Bubble Pricker Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 A warm welcome for all new members to housepricecrash.co.uk (HPC). If you are reading this, you are in the right place. You have come to the forum where real people are discussing the state of the UK housing market, free from spin. We hope that you will find a lively discussion here and that you will soon join in yourself. Please feel free to make your first post in this thread, perhaps a brief introduction of yourself, how you have found this site and why you have joined. Some people also say whether they are a homeowner, first time buyer, looking to buy, sell-to-renter or anything else, but that entirely up to you. Before you make that first post here, just a few frequently asked questions: I tried to start a new topic, but it does not appear. What's wrong? New Members are free to post in any of the existing topics without restrictions. However, new topics started by New Members in the "Main Discussion on House Prices" board are first placed in a queue to be approved by one of the moderators. This will normally take between a few minutes and an hour, but it may take longer at certain times of the day, for example if you post at 3am in the morning. Please do not start the same topic multiple times. Just wait for your started topic to be approved. It will then automatically appear on the forum. How can I start a new topic without having to go through the moderator approval? New Members can be upgraded to the "Members" group. Once in the "Members" group, any new topics started by you will appear immediately, without having to go through the moderator approval process. We will normally upgrade New Members to full Members after they have made a resonable number of posts that constructively contribute to the debate. If you think you have done that, you can post your request in the Upgrade Request board (click here to go there now) People posting here are using all these acronyms. What do they mean? Here is a (non-complete) list of common acronyms: VI = Vested Interests (this means lenders, agents, housebuilders, the government, and anyone else who might have an interest in ever rising house prices) BTL = buy-to-let FTB = first-time-buyer STR = sell-to-rent MEW = mortgage equity withdrawal Who are the moderators? The list of moderators can be found here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Pricker Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 You are in the 'New Members' user group. What's this? When you first register on the forum you will automatically be in the 'New Members' user group. This usergroup means any new topics you start in the "Main Discussion on House Prices" will be previewed by the moderators, and the PM system is disabled. After you have made a number of worthwhile post on the forum then you can request an account upgrade in the upgrade request subforum and the moderators will review your request. I tried to post a new topic, but it does not appear. What's wrong? New Members are free to post in any of the existing topics without restrictions. However, new topics started by New Members in the "Main Discussion on House Prices" board are first placed in a queue to be approved by one of the moderators. This may take several hours depending on the workload and availability of the moderators. Please do not start the same topic multiple times. Just wait for your started topic to be approved. It will then automatically appear on the forum. I am in the 'New Members' user group and cannot use the PM system The PM system is not available to members that are in the New Members user group. You will need to request an upgrade before you will be able to send PM's on the forum. You can request an account upgrade in the upgrade request subforum and the moderators will review your request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heresjohnny Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Hi Ive made a couple of posts already but i've been watching the site for a while. I lived in London for 15 years or so and recently moved back to my home town in the West Midlands - hoping to get a decent property with a smallish mortgage but waiting for prices to go down by a big chunk first - have started to see cracks in the dam over the last 6 months (in my home town and surrounding area). Renting at the moment. I'm a marketing consultant now (dont let that put you off !!) but used to work for one of the high street banks doing various roles including a stint as lending marketing manager. Whilst freelancing ive also worked for a broadsheet newspaper (causing me to grudgingly change my attitude to the "meeja") and also for central government (causing me to despair at how our tax pounds are pi**ed away) so i've got a curious mixture of experience. I'm hoping to add to the debate where i can Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newaccount99 Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 but used to work for one of the high street banks doing various roles including a stint as lending marketing manager. Whilst freelancing ive also worked for a broadsheet newspaper (causing me to grudgingly change my attitude to the "meeja") and also for central government (causing me to despair at how our tax pounds are pi**ed away) so i've got a curious mixture of experience. I'm hoping to add to the debate where i can Cheers I reckon with that background you are going to make a very welcome and informed contribution to many of these threads.......looking forward to reading some of your posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4566710.stm I saw this article on the bbc site. It went as it came, almost unnoticed. Private equity operations are a bit like buying houses, says the article. Here are some quotes for some interesting parallels: "The last time the debt-to-equity ratio was so high was in the late 1980s, when many private equity investments were hit by the eventual economic downturn and rising interest rates." "Such stories might suggest that the golden days of private equity will soon be over, but the facts don't yet support this view. Interest rates are low, stock markets are rising and the total number of private equity receiverships fell in 2005. But according to Mr Cullinan, a readjustment is inevitable. You can't have a period of rapid growth without a slowdown at the end of it, and history repeats itself, he argues. "The history of private equity is one of exponential growth, followed by a crash, then growth again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dipsy Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hi, have lurked for a couple of months and finally decided to take the plunge. Am currently renting in Redhill as didn't want to pay the daft rental prices in neighbouring Reigate. Sold July 2004 and waiting to see what's happening. Completely fed up with all the spin and I work for a large company with a very large mortgage advisory network - so I see some spin! Noted today for the first time in our local property paper a couple of