Just Why Are The British *so* Obsessed With Property Prices ?

[Sold up and Renting Abroad]

What is the root of all this discussion ??

I'm simply intrigued to get to the bottom of knowing why the Brits have very little else in common ??

Edited April 6, 2006 by Sold up and Renting Abroad

[BillyShears]

What is the root of all this discussion ??

I'm simply intrigued to get to the bottom of knowing why the Brits have nothing else in common ??

Take away high property prices and what else is holding things up?

At one point one high ranking Russian said (if I remember correctly) "Take away our military power and nuclear weapons and what you have left is a third world country." In a bout of cynicism I wonder if the same isn't true about the UK. Take away the property riches and what is left?

And no, I don't think like this all the time.

Billy Shears

[Guest Winners and Losers]

Greed, greed and more greed is the answer.

[Take me to the cleaners]

We're obsessed because we want somewhere reasonably priced to live which we can call our own - so we can do it up to our own tastes....not some overpriced millstone that 4 years ago was was worth half of what it is now.

No wonder we're p!iss@d off and obsessed!!!!

[vicster]

We rarely if ever talk about house prices where I work. More likely to be what was on TV last night - "The Nation's Fattest Pets" or "Celebrities On Ice" (sadly not about premature cryogenics....).

Not sure what's worse, to be honest

[laurejon]

Because in the UK we only get to spend 25% of our wages on ourselves, the rest is tax.

Therefore if you can earn four times your annual salary tax free for five years on the trot, then you would be mad to turn it away.!!

[right_freds_dead]

because we are at the time of life when its time to find that first affordable ftb house.

and there are none. only BIG rip offs and a HUGE kick in the nads.

so we keep circling back here to complain, unable to more forward with lifes plans. which can be obsessive.

what else can we do ?

[laurejon]

I am 350k better off in the last five years because of it.

Had I not offloaded three properties in 2000 I would be well over 1M up.

Now sorry to put the dampers on it, but my next door neighbours (I rent now) have rented all their lives and I dont think they have saved 350k in the last five years, I could be wrong but that would be a lot of money for a bus driver and a hairdresser to save.

[right_freds_dead]

I am 350k better off in the last five years because of it.

Had I not offloaded three properties in 2000 I would be well over 1M up.

Now sorry to put the dampers on it, but my next door neighbours (I rent now) have rented all their lives and I dont think they have saved 350k in the last five years, I could be wrong but that would be a lot of money for a bus driver and a hairdresser to save.

i can imagine you sitting there posting this like a brainbox swot in a bow tie at a teens disco.

i bet you had a pencil case with a compass and protractor, rubber and no graffiti.

a satchel and a wet bed.

[laurejon]

i can imagine you sitting there posting this like a brainbox swot in a bow tie at a teens disco.

i bet you had a pencil case with a compass and protractor, rubber and no graffiti.

a satchel and a wet bed

Not really, used to be a Brickie.

But I did have a brown brief case at school, and I was a swot but left without any qualifications as I was going into the family business...................that went bust in 1975 due to the failure of the Labour Party to manage the economy. Some may remember that the UK went to the IMF for a loan as we were bust.

My views are self taught, through lifes experiences and not the hackneyed views of some brainwashing socialst proffessor who will be getting a massive pension for bugger all work, and the satisfaction of knowing he never cut the mustard in the real world.

Edited April 7, 2006 by laurejon

[mpd]

Jealousy in most cases on this site is the motive, masquerading under the guise of philanthropy and social connscience.

[Ignorant Steve]

A remnant of the deep-ingrained Class system?

Inherent jealousy?

Limited interest in "finding worth thru creative endeavour"?

Materialism?

Lack of interest in spiritual values?

You choose

Ironic that you've posted well over 6500 posts on the subject.

I know you're not a Brit - do you think discussing property endlessly makes you more like one?

[expatowner]

because we are at the time of life when its time to find that first affordable ftb house.

and there are none. only BIG rip offs and a HUGE kick in the nads.

so we keep circling back here to complain, unable to more forward with lifes plans. which can be obsessive.

what else can we do ?

Circle off to a different country?

[red]

Property ownership has become a badge of status; many of those who own get a massive sense of achievement and a feeling of belonging to a higher 'class' of society. They often look down on the renting 'class' and assume they must be poorer.

I resent the fact that I have to declare whether I am a property owner or tenant on application forms. The implication is clear - if you're an owner, you must be more stable, financially astute, probably better off... the sort we like. Have 5 extra points. Renting? Oooh, transient, unreliable, unable to get a mortgage, probably a bit irresponsible with money or just poor. And if you've moved around a bit and can't show us an address for 3 consecutive years, sorry, we can't help you.

