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David McWilliams idea of "debt forgiveness" -- could Gordon get a hold of this idea to solve his popularity problems?

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis...on-1616757.html

This seems fair enough - like pretending the boom never happened and letting the banks take the hit?

Perhaps banks and EAs could work together to revalue all houses on the market to, say, 60% off peak values, or 2003 values or whatever and allow buyers in negative equity to remortgage accordingly?

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This seems fair enough - like pretending the boom never happened and letting the banks take the hit?

Perhaps banks and EAs could work together to revalue all houses on the market to, say, 60% off peak values, or 2003 values or whatever and allow buyers in negative equity to remortgage accordingly?

Instead - how about the state gets them a nice council house somewhere and the bank auctions off the house they can't afford to live in. Oh! sorry, not a new idea at all - its called bankruptcy. It's what happens when you can't afford to pay your debts and it's what should happen. On one hand it gives the debtor the chance of a fresh start but on the other it discourages the feckless borrowing that was responsible for the house price mess in the first place. Speculation - for that's what most of the house buying frenzy was - can't be a one way bet.

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Instead - how about the state gets them a nice council house somewhere and the bank auctions off the house they can't afford to live in. Oh! sorry, not a new idea at all - its called bankruptcy. It's what happens when you can't afford to pay your debts and it's what should happen. On one hand it gives the debtor the chance of a fresh start but on the other it discourages the feckless borrowing that was responsible for the house price mess in the first place. Speculation - for that's what most of the house buying frenzy was - can't be a one way bet.

Just an idea - you're right, of course, but I have the horrible feeling that all bets are off as far as solutions are concerned. House prices will be the least of our worries this year. Perhaps not just homeowners going bankrupt.

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a good article from the Southern Star telling it how it is in the property market in Ireland (applies South and North) from the Pin

http://www.southernstar.ie/article.php?id=1110

"We’ll still have to put up with the cheerleaders, however, even as the market deflates. Morgan Kelly puts it well. “We can start looking forward to estate agents telling us that the worst is over, a necessary correction to an overheated market has taken place, there has never been a better time to buy, and so on until most of them go out of business.”

:lol: Excellent stuff.

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a good article from the Southern Star telling it how it is in the property market in Ireland (applies South and North) from the Pin

http://www.southernstar.ie/article.php?id=1110

The Southern Star really is a quality read doccyboy. I came across the following there recently too. Scintillating stuff:

Some economic gurus can get it quite wrong!

FOR Senator Shane Ross, the Indo expert on all things financial, Sean Quinn was the humble billionaire who "made business buzz". The 'icon for the underdog' owns Quinn Insurance, Quinn Healthcare, and has huge interests in property, hotels, concrete and quarrying.

The senator particularly admired the blow he dealt to the state owned VHI. When the English health insurers BUPA pulled out, Quinn bought the entire package and, as Ross saw it, the monopoly the state owned VHI had in providing health cover vanished overnight. Sean Quinn had "rescued 450,000 customers from the clutches of the VHI".

In his Indo articles, Ross also praised his hero for targeting the "anti-establishment" Anglo Irish Bank and pumping up to Eu1 billion into the outfit. He made those comments some months ago, which only goes to show how wrong our economic gurus can be!

Indeed Shane Ross was strangely quiet at the meeting of Anglo's shareholders where the penny dropped that the bank, the epitome of the Irish entrepreneurial class, was a get-rich-quick goldmine for some of the head honchos, but a toxic pit for the small shareholders who invested their pensions and life savings.

NEGATIVE IMPACT

Its "unacceptable practices", its incompetence and the damage it did to the Exchequer were so serious that Fianna Fail decided the only way to clean up the greedy capitalist mess was a State take-over – nationalisation, the abhorred word in the Shane Ross vocabulary!

But, and here's the interesting bit, The Guardian newspaper published a report last week suggesting that Anglo Irish was saved to prevent a negative impact on specific parts of the economy, particularly health insurance.

In other words, the newspaper implied that Anglo Irish Bank was bailed out because of the catastrophic effects a collapse would have on a shareholder in the bank who had major interests in the country's insurance industry. Is that what really took place?

And, could the 'major health insurance provider' be Sean Quinn, whose healthcare and motor insurance companies, hotels etc employ 8,000 people, and who is believed to have acquired as much as a 30pc stake in Anglo Irish last summer at a cost of Eu500m?

SERIOUS QUESTIONS

Ninety five per cent of Anglo Irish Bank's loans were to the property market and much of the property Quinn purchased was in high-risk markets such as Russia, India and Ukraine. When the bubble burst and the bank's share value plummeted from Eu17 to a derisory 22 cents, the question was asked if Quinn Insurance funds went to purchase those properties and, if so, what were the investments worth now?

The question was also asked if Quinn borrowed money from Anglo Irish to bankroll his acquisition of the institution? And, while Fianna Fail might know the answers, we the public, who must pay for disastrous decision making, are kept in the dark.

According to The Irish Times, Quinn and his businesses are the biggest single shareholder and the largest debtor of Anglo Irish Bank, although we have yet to be told his full shareholding in the bank.

Speculation is also rife that a melt-down of his property portfolio could have a serious knock-on effect on his health insurance company – the country’s second-largest.

Indeed, there is even talk that it too may be vulnerable to some kind of public control. If such were to happen, it would be ironic as Quinn Healthcare is the main competitor to VHI.

The Quinn Group is almost certain to lose all of the Eu500m they spent buying into Anglo Irish and already there are rumours of a sell-off of at least one of its companies. The group itself has net assets of Eu3.4 billion, while Quinn Insurance declared profits of Eu245m in 2007.

