the market was good for a sale, and did not renew, as he was selling the property. This was his perogative. But I had to move. I then moved to another house and letted there. This was a landlord new to renting, someone who expressed a desire to get into it. But after six months he also decided the market was better than before, so I had to up-sticks again, whilst he sold! On to house three, in late 2002. Another year long contract, another landlord who was "not in it for the short term". One year later, in 2003, the market again was "too good to miss" for my landlord, and he decided to cash in his investment. Again this meant I had to find somewhere else to live! I was forced to make 3 moves in less than 3 years. In the rental market you are at the mercy of the landlords commitment. If I owned a home myself I could stay in one place for more than a few months. Problem is that even on my above average salary, a cheap house where I live is worth silly salary multiples.