How To Solve Fuel Poverty : Give £1000 To Every Homebuyer

[Sledgehead]

Osborne gives £1,000 to all home-buyers: Coalition seizes energy bills initiative in mini-Budget

I'm struggling to work out whether the DM are taking the piss with sentences like this:

David Cameron will today try to bring an end to weeks of wrangling over energy prices by promising handouts of £1,000 to new home-buyers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2516267/Osborne-gives-1-000-home-buyers-Coalition-seizes-energy-bills-initiative-mini-Budget.html#ixzz2mDT2MvKH

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I note that it gets even worse:

To accommodate objections that cutting the levies will undermine moves to make homes and businesses more energy-efficient, the two leaders will also make the declaration that anyone buying a home will receive up to £1,000 from the Government - ‘or even more for particularly expensive measures’ - to pay for insulation if it is needed.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2516267/Osborne-gives-1-000-home-buyers-Coalition-seizes-energy-bills-initiative-mini-Budget.html#ixzz2mDTWwC6a

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Hmm: "particularly expensive measures" eh?

Wonder how much it would cost to insulate this draughty old place AND comply with listed building status:

Looks like the Balmoral estate has just jumped a good few grand if Queenie ever wanted to sell it, thanks to George donating OUR TAXES.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Sledgehead

[durhamborn]

Incredible.

Surely this cant be right?,its bonkers.

[moneyfornothing]

Incredible.

Surely this cant be right?,its bonkers.

What rules do we need so it is illegal for politicians to bribe us with our own money while grabbing bigger and bigger chunks of it ?

[billybong]

New houses are supposed to be highly energy efficient by law and older houses have grants available. So it sounds like just another of Dave's flim flam promises.

Edited December 1, 2013 by billybong

[billybong]

First, less Government spending and lower taxes. The Conservatives should offer a triple-lock promise: to reduce the tax burden by 2020, not to increase personal taxes, and apply a one-in, one-out rule to any other new taxes.

The cast iron pomises just don't work. So how likely is "a triple-lock promise" to do any better. Zero chance?

[Quicken]

just heard this on bbc news. incredible. They can't afford grants for students. There is no alternative to massive fees and massive debts, they say. Blank cheques for Homeowners though? It's the right hing to do, apparently.

Never, ever vote Lib Dem

Q

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

Sub 1 million transactions? Cost them under a billion?

Cheaper than meddling with stamp duty...

Like those mortgage cash back deals that the public fall for.

Edited December 1, 2013 by 7 Year Itch

[Sledgehead]

On the right-wing Mail, the most popular comment by a country mile:

Picking winners and losers. Why should a new homeowner be handed 1K of taxpayers money? What about those who cannot afford to get on the property ladder and have to rent? Surely they are more in need of this money? This is socialism for the rich. What gives Osborne the right to decide to give OUR money to new homeowners??!!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2516267/Osborne-gives-1-000-home-buyers-Coalition-seizes-energy-bills-initiative-mini-Budget.html#ixzz2mDcCXhe2

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Cameron is playing a dangerous game. Everything he does seems to be stoking a UKIP-ways exodus.

[billybong]

just heard this on bbc news. incredible. They can't afford grants for students. There is no alternative to massive fees and massive debts, they say. Blank cheques for Homeowners though? It's the right hing to do, apparently.

Never, ever vote Lib Dem

Q

+1

and if house prices have already risen by 5% or whatever the latest spurious headline claims then future new buyers have already lost getting on for say £7000 as a result of Help to Buy.

No wonder the Institute of Directors and some bankers have called the governments's economic policies mad and moronic.

Edited December 1, 2013 by billybong

[SuperChimp]

just heard this on bbc news. incredible. They can't afford grants for students. There is no alternative to massive fees and massive debts, they say. Blank cheques for Homeowners though? It's the right hing to do, apparently.

