How Big Is Your Vulture Fund?

[impatient_mug]

There are a few mixed assumptions in the above posts.

Being a real saver and an STR is part of the same thing, as is buying to let. And if they are done properly, none of these things are about making a fast buck.

Capitalism is capitalism, and if you are saving then you are looking to make a profit at somebody elses expense.

You invest in shares to make a profit. You invest in property to make a profit. Somebody else pays you earnings on the shares or rent on the property.

If you invest your money in a bank, then the bank buys shares or property on your behalf, and somebody else pays the bank profit, so the bank can pay you interest.

That is capitalism, pretending otherwise is naive.

I have been a property owner. I bought at the bottom because I knew property was cheap. I also bought a BTL, primarily for non profit reasons, but where and when I bought, I new property was still cheap, which was a factor.

I saved hard to pay down both mortgages. I sold both properties at the top.

Now I am STR, with a nice vulture fund, Arslab and proud of it.

All my property transactions were a form of investment, ie saving by a different name.

And in the fullness of time I will probably BTL again.

You worded it slightly better than I did, but that's basically what I was trying to say. Everyone is pretty much the same - they want to make as much money as possible with as little effort as possible in order to lead as comfortable a life as possible.

Oh and luck didn´t have much to do with it.

Hence why I said smart and lucky. Some people were smart (from what you are saying you probably were), but some were plain lucky. For example, if I were starting out in the property game 10 years back, I couldn't help but make a fortune so long as I got out at the right time. People who bought a home with every intention of just living in it suddenly found themselves sitting on a money tree.

The point I was trying to make was that although I've not paid that much attention to if it's the same posters, but a lot of people are moaning about how unfair current prices are in one thread, and then talking about how they are going to make a mint the next time around in another. As you have said, there's nothing wrong with that, but why all the 'oh, it's soooo unfair' posts you see?

[repetitive bleats]

i've not STRed. i've made some money from stocks in internet startups that came off and saved the rest. currently got just over £150k which i've been putting by for the crash - constantly ignoring the protestations of everyone i know that i would never be able to afford a house if i didnt get involved right away. provided that i still have a job when it all goes to pot - i'm hoping that £150k as a 25% LTV ought to get me somewhere decent.

[thecrashingisles]

i've not STRed. i've made some money from stocks in internet startups that came off and saved the rest. currently got just over £150k which i've been putting by for the crash - constantly ignoring the protestations of everyone i know that i would never be able to afford a house if i didnt get involved right away. provided that i still have a job when it all goes to pot - i'm hoping that £150k as a 25% LTV ought to get me somewhere decent.

Being told that you'll 'never' be able to afford a decent house when you've got 150k in the bank must have made you laugh.

[Little Professor]

My my, I didn't realize we were such a rich bunch all here.

And I was feeling very proud of my £35k pot until now

[Frank Hovis]

My my, I didn't realize we were such a rich bunch all here.

And I was feeling very proud of my £35k pot until now

Reading back my comment it seems a bit arsey but wasn't intended in that way.

There are a lot of city types and semi-professional investors on here who I would guess have a vulture fund in seven figures, I would have been interested to know how many.

It would give a good indication of the can't pay / won't pay split.

[insidetrack]

Reading back my comment it seems a bit arsey but wasn't intended in that way.

There are a lot of city types and semi-professional investors on here who I would guess have a vulture fund in seven figures, I would have been interested to know how many.

It would give a good indication of the can't pay / won't pay split.

You mean £100,000 is chicken feed to a vulture?

[Cogs]

My my, I didn't realize we were such a rich bunch all here.

And I was feeling very proud of my £35k pot until now

I share your sentiment there. OTOH remember how rare simply being in credit is right now, this is a self-selecting poll within a self-selecting website membership. I've been saving a good chunk of my take-home for ages, I admit I faced a bit of a crisis of faith when HPI was at its strongest, 2 steps forward and 3 steps back every month and Rosie, Ashworth and Krusty telling me it would only get worse etc etc. Glad I held my nerve now but I do wonder how many people they encouraged to give up. This point never seems to get considered.

[Wait & See]

Got a few bob tucked away, but am now thinking that property is turning into such a basket case, I may be better advised to hold on to the loot and wait for the 5k house.......... around 2012 I think.

This, HPC'ers, is going to be a bloodbath. The market has a stench of death about it, so no point being impatient after waiting this long.

[Selling up]

My my, I didn't realize we were such a rich bunch all here.

And I was feeling very proud of my £35k pot until now

Don't worry about keeping up with the HPC Joneses.

If you've got 35k in liquid assets and no debts, you'll feel quite rich enough in the 2010 housing market.

[Agentimmo]

well done, that's really good going. just as a matter of interest, how long did it take to save such a large amount?

For me, I've been saving since I bought my last house 13 years ago. Family take one holiday a year, usually to the in-laws or my parents. Cars are 15 and 9 yrs old.....same age as my kids almost. Don't have a plasma tv or sky or monthly mobile phone packages for all the family. One mobile is a pay as you go.

It's not that hard to save if you learn young and don't fall into the trap of believing that you ot the family must have every latest piece of crud/gizmo that is the must-have item every 3 months.

