You've Got Money To Invest...

[EvilEdna]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

[Pent Up]

You've Got Money To Invest...

No I haven't...

[Enemy of the State]

No I haven't...

Haha.

In response to the the topic, ironically for HPC it might be the only option on the table if you don't want to lose it all!

[EvilEdna]

No I haven't...

No all right neither have I but if I had...

[Trampa501]

I'd invest most of it on wine, women and wild parties. I'd probably waste the rest (with apologies to G Best).

[Bruce Banner]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

I get about 4% interest which is rather better than no interest.

I wouldn't dream of tying up my money in an illiquid, depreciating, asset that I expect to drop 30% to 40% over the next few years. So, no, I would not buy a house now

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

Depends whether you're talking investment or not.

I want a house (not to invest but to live in). But I don't have the money to pay for one. But let's say I did. According to say Bruce, if I bought it now it would cost me x% more than if I wait. But, if I hang on in purchasing it, then as you say, the investments I may liquidate to purchase it could get trashed, and I could be priced out of the market for a long time.

My conclusion is that if a house appeared that I wanted and I had the money then I would buy, because the x% I would gain by waiting wouldn't be worth the gamble of being priced out of the market for quite a few more years.

Basically to me if you have the money to buy what you want and you don't buy it then you are speculating. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you are prepared to take the risk that your speculation may turn against you.

I believe that Bruce is probably right. I just wouldn't be willing to take the gamble.

Of course if I already owned a house that I was happy with and didn't want to move, so in other words buying a house would be an investment, then my answer would be different.

I don't think there are any right or wrong answers to this question. Just different levels of risk that people are prepared to take.

[Guest tbatst2000]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

Yields are still rubbish is the basic problem. Add to that a very illiquid investment and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The IR trawl the land registry these days too, so don't be sure you can get away without declaring it forever.

[Bruce Banner]

Depends whether you're talking investment or not.

I want a house (not to invest but to live in). But I don't have the money to pay for one. But let's say I did. According to say Bruce, if I bought it now it would cost me x% more than if I wait. But, if I hang on in purchasing it, then as you say, the investments I may liquidate to purchase it could get trashed, and I could be priced out of the market for a long time.

My conclusion is that if a house appeared that I wanted and I had the money then I would buy, because the x% I would gain by waiting wouldn't be worth the gamble of being priced out of the market for quite a few more years.

Basically to me if you have the money to buy what you want and you don't buy it then you are speculating. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you are prepared to take the risk that your speculation may turn against you.

I believe that Bruce is probably right. I just wouldn't be willing to take the gamble.

Of course if I already owned a house that I was happy with and didn't want to move, so in other words buying a house would be an investment, then my answer would be different.

I don't think there are any right or wrong answers to this question. Just different levels of risk that people are prepared to take.

If I change my mind I can buy quickly (cash buyer), but having bought it wouldn't be easy to sell, so I prefer to bide my time whilst keeping a close eye on the situation.

[Number79]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

..er....if shares are plummeting then surely they would present a better opportunity than houses still with daft asking prices. Why couldnt you pick or choose stocks or investments better than you could a house?

I wouldnt touch a house now even with lottery money and I dont think that many people with an ounce of sense will be.

Whats up edna? Things at the agency getting a bit slow

[sponge]

hi read the forum for a while lol

[Skirmish]

We've just 'invested' some of our money in a 2002 MR2.

You can't take it with you, you're only young once and in another 10 years we probably won't be able to get in one anyway. Enjoy it while you can!

[beccles]

We've just 'invested' some of our money in a 2002 MR2.

You can't take it with you, you're only young once and in another 10 years we probably won't be able to get in one anyway. Enjoy it while you can!

T-Bar sunroof?

[ccc]

We've just 'invested' some of our money in a 2002 MR2.

You can't take it with you, you're only young once and in another 10 years we probably won't be able to get in one anyway. Enjoy it while you can!

Are you a hairdresser...

[The Spaniard]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

Longer dated index-linked gilts have done very well recently.

For example:

Also, the capital gains are tax-free.

Within a S&S ISA, the income is also tax-free.

[cica]

There's obviously a lot more to it than saying it but small business investment would be the most fun and rewarding.

[DTMark]

You don't want to leave it in the bank, you get no interest and they might go bust. Shares are plummeting so that's too risky. You get zero return on gilts soo... you buy property. Sure it's a falling market but you pick and choose, find a good area and drive a hard bargin with a desperate seller. You can get a decent discount and let at a high rent. Plus, if you don't declare it no-ones the wiser and it's tax free.