houses up for sale with sitting tenants - not seen before this before - looks like the BTL's are leaving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one eyed man Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I am a first time buyer (they say admitting it is the hardest part ). I found this site some time ago by accident whilst looking on the internet for buying advice. It was a revelation as until then I was starting to doubt my own sanity thinking house prices would go down! Have recently been discussing starting a family with my GF so I feel the emotional pressure to buy increasing so reading here helps to bring me back to reality as we really can't afford to buy. I used to read as a guest but decided to sign up maybe just to add support of numbers to the site. I'm not sure I can add much to the site but continue reading with interest as feel I'm really learning a lot. One eye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bound Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hello all, Thought I would join in after lurking for some time. Don't have huge amounts to add at present. Let me tell you about myself. I am an Australian who has been living in London about 3.5 years. I really like it here so will probably buy something here at some point. However I would like to live in a few more cities through my life, so to actually buy a place and settle down is not a compulsion as it appears to others, and having seen my gf just buy a place recently, frankly I am not sure I want to make myself that unhappy. Was just back in Aus (Perth) and yes house prices are stupid there as well. So what do I think about house prices - well ... Logically it would appear that they are at a stupid level and it just doesn't make sense to buy a house at the moment. If the current trend of the last 5 (or so) years were to continue it would never make financial sense to buy a house. If life was hard and life was about suffering then maybe it would. But if life is about being happy and enjoying it why on earth buy a house now. So I shall wait until buying a house suits me and then do it. I don't see the problem with renting anyway. BTW your country is nearly so bad as some people on this board make it out. I love living in London, and getting to travel around Europe so easily is just a wonderful thing. IMHO, growing up with it, the sun is overrated. Look forward to contributing. Bound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockhart Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I just joined today, although I've probably been reading (and learning from) the postings over the past 12 months. The forum community is great. I'm in my early thirties and I live in Chester. I've been renting for a few years, initially because I wasn't sure whether I'd be moving back overseas after working abroad earlier in my career. Of course, in the last couple of years my delay in buying has been because I've believed that a correction was always round the corner.... I'm starting to despair! Are we really witnessing the first ever soft deflation of a bubble? As far as sitting it out goes, it is reassuring to read the postings based on seemingly logical economics. I'm not an economist, although I do have a numerate background so I have usually followed the money-based arguments. I also take reassurance from the consistency of respected commentators e.g. The Economist, who I think are still sticking to their view that the market is overvalued. As I'm finally at the stage where I could afford to buy, albeit at a push, and I'm certainly sick of renting, my problem now is the terrifying consequences of Sod's Law if I give in and go ahead and buy somewhere! On the other hand, I have just spent the last two years taking the same reassurances from sites like this one that holding off is the best policy. I guess I want to enter the debate a bit now, to at least feel like I'm doing *something* about it! I do have a few questions, which I'll post in one of the forums. Cheers Lockhart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi I've followed this site for a couple of months. I rent a big flat in a nice area in North London. I lived on the continent for 10 years where attitudes towards renting were not the same as here. Have never owned a property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devslim Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I've been lurking for a while and I've made a few posts already so I thought it time to introduce myself. I bought a 3 bed house in suburbia in 1999, just in time. In October of last year I decided to rent it out and buy a 1 bed flat in a more central location as the house is out in the sticks and I really had no need for the excess room. So at the end of October I packed my bags and moved back into my parent’s house and handed my house over to the new tenants. The original plan was to spend a few months at my folks whilst I looked for a new place, so I guess my intentions were rent to buy?! After a few weeks of looking at the ridiculously overpriced flats and houses within my price range I came across the hpc website. And I’m glad that I did, as I feel I could have made a very costly mistake otherwise. It’s given me a chance to see things from the opposite side of the coin, away from the constant exposure to the relentless spin pedaled by the estate agents, banks and most of the ill informed opinions of the media I guess only time will tell if prices will come back down to realistic levels, so for the time being thanks to you feckers, it looks as if I’m stuck in the parents spare bedroom. It’s a bit of a ball-ache, but it will give me an opportunity to save a healthy deposit if I decide to go ahead with another purchase when the market is more favourable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazychick Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Hi - I'm a newbie - drawn to the site by chance actually - but totally agree with the thinking. EAs are asking higher prices than ever - but I'm waiting for the Land Registry figures for December to be released so we can see just how much people are actually paying. I think the house price sites will actually quicken the crash when people see how far they can push the prices down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingley Bloke Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) Hi all! I'm from Bingley, West Yorkshire. I decided to sign up here as I have an interest in the house price situation. I've been in full time employment for over ten years yet I would have to save up for another 40 years to amass a big enough deposit to buy a house where I live! I'd love to know where all the money is coming from to sustain these ridiculous house prices – I could do with some of it myself!!! Edited January 29, 2006 by Bingley Bloke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Fool & His Borrowed Money Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Hi all! I'm from Bingley, West Yorkshire. I decided to sign up here as I have an interest in