Do you own property?

[scottbeard]

22 hours ago, Badhairday said:

I would prefer no-one was allowed to own BTL, but if others can and do own BTL, then I feel that I would be doing a disservice to my young children to not do likewise. 

I don’t think the existence of BTL is the issue.  There is a genuine need for renting - for example as a student or when taking a temporary job - and the only alternative to BTL would be to have renting only possible from the government.  What a nightmare.

What I object to is not buy to let to buy to sell at a higher price later, which is the situation successive governments have created with overly restrictive planning, low interest rates, excluding house prices from RPI/CPI and all the stupid lending schemes. 

[iamnumerate]

22 hours ago, Badhairday said:

Yeah. This is my situation. I own in different countries.
 

I would prefer no-one was allowed to own BTL, but if others can and do own BTL, then I feel that I would be doing a disservice to my young children to not do likewise. 

I used to rent privately at university so I wouldn't want BTL to be banned as we do need some private renting (unless we take the view that everyone who works/studies away from home should become a lodger).

However I do think that prices should be cheaper. The reason why they are expensive as because politicians believe that we like it. I am not entirely sure that they are correct but I do think that they believe it.

[Dorkins]

On 01/11/2021 at 08:45, iamnumerate said:

In some parts of the UK the situation is better than in 2006 prices are similar to then but wages are higher and interest rates lower - not true in London of course.

The problem of high house prices is much bigger than just London. 30 million people live south of the Severn-Wash line:

[iamnumerate]

18 hours ago, Dorkins said:

The problem of high house prices is much bigger than just London. 30 million people live south of the Severn-Wash line:

Thanks for that you are right that things are bad in a lot of the UK.  All parties should hang their heads in shame - although I do think it is partly because they believe (possibly wrongly) that we want it.

[spacedin]

On 31/10/2021 at 19:51, MARTINX9 said:

I think perhaps the point he is making is about housing benefit.

Working age adults who are higher rate taxpayers (i.e. net contributors) but who can't afford to buy a home so pay full market rent and who have to pay half their gross salary in tax/NI to help fund free housing for millions of other working age adults - including over one third of Londoners for example - who get their housing paid for by the state via housing benefit.  The latter as a result often getting to live in better quality housing than those taxpayers paying for their housing!

So they pay more than half their salary in rent (well after tax) and the other half goes in tax to partly help enrich buy to let landlords via housing benefit via provide free rent to those who don't.

In other words working hard, saving and doing the right thing (and not wanting to be a drain on the state) is a mug's game in the UK for today's young people who pay for their own rent.

I assume we can deduce that a GB news salary is not sufficient to allow poor Tom to buy a home in London but is sufficient to make him a higher rate taxpayer?

Do many people even claim housing benefit (LHA) these days? I mean it's being slowly phased out by Universal Credit (well the housing element as such) which can be sanctioned if you don't say do a course at the Job Centre if you're not working enough hours.