Saving 5K a year in an account with average savers returns has given us - I'll let you do the maths

Edited June 2, 2008 by Agentimmo

[Monopoly]

We have saved 100k-200k as well...took us 15 years.

The problem today is..everybody wants everything right now...

[ploppy]

My wife and I have managed to save almost 100K. It has taken us over 6 years to do it and the answer for us has been to live abroad. I return to the UK every year for the summer and have been shocked by the rises in house prices over this time (feeling that I would never be able to afford a place if I wanted to come back). I couldn't believe the amount of money there seemed to be swilling around. People seemed not to value saving at all.

I got tired of seeing Brits abroad where I was living, looking in the local estate agent's windows and working out how many properties they could buy if they sold their houses. I used to live in Turkey and couldn't believe the places that people were buying with such little knowledge of the local culture and political situation.

I am currently renting a beautiful four-bedroom house in Hanoi, Vietnam for 350 pounds a month. It's because the cost of living is so much cheaper in the countries I have lived in that I have been able to save. I don't know how it is possible to save in the UK on an average wage and have a lot of respect for anyone who manages to do it.

[domo]

I'm one of the ones with a paltry 20-30k in my accounts. Never owned. So maybe I'm more of a sparrow than a vulture.

[roman holiday]

Stopped adding to my "vulture" fund after it reached 20 K. My understanding is there is a bigger vulture out there feeding on my cash; iinflation

Diversify.

Edited June 2, 2008 by roman holiday

[angrypirate]

Worked in Kazakhstan for nearly two years living in accomodation provided by my company. As such saved nearly 100k over those 20 months out there (actually it is soon to be less as I have decided that I will pay off my 16k student loan in full).

I have recently returned to the UK and now working in London paying stupid amounts in rent, bills and tax and I can barely save a 1k a month. I cant believe how little you get for your money - not to mention getting screwed with being taxed on everything i earn, everything i spend and everything i save. If it wasnt for my partner I probably would have never returned.

[all_ears]

Don't worry about keeping up with the HPC Joneses.

If you've got 35k in liquid assets and no debts, you'll feel quite rich enough in the 2010 housing market.

Exactly. Many people on this site have a VI in money/investments - i.e. they have some and don't owe any. To have any savings at all is an enviable situation to be in compared to most in this country.

I am a FTB with £40k pot and proud of it. All saved in ISAs etc - nothing fancy. I resisted temptations of new cars/plasma screens/sky sports and gradually got a half decent deposit. Most of my friends are mortaged to the eyeballs, owe on several credit cards and regularly go overdrawn.

Keep plugging away FTBs.

[Cosmic Apple]

60000-80000, should be 80+ by the time I'm ready to buy, saving hard while living in a very cheap place (with comprimises)

FTB in 2003 (36k property), STR August 2007 (82k sale price) plus some savings.

[General Melchett]

OK, now we know how big a vulture everyone is:

How big is your ARSLAB?

[NotMyHouse]

I think we need to increase the increments on the poll, e.g. go in 100k bands up to 1m, then a single category for 1m+.

[libspero]

Interesting demographic.. quick bump for our evening viewers

[Guest barebear]

As a bit of a newbie here I'd have thought that that such polls have been done in the past but I've no idea how you'd find one!

IMO a poll would / could provide some anonymity and I suspect most people wouldn't want to shout about such things - a bit vulgar don't you think?

Everything has been done in the past on here.

There are no more hpc frontiers.

So think up a subject and Ill cut and paste my anwer to it from the last time !!

[The Posh Plumber]

Reading back my comment it seems a bit arsey but wasn't intended in that way.

There are a lot of city types and semi-professional investors on here who I would guess have a vulture fund in seven figures, I would have been interested to know how many.

It would give a good indication of the can't pay / won't pay split.

I'm in the wont pay camp..

I think it would be interesting to hear how other posters have accumulated their vulture funds i.e. the easy way (STR) or the hard way (saving and hard work)

My Vulture fund is mid 6 figures, apart from 10k all accumulated from saving and investing..

This crash has been long overdue!!

PP

[gordonbrown]

As for vulgar, there are some on here that'd want to flame anybody for considering BTL, even at the bottom, when financially it might be a good investment option.

Bit parasitic though. Why not do somethingt a bit less sleazy instead?

[robski]

Everything has been done in the past on here.

There are no more hpc frontiers.

So think up a subject and Ill cut and paste my anwer to it from the last time !!

I know just how frustrating it can be for 'established posters' when newbies (like me ) just come on to a forum and ask the same questions over and over again. That is the reason why I won't be starting any new threads for quite a while!

[Mog]

I'm in the wont pay camp..

I think it would be interesting to hear how other posters have accumulated their vulture funds i.e. the easy way (STR) or the hard way (saving and hard work)

My Vulture fund is mid 6 figures, apart from 10k all accumulated from saving and investing..

This crash has been long overdue!!

PP

Won't pay not can't pay, did it by saving. My dear ex-landlord didn't raise my rent for four whole years. It was just too good a deal to pass up and right about then the market went truly bonkers, so stayed out by choice.

But not 7 figures.. I wish.