Never, ever vote Lib Dem

Q

They need to keep bribing potential householders to take on all that debt. Otherwise the decision to buy a home at 4x joint income is shown to be a terrible one.

[interestrateripoff]

Can previous home buyers just be sent a cheque for £1000.

[cashinmattress]

It's a £1000 grant and not cash in a home buyers hand; ie part reimbursement for boiler, loft insulation, etc...

It will 'stimulate the economy' for the builders and fitters who are certified to install in the scheme and generate taxes for the treasury.

Governments and councils have been doling out 'free' loft insulation and other energy saving grants for as long as I remember.

Anyone owning a new home with all the mod cons will find this grant as much use as Zimbabwe billion dollar notes.

This is just a fiddle by Gidiot, re-branding if you will.

[olliegog]

It's a £1000 grant and not cash in a home buyers hand; ie part reimbursement for boiler, loft insulation, etc...

It will 'stimulate the economy' for the builders and fitters who are certified to install in the scheme and generate taxes for the treasury.

Governments and councils have been doling out 'free' loft insulation and other energy saving grants for as long as I remember.

Anyone owning a new home with all the mod cons will find this grant as much use as Zimbabwe billion dollar notes.

This is just a fiddle by Gidiot, re-branding if you will.

regardless of whether it is a grant or cash in hand - where are the existing home 'owners' and renters in all this. will the grant go to BTL homebuyers? will it be means- tested?

[billybong]

If it's conditional on spending it on stuff like home insulation it's different from the current grants in that new buyers will likely be inclined to spend it straightaway (rather than waiting to decide whether to apply for a grant). So it will likely give a more immediate and concentrated boost to builders and the economy/"growth" in the run-up to the elections.

If they have to give taxpayers' money away it would have been better spent on rebalancing the economy but that promise seems to be another one that's just been ditched.

The Conservatives and LibDems certainly know how to spend other peoples' money.

Edited December 1, 2013 by billybong

[cashinmattress]

regardless of whether it is a grant or cash in hand - where are the existing home 'owners' and renters in all this. will the grant go to BTL homebuyers? will it be means- tested?

Who cares.

I imagine like most of the 'green' schemes before it, you will need to have a EST certified surveyor (at your cost) verify that you have increased efficiency to get the grant.

Like most invasive government schemes, you let some clown who did a two week matchbook course dig around your house, then wonder why somebody breaks in and steals you goodies several weeks or months later; as he's told every goomba down at the pub what you had in your place.

[Orsino]

Personally I think it's a sensible measure. If the government is going to provide a subsidy to improve the energy efficiency of the country's housing stock then it should be offered when people are most likely to take it up. The same subsidy should be offered to landlords so that their tenants can benefit from lower energy bills too. I'd be in favour of a certain degree of compulsion. I have no objection to a house rising in value because it is materially improved in some way.

[LiveinHope]

It's a £1000 grant and not cash in a home buyers hand; ie part reimbursement for boiler, loft insulation, etc...

It will 'stimulate the economy' for the builders and fitters who are certified to install in the scheme and generate taxes for the treasury.

Governments and councils have been doling out 'free' loft insulation and other energy saving grants for as long as I remember.

Anyone owning a new home with all the mod cons will find this grant as much use as Zimbabwe billion dollar notes.

This is just a fiddle by Gidiot, re-branding if you will.

While true, I find your summary to be totally depressing

Edited December 1, 2013 by LiveinHope

[(Blizzard)]

Personally I think it's a sensible measure. If the government is going to provide a subsidy to improve the energy efficiency of the country's housing stock then it should be offered when people are most likely to take it up. The same subsidy should be offered to landlords so that their tenants can benefit from lower energy bills too. I'd be in favour of a certain degree of compulsion. I have no objection to a house rising in value because it is materially improved in some way.

No objection to that at all, unless I'm paying for it.

You can't afford to insulate your home? Buy a cheaper home.

