Working Poor Forced To Spend Half Their Income On Housing

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

It was for me. When I lived in the North I had three companies go bankrupt and make me redundant, two of them in the space of a year and half. Also I'm gay, so the dating thing is more difficult as well. Out of my old circle of friends, the only ones who are still up there are those who had a stable relationship early in life, or the odd one working a non-ideal job in a call centre or similar. Everyone else has had to move south for work.

I don't think that you can deny that economic activity is centred on London and the south-east - look at where the government spends its infrastructure budget. There is a critical mass of companies - many of my current employer's big clients are within walking distance of the office. If we were in Manchester or Birmingham it would be much more difficult to service them.

I'd love to go back, but the odd job opportunity that comes up are scattered all over the country. I would have to be prepared to keep moving to chase the jobs. And not much is comparable to the kind of work I am doing in London.

Possibly I'm too defeatist, but this is what landlords are exploiting. Force people by economic circumstance inside the M25 and jack up the rents. Many people don't have an option but to pay it, if they want to live near their job or their career.

My job is not needed in London. London may as well be on another planet let alone a different country.

So you probably are too defeatist, which is quite something coming from me.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

Indeed, my partners software company in Manchester employs 10 25-35 year old software engineer graduates on £30-50k . All of them have bought properties in the city, some are single, some are not. The cities transport is not perfect, but it's okay, certainly the airport is good.

The southeast is ridiculously expensive. Personally, I would leave the uk rather than attempt to live there on anything less than banksters salaries, but then I from the north originally.

We're going to need a few more than 10 positions though.

[debtlessmanc]

We're going to need a few more than 10 positions though.

Their sales are 95% export to the us/japan

Indeed, the country just needs a few thousand more companies like it.

[porca misèria]

If you're a 'young professional' in this country you have a choice between:

Story of my life there. Well, until I jumped off that rat race.

[Snugglybear]

No, we need decent, affordable housing.

Second point is incorrect. If you're a young professional in a secondary city you can afford to live in the city centre a walkable distance to work so the transport links are irrelevant (not that your assessment of what they are like outside London was totally correct anyway).

If you can get a professional job in a secondary city, that is.

NOMIS says that 66.6% of those in "professional occupations" are in London, the South East and East (East starts on the borders of London and reaches to Peterborough and Norwich). Leaving 33.3% for the whole of the rest of the UK, all 8 regions of it.

[Venger]

11,800 repossessions in the first 6 months of the year. Net out the 1300 BtLs, and you have 10,500 residential repossessions. Annualised that is 21,000 'strivers'/'hard-working families' out on their ear. What level of repossession is required for the MSM to start reporting on it as an issue?

It's only when we see regular articles in the MSM about VV's (Venger's Victims), will we enter the 'fear phase'.

From memory I had thought repossessions for BTLs were higher for the first 6 months - some record high (?) - but can not find original source.

As I understand it (could be wrong) the figures only include repossessions from 1st mortgages and not 2nd mortgages such as those with secured loans - of which there has been a large increase. Not that 2nd mortgages look to add that much when looking at 2011's numbers.

Homeowners taking out potentially risky second mortgages surge by a third, as lenders loosen up

By Lee Boyce

Published: 14:41, 13 September 2013

..Second mortgage are often a last resort - the FLA says that in 2011 827 properties were repossessed by second charge lenders.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2418467/Homeowners-taking-potentially-risky-second-mortgages-surge-32.html

[Neverwhere]

From memory I had thought repossessions for BTLs were higher for the first 6 months - some record high (?) - but can not find original source.

As I understand it (could be wrong) the figures only include repossessions from 1st mortgages and not 2nd mortgages such as those with secured loans - of which there has been a large increase. Not that 2nd mortgages look to add that much when looking at 2011's numbers.

There were 39,551 landlord repossessions in the past year (July 2013 to June 2014), an average of 108 per day.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341560/mortgage-landlord-possession-statistics-April-June-2014.pdf

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/200095-buy-to-let-mortgage-arrears/page-7

[Venger]

^ Thank you Neverwhere.

There were 39,551 landlord repossessions in the past year (July 2013 to June 2014), an average of 108 per day.

That's the very source/thread I recall reading, and didn't find with multiple searches. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Surprising to see how many landlords were all the way back in 1999. Just a shame that landlord possession claims seem to now be dipping again, from the look of that chart... although: 'There were 38,509 landlord possession claims issued in April to June 2014.'