the house price situation. I've been in full time employment for over ten years yet I would have to save up for another 40 years to amass a big enough deposit to buy a house where I live! I'd love to know where all the money is coming from to sustain these ridiculous house prices – I could do with some of it myself!!! Hi there, There's one or two round your way (one regular member lives at Shipley). Live at Doncaster myself, welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTB oneday Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 Hi there, I live in Nottinghamshire. I have been watching and reading alot of the posts on hpc and can say it has saved me from 25 years of hell. My partner and i nearly bought a property which we thought was going cheap compared with others in the area, but i thought i'd do some research about where prices might be heading when i came across this site. I have found it very informative to say the least and i feel very lucky not to have been sucked in by the spin. We are renting atm and will continue to do so untill house prices return to a affordable level. Hello and thankyou HPC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grotbags Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hello, been a lurker for the last year. This site has been my only sanity in a world where my relatives, friends and work mates all look at me blankly when I state I don't want to buy into the market. I would be a first time buyer and don't want a ridiculous amount of debt on my shoulders. I currently rent a lovely 3 bedroomed cottage, with orchard and huge garden for the same price as I would be paying to buy an ex council house. (Can you believe it?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hiya, Been reading the site for quite some time and finally given into the desire to add my own tuppeneth to the melting pot. SO, hello to you all, PS i'm fairly bearish about the economy and the HP bubble, and mostly incredulous that its managed to hold this much air for this long, even to the extent of having moments of doubt as to whether it will ever pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Worthington Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I'm confused. On 18th January I asked a question about reported sales figures in 3q2005 in the thread "Huge Surge In Sales Jul-sep 2005?", http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=22481. This thread appeared to get deleted. Any reason why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backtoparents Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I'm confused. On 18th January I asked a question about reported sales figures in 3q2005 in the thread "Huge Surge In Sales Jul-sep 2005?", http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=22481. This thread appeared to get deleted. Any reason why? I think it was accidentally inaccurate or delibrately misleading. The graph showed rising prices for flats in one postcode. It also failed to mention a larger drop from the beginning of 2005. N15 6HA Maybe you could have considered flats in a broader area, N15 or offered to retitle your thread? I´ll happily repost your straw man with an appropriate title in "What are house prices doing in your area" subforum. I´m sure mods wouldn´t mind. Mods, please delete my post if you like. This could wander off topic. btp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Worthington Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I think it was accidentally inaccurate or delibrately misleading. The graph showed rising prices for flats in one postcode. It also failed to mention a larger drop from the beginning of 2005. N15 6HA Maybe you could have considered flats in a broader area, N15 or offered to retitle your thread? I´ll happily repost your straw man with an appropriate title in "What are house prices doing in your area" subforum. I´m sure mods wouldn´t mind. Mods, please delete my post if you like. This could wander off topic. btp Thanks for your reply BTP. It was meant to be a serious question about what might have caused such a spike in the figures or, as it doesn't appear to make any sense, could the figures actually be incorrect? It wasn't meant to be provocative or misleading in any way. If it could resurrected I'd be grateful. Thanks, Ian ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmsbony Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 hi, came across the site a couple of days ago and found the content interesting. I bought a house in 1998 that in the current market would command a price around 3.5 times more than i paid for it. I am amazed considering the area i live in is not that great and can't understand how the prices can remain this high. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 For all those who believe prices are not likely to rise much further. Take a look at www.livepropertyservices.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Worthington Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 For all those who believe prices are not likely to rise much further. Take a look at www.livepropertyservices.com Interesting. "It is available for a one-time fee dependent on the value of your home. For an average-priced property the fee would amount to less than £20 per month for the life of the contract." Contract appears to be 7 years, which would make it under 1700. Sounds to good to be true. I wonder what the catch is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaeld Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Hi, just joined a few minutes ago. My names Micahel and I am living in Cork in Southern Ireland. Came across the site while trying to find information on the Houising Crash in 1989-1990. Hope that some one on here will be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks, Michael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 Hi, I was introduced to this site by my Son and have been lurking for a few months. Brought our first house in 1982 and hubby and me have been in our present 3 bed mid terrace house for 18yrs. Do not own any other property just this one which is our home. Decided to post because I wanted to let the FTB younger generation know that I am on your side and really wish for a massive price crash, why ? because I raised two Sons that I am so proud of, both now in their twenty's both hard working and both with hard working partners that are equally as important to me.My two sons thankfully rent flats with their partners I would have worried myself to death if they took on big Mortgages. We are all waiting for the HPC which I think will happen. So please dont give up some of us out here are willing a HPC so the next generation we gave birth to can have the same opportunities we had. Just one more thing which is just from an observational view, when we neared the last price crash in the 90's the first noticeable sign was the hundreds of for sale boards up everywhere. I see it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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