POLITICAL FALL-OUT

What is certain is that the political fall-out from the State take-over of the bank has begun. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan denied that Quinn had contacted him regarding the bail-out, an assertion that cut no ice with Labour's Joan Burton. She described the rescue plan as "reeking of connections between Fianna Fail and developers and of banks with developers."

She also called for a special investigation into the dealings by Quinn and former bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick. "Transparency was now absolutely essential as a first step in restoring a sense of confidence in the Irish financial sector", she said.

Interestingly, she did not believe Anglo Irish was "embedded in the economy" and that, as such, it needed to be saved. "It's embedded in the section of the economy that a Fianna Fail finance minister is most likely to be aware of, but the bank is not of strategic importance," she said.

Now, whatever did she mean by that? That it was an FF bank for FF property speculating butties – and, for that reason, it had to be saved? Never! What a scurrilous suggestion!

Edited by paul65
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a good article from the Southern Star telling it how it is in the property market in Ireland (applies South and North) from the Pin

http://www.southernstar.ie/article.php?id=1110

"Developers, estate agents, dizzy television presenters with their own property agendas, economists working for the banks – the same old clowns will trot out the same old claptrap, rabbiting on about ‘value’ and the dangers of waiting too long and how a bottom is near and how it’s a great time to buy."

"The facts are, however, that house prices do not rise in real terms (after inflation) in the long run."

First class stuff. They think it's all over - their troubles have only begun!

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle5734224.ece

G7 ministers 'must help struggling Ireland'

The Irish government has stated that it needs to borrow €20 billion this year. Gross debt as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, which was just 24.8% in 2007, will increase to 53% this year and 62% in 2010. These figures assume no worsening in the country’s finances.

RoI is in the mire, there is no hope for the Irish property market - north or south

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Canny MCSavvy --- how many more will share his fate?

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis...am-1640524.html

I find it hard to feel sympathy for any of these people, no matter how innocent, decent and 'hard-working' they are dressed up to be by the press. This guy willingly took this on, so it's 50/50 blame between him and the banks. I don't expect that he would have been sympathetic to the plight of FTBs had prices till been going up. Like births and deaths, this is simply a life lesson, no matter how newsworthy - this guy is not a victim by any stretch - an article about out of work construction workers would have been more appropriate. He still appears to have his job.

The innocent victims in Ireland are the ones who got on with things and lived within their means while the rest of Ireland more or less openly scorned them while living the high life. Now they and their children must pay for the greed of the rest.

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I find it hard to feel sympathy for any of these people, no matter how innocent, decent and 'hard-working' they are dressed up to be by the press. This guy willingly took this on, so it's 50/50 blame between him and the banks. I don't expect that he would have been sympathetic to the plight of FTBs had prices till been going up. Like births and deaths, this is simply a life lesson, no matter how newsworthy - this guy is not a victim by any stretch - an article about out of work construction workers would have been more appropriate. He still appears to have his job.

The innocent victims in Ireland are the ones who got on with things and lived within their means while the rest of Ireland more or less openly scorned them while living the high life. Now they and their children must pay for the greed of the rest.

Agreed , these type people happily paid 50% over asking price in bidding wars during the madness of 2006/2007 , they are not the victims imo

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I find it hard to feel sympathy for any of these people, no matter how innocent, decent and 'hard-working' they are dressed up to be by the press. This guy willingly took this on, so it's 50/50 blame between him and the banks. I don't expect that he would have been sympathetic to the plight of FTBs had prices till been going up. Like births and deaths, this is simply a life lesson, no matter how newsworthy - this guy is not a victim by any stretch - an article about out of work construction workers would have been more appropriate. He still appears to have his job.

The innocent victims in Ireland are the ones who got on with things and lived within their means while the rest of Ireland more or less openly scorned them while living the high life. Now they and their children must pay for the greed of the rest.

When you read the article, what position do they fine themselves in at the end of it all? That's right "Renting Again"

Oh heavens no, having to rent. Oh how incredibly awful for them and their poor poor family!

Oh wait! Is that not the position us first time buyers have found ourselves in due to shits like this that speculated on ramping property prices beyond the average working class individual.

Fukc em! They are getting what they deserved! I only wish the same fate applied to the bankers and investment bankers who are truly responsible for this bubble.

I'll keep my sympathy for those who deserve it, those who worked hard and didn't expect hundreds of thousands of euros for doing NOTHING of any value whatsoever.

Edited by YoungFTB
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Fukc em! They are getting what they deserved!

Hopefully you will never see yourself in the position which you respond to above ! I trust people will be kind to you

When your middle aged or facing retirement you could find yourself in circumstances beyond your control. I hope people dont treat u the same way. People losing their jobs and homes are not necessarily always their own fault.

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Could someone please explain why my last post was removed? WTF!

well what's good for the goose is good for the gander. if some of the bulls get their posts chopped for personal attacks on other posters it stands to reason it works the other way.

if you put a mod on the spot like that, then it's reasonable to expect them to act accordingly

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well what's good for the goose is good for the gander. if some of the bulls get their posts chopped for personal attacks on other posters it stands to reason it works the other way.

if you put a mod on the spot like that, then it's reasonable to expect them to act accordingly

I honestly do see your point but personally I found Churchill's post very patronizing and that annoyed me.

If I had of made Post #308 in reference to anyone who was affected by the crash then I think Churchill would have had a valid point. His post suggests that this couple have found themselves in this position through no fault of their own, which quite frankly is retarded.

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