1 in 3 tenants is in arrears with their rent, and that's probably going to get a lot worse.

[ike]

I'd invest most of it on wine, women and wild parties. I'd probably waste the rest (with apologies to G Best).

i'd invest it in a bar in thailand and the i would waste the rest

[Pent Up]

You have to be careful not to be confused by the gross yields that EAs spout in listings. I saw one going to auction quoting a yield of over 7%.

I worked out all the costs involved and it makes the net yield something like 1% after tax. Obviously if you want to take the risk and not pay tax it's higher but you can still get a better yield by going for long term fixed bonds kr savings accounts.

BTL doesn't Add up without capital gains. And you certainly

Won't be getting any of those in near to medium term.

So if I did havent the money to invest, property would be the last place I'd look.

[EvilEdna]

I get about 4% interest which is rather better than no interest.

I wouldn't dream of tying up my money in an illiquid, depreciating, asset that I expect to drop 30% to 40% over the next few years. So, no, I would not buy a house now

Lets say you can buy a house 20% below what other similar properties are selling it for and rent it out at 8 % a year. Even allowing for a fall in house prices of 40 % and some rent arrears and repairs I still reckon you'd still be better off ten years down the line than if you'd tried other asset classes. There's going to be a massive destruction of wealth across the board - it's about picking the most buoyant turd.

[cartimandua51]

You have to be careful not to be confused by the gross yields that EAs spout in listings. I saw one going to auction quoting a yield of over 7%.

I worked out all the costs involved and it makes the net yield something like 1% after tax. Obviously if you want to take the risk and not pay tax it's higher but you can still get a better yield by going for long term fixed bonds kr savings accounts.

BTL doesn't Add up without capital gains. And you certainly

Won't be getting any of those in near to medium term.

So if I did havent the money to invest, property would be the last place I'd look.

You can do it on 4-bed+ student lets, but you're also taking on a whole load of grief - not for the hands-off absentee landlord. letting through the Uni is just an (expensive) alternative form of grief as they are obsessive about pernickity detail and take a massive rake-off.

[EvilEdna]

..er....if shares are plummeting then surely they would present a better opportunity than houses still with daft asking prices. Why couldnt you pick or choose stocks or investments better than you could a house?

I wouldnt touch a house now even with lottery money and I dont think that many people with an ounce of sense will be.

Whats up edna? Things at the agency getting a bit slow

Agency? Guess again...

The thing about stocks is the only reason for buying them is to try and make money - the market you're trying to make money out of is one that consists only of other people trying to make money, many of whom will be better informed than you - better informed than me anyway. If you buy a house you're buying something which people can have lots of reasons for selling or buying which have nothing to do with making money. When you buy you can look for a distressed seller and when you sell you can hold out for a good price.

For what it's worth I think stocks have got further to fall and they won't shoot up again unless we get more massive money printing - which admittedly seems pretty likely but I'd feel uncomfortable making a an investment decision based on second guessing the whims of a central banker. Rick Perry thinks quantitative easing is "treason" - what happens if the idiots across the pond vote him in next time round?

[EvilEdna]

You have to be careful not to be confused by the gross yields that EAs spout in listings. I saw one going to auction quoting a yield of over 7%.

I worked out all the costs involved and it makes the net yield something like 1% after tax. Obviously if you want to take the risk and not pay tax it's higher but you can still get a better yield by going for long term fixed bonds kr savings accounts.

BTL doesn't Add up without capital gains. And you certainly

Won't be getting any of those in near to medium term.

So if I did havent the money to invest, property would be the last place I'd look.

There was a thread on here about maintenance costs recently - I've no personal experience of these things as I rent and live abroad but if I remember rightly then the consensus was about 1 % of the house's value a year (could be wrong) then there's letting agent fees and arrears but I still can't get it to add up to 6%.

[EvilEdna]

There's obviously a lot more to it than saying it but small business investment would be the most fun and rewarding.

Normally I'd agree, but I wouldn't want to be running a small business right now.

[Pent Up]

There was a thread on here about maintenance costs recently - I've no personal experience of these things as I rent and live abroad but if I remember rightly then the consensus was about 1 % of the house's value a year (could be wrong) then there's letting agent fees and arrears but I still can't get it to add up to 6%.

I'll see if I can find the thread where I did the figures.