Can we please stop the House Price crash threads?

HugoSP · 19 November 2007 at 2:59AM

ManAtHome wrote: »

And there you have the dichotomy - the first lot of "hard workers" being !!!!!! on by the second lot, specifically the OP ("life is soooo unfair", BoE thinking abot panic rate reductions is "good news for everyone"... - prat!). Any wonder a majority of people who were "stupid/lazy" enough to be still at school when the bubble started don't have a good view of btl-ers..?

hmm, someones just come back from the pub :rolleyes:

HugoSP · 19 November 2007 at 3:05AM

Lavendyr wrote: »

Yet this is the case on every single internet forum of which I have ever been a member, whether reasonably closed/restricted or entirely open. There are always those who get self-gratification from putting others down, or p'ing others off, or whatever. In my experience, MSE is actually one of the most civil, intelligent forums I've ever been a part of, and that's why I like being here. Sure, people have differing opinions, and sometimes they get a bit judgemental and opinionated, but that's just one of the things you have to deal with on an internet forum, and I'd go as far as to say that anyone who can't take that kind of response should not be on an internet forum - it's just the nature of the beast.

Of course, it's not ideal, and I'd prefer if everyone was polite and stated opinions in a considered and civil manner, but here on the internet, I've come to accept that it just isn't, and won't be, the case.

In general I agree with you. I don't get upset by some posts but they do annoy me. Though I wouldn't discourage sensitive people from coming onto internet forums.

Lavendyr · 19 November 2007 at 9:43AM

I would only discourage them from doing it for their own sake, as they are just more likely to get even more upset and feel even more sensitive as a result. I've seen it happen on a lot of forums that people have just hurt themselves more and more from being on a given forum (not this one) and yet don't, or can't, walk away.

John_Pierpoint · 19 November 2007 at 10:46AM

HugoSP wrote: »

I
There was a post on the bank account thread recently where someone was panicking because her bank had let hour go overdrawn. She had got used to her card not being able to get money out if there was none in her account, on one occasion it did. She was simply after a bit of reassurance.

The sensible answer was to advise her to talk to her bank and resolve it in a calm and rational way, and perhaps to suggest that she took a more proactive approach to managing her money in the future.

When the time comes, talking to your bank won't help much; if your bloated mortgage has been sold to a hedge fund operating out of a two room office. I think they would reach for the repossession order, while there was a chance of there still being equity in the property.
There was a really interesting thread on this topic, back in the good old days a year ago, when house prices were still thought to be a one way street by the vested interests (unfortunately it may have gone to the great bits and bytes cemetery, because it has failed to arise on the third day).

I have a visual memory. Did you see Andrew Verity driving a people carrier type van round the country on the telly recently? On the side it had a house price graph, with a big 15 - 20% spurt in the last couple of years.
He explained that spurt was correlated to the change in mortgage lending policies to "affordability".

Now that the banks are behaving more traditionally, I expect the graph to reverse back where it came from. Availability of mortgages, plus sentiment, dictates house prices. Reduce the money, stories of problems surface, sentiment switches, prices go down. It is that simple.
All the other arguments are flannel in comparison.

macaque_2 · 19 November 2007 at 11:18AM

HugoSP wrote: »

I'm in the corner with the OP on this, and this is why.
If I ever got into financial trouble I for one would think twice about coming to this forum for advice, as I know that certain posters would simply fill my thread with stupid comments.

Before you get too judgmental you might like to reflect on the circumstances behind some of these requests for advice.

One poster wanted to tie up the father of her child like a kipper in legal agreements before letting him share her home. Some posters felt that this showed a serious absence of committment towards the relationship (stong relationships are hugely beneficial to children). If the man was to be trusted so little, why was she associating with him at all?

Another poster wanted advice because a £1m house was, in her view, was too expensive. What a cheek. People on low incomes trying to buy a 1 bed flat have strong grounds for complaint (since the earnings multiples to buy have been badly distorted in recent years). When when a person in the market for a £1m home whinges that the vendor won't sell it at her price, that is ridiculous.

One woman wanted advice on her finances (on another MSE forum). When she posted details of her personal circumstances, it transpired that she was milking the benefits system. Not surprisingly, she got some very dusty responses.

There are a range of other advice seekers who attract criticism rather than advice for obvious reasons. Some are trying to evade responsibility for their actions, some are boasting, some want advice on dishonest or unethical solutions. For these people, homes truths are not only justified but they are probably more helpful than platitudes.

In my view, sensible and serious requests for advice rarely attract criticism.

dannyboycey · 19 November 2007 at 11:22AM

I think these threads are hitting a nerve with Nollag. Maybe he has made some poor financial decisions and stands to lose some money - hence his apparent anger. Just accept that the market has turned (that's not even up for debate anymore - it's fact) and simply refrain from reading or participating in threads which you don't want to. Freedom of speech is a great thing - if you don't like it, pack your bags and find a communist dictatorship in which to live in.

SquatNow · 19 November 2007 at 6:28PM

If someone came on this forum asking for serious advice on how to mug people, we wouldn't be expected to be nice to them.

Likewise, if people ask question based upon assumptions that may be incorrect we have a responsibility to advise them to consider other opinions.

There is no right or wrong, there is only opinion.

If a poster asks for advice on what they should do and they are assuming that house prices only go up, even when all the independant experts say they don't, we'd have to be pretty immoral people not to tell them. (Unless of course they were a BTL speculator, obviously...)

Can we please stop the House Price crash threads?

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