Edited December 1, 2013 by (Blizzard)

[LiveinHope]

No objection to that at all, unless I'm paying for it.

You can't afford to insulate your home? Buy a cheaper home.

Quite - but I feel I'm an evolutionary dead-end.

New homes shouldn't qualify, else it will be a bung to builders.

Private rental properties and social housing should be required to meet energy efficiency standards.

Privately owned/mortgaged homes should be the responsibility of the owner/renter, with the exception of those in homes who cannot afford to pay, such as particular OAPs.

Edited December 1, 2013 by LiveinHope

[LiveinHope]

At a total level, the government insulating all homes to a high level would probably be the best use of any of their money in order to stimulate the economy whilst simultaneously improving the balance of payments. We can just print it up.

We also import an awful lot of wood. I suggest we plant a load of trees on all those grouse moors. Tidal barriers etc.

Initiatives like these are simple and doable - whereas they are always thinking you've got to invent the ipad or electric car or something and don't even get started.

That's the problem with long-term thinking

[winkie]

Incredible.

Surely this cant be right?,its bonkers.

They can't give enough of it away .......easy credit, now easy gifts........mind you I am sure many of them are already very used to spending free gifts themselves.

Free gifts to those with little are spent immediately, the money is circulated quickly into the immediate economy......the rich only hoard and export their excess give aways....relying on them to spend is not going to help get us back on track is it now.......'the poor they spoil it for the rich'.

[Orsino]

No objection to that at all, unless I'm paying for it.

You can't afford to insulate your home? Buy a cheaper home.

Fair point. It would feel more palatable if the grant was given as a rebate on the buyer's stamp duty but I suspect that would make it much harder to ensure the grant went where it was supposed to.

[(Blizzard)]

Fair point. It would feel more palatable if the grant was given as a rebate on the buyer's stamp duty but I suspect that would make it much harder to ensure the grant went where it was supposed to.

Except, in reality, the seller pays the stamp-duty.

At a total level, the government insulating all homes to a high level would probably be the best use of any of their money in order to stimulate the economy whilst simultaneously improving the balance of payments. We can just print it up.<br style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"><br style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">We also import an awful lot of wood. I suggest we plant a load of trees on all those grouse moors. Tidal barriers etc.<br style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px;"><br style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px;">Initiatives like these are simple and doable - whereas they are always thinking you've got to invent the ipad or electric car or something and don't even get started.

It should be a loan. They seem happy to solve every other problem with debt, except in this case it actually makes sense. Insulation is profitable in the long-run, but expensive in the short-term, and that's the exact problem finance is designed to solve.

I know it's off-topic, but the best use of government money to stimulate the economy is a mass house-building programme. Since government can effectively print development land (they pay nothing for planning permission), this might even raise revenue. Basically, a government would have to be entirely corrupt or utterly stupid not to do this.

[council dweller]

Quite - but I feel I'm an evolutionary dead-end.

New homes shouldn't qualify, else it will be a bung to builders.

Private rental properties and social housing should be required to meet energy efficiency standards.

Privately owned/mortgaged homes should be the responsibility of the owner/renter, with the exception of those in homes who cannot afford to pay, such as particular OAPs.

I`ve already got 7cm of insolation in my loft after the council installed an extra layer a couple of years ago. Now they`re coming again tomorrow for a look-see. Ever diminishing returns and all that.

It`s jungle up there.The real problem is that we`ve got a couple of Japanese soldiers up there who still think the war is on....

[MARTINX9]

So we will have homebuyers paying stamp duty. And then the government will simply given them £1,000 back immediately. Will this £1k grant apply to oligarchs buying £100m mansions?

So why not just have a £1k reduction off everyone's stamp duty bill - is this the stamp duty reform we were promised? Doesn't address the nonsense of the £125k and £250k thresholds but that might require the sort of imagination Alex Salmond has.

Still barmy - if you can afford to buy a home you can afford to spend £1k on insulation!