I also imagine many BTL landlords get a massive kick out of their property owning status. It means (sic) they're successful and have financial savvy. Probably one good reason why many are reluctant to sell up; they just love being landlords.

The same could not be said of someone who borrowed half a million quid to invest in rare Marvel comics - they'd be seen as fruitcakes, yet vintage mags are a very wise investment. Even those who deal in stocks & shares don't qualify for the same property-owning treatment.

It's all about this ill-concieved status thing. And how I'd love to see it rubbished...

[Guest Winners and Losers]

It's all about this ill-concieved status thing. And how I'd love to see it rubbished...

I can't wait for the day when BTL is a dirty word. I want to slap them all over their smug faces. What I hate the most is the attitude that it is a sure thing, a safe bet. The 'you'll never lose money on bricks and mortar' mentality. It has become de rigeur to spout out - 'my BTL in blah, blah is making me blah, blah, blah'. I'm off to the Inland Revenue site to do some 'shopping'.

[munimula]

and I was a swot but left without any qualifications

Thick then

Just goes to show that all the people like you that have made money from property were just in the right place at the right time, nothing clever about it at all.

[Xurbia]

It's a very emotional tax-free commodity. What else can you live in and make a huge profit from?

Gordon Brown has made a point of bankrupting the pension system with his 5billion a year raid. What do you trust: tangible bricks and mortar with good historic returns OR pension scheme run by fat-cats and subject to theft by the government?

It's not just us. The Californians are crazy 'flippers'.

It becomes a more emotive subject when things start to go wrong, like the late 80's and early 90's. Thanks to the superb stewardship from Gordon and the BoE's lack of action there will be a lot of tears soon.

Edited April 7, 2006 by Xurbia

[MarkG]

yet vintage mags are a very wise investment

True: I have a collection of comics that have been sitting in a box since I was a kid, and they must be the most profitable 'investment' I've ever made. I believe one of them has gone up in value from 7p to a couple of hundred pounds.

As for property, it's the only way that Joe Average can make hundreds of thousands of pounds tax-free for doing nothing other than borrowing a huge amount of money from the bank. No wonder he's so obsessed with it.

[right_freds_dead]

lauriejohn: and I was a swot but left without any qualifications.

Thick then

Just goes to show that all the people like you that have made money from property were just in the right place at the right time, nothing clever about it at all.

thats what i was thinking.

then i thought. its probably all made up anyway. get thatcher in yer face etc.

[Xurbia]

My views are self taught, through lifes experiences and not the hackneyed views of some brainwashing socialst proffessor who will be getting a massive pension for bugger all work, and the satisfaction of knowing he never cut the mustard in the real world.

I think this public-sector pension's business will blow up in their faces if the economic power-house i.e. private-sector continues to get shafted.

I've a lot of respect for those that teach well but there should be risk and reward. Giving civil servants better deals than the rest of us and effectively milking our private pensions to pay them is infuriating. Trouble is your average moron in the street doens't realise they've been shafted good and proper by Gordon Brown. This 'prudent' b*llocks is really getting on my nerves.

There is a certain satisfaction in running you're own business and it's a shame that we are so heavily penalised.

[Levy process]

I think this public-sector pension's business will blow up in their faces if the economic power-house i.e. private-sector continues to get shafted.

I've a lot of respect for those that teach well but there should be risk and reward. Giving civil servants better deals than the rest of us and effectively milking our private pensions to pay them is infuriating. Trouble is your average moron in the street doens't realise they've been shafted good and proper by Gordon Brown. This 'prudent' b*llocks is really getting on my nerves.

There is a certain satisfaction in running you're own business and it's a shame that we are so heavily penalised.

I agree. I don't believe today's 30 something civil servants will be retiring at 60. 65, or 70 if they are lucky. It's all just froth. When the tories get back in, their gold plated pensions will be melted down and turned back into tax cuts.

[Xurbia]

I agree. I don't believe today's 30 something civil servants will be retiring at 60. 65, or 70 if they are lucky. It's all just froth. When the tories get back in, their gold plated pensions will be melted down and turned back into tax cuts.

I hope you're right because I'm sure that I heard, today, that 6 million were employed in the public sector.

In 2050 perhaps we will all be working for it; then again judging from the tax system I guess we are all working for the government. All the red tape is handy for stringing up my peas!

I'm not sure I could handle another Tory government! It's pretty sad when the options are all pretty crap but I couldn't face another term of these incompetent cretins. I'm deliberately working overseas for a while to have a break from the nonsense.

[ruisort7]

The obsession comes from every landlord in this country being venal, parasitic aliens. Mike Phillips, for example.

[right_freds_dead]

could be theres nothing else to do ?