negative equity, bought a lemon, now working over seas

m00m00

if you are using a rollercoaster metaphor, we've done the uphill bit, we are doing that bit now where it travels along flat for a short time, before the huge plunge.

Dithering_Dad

motch wrote: »

At this moment in time we are just off (below) the peak. We're in no trough as yet. thats some time away

m00m00 wrote: »

if you are using a rollercoaster metaphor, we've done the uphill bit, we are doing that bit now where it travels along flat for a short time, before the huge plunge.

How do you knwo where we are in the cycle? How do you know where the trough will end?

It's all guess work and I have to say that I wouldn't write off anything upto £40k on the guess work of strangers on the internet.

In fact, I wouldn't write off £40k, period. Neither would you lot either, truth be known.

I have to say that encouraging a few people on MSE to jump off a financial cliff will not have any impact on house prices. You wont get your houses any cheaper by ruining people's lives.

motch

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

How do you knwo where we are in the cycle? How do you know where the trough will end?

It's all guess work and I have to say that I wouldn't write off anything upto £40k on the guess work of strangers on the internet.

In fact, I wouldn't write off £40k, period. Neither would you lot either, truth be known.

I have to say that encouraging a few people on MSE to jump off a financial cliff will not have any impact on house prices. You wont get your houses any cheaper by ruining people's lives.

Nope I don't know where the trough will end. Although In my eyes it's fairly obvious where we are in the property cycle. You've made some good/helpful comments about the OP's situation which is obviously a bad time for him.
My point is that i don't think we are in a trough as yet, all this data needs to be assessed by the OP for his best needs.

I have a house, bought in 1997.

GDB2222

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

In fact, I wouldn't write off £40k, period. Neither would you lot either, truth be known.

I have to say that encouraging a few people on MSE to jump off a financial cliff will not have any impact on house prices. You wont get your houses any cheaper by ruining people's lives.

Yes, I would write off £40k if that's the best option. I am NOT trying to talk house prices down in the hope that I can buy one more cheaply. I certainly don't think that it's ruining someone's life to look at the option of biting the bullet now, going through a 1 year bankruptcy period, and emerging debt-free at the end of 1 year. Your option of a long-term millstone round the neck is more likely imho to lead to a ruining of lives.

blahbob

Hi All, I'd just like to thank you for your support. Ive decided to stand my ground and watch the property market turn full cycle (since I have the means to do so). I'm going to do nothing for a year whilst I'm on fixed term and then at the end of that either continue to stay put or if I really NEED to I can move back in with my parents and make over payments for 3 years until I have paid off 35%. After I've paid off 35% the rental income will cover the mortgage and then I can just sit tight. Why write off 40K, when I can put in an extra 40K and then reap the rewards in 10 years time, I'll only be 40 y/o.

keeprenting

blahbob wrote: »

Hi All, I'd just like to thank you for your support. Ive decided to stand my ground and watch the property market turn full cycle (since I have the means to do so). I'm going to do nothing for a year whilst I'm on fixed term and then at the end of that either continue to stay put or if I really NEED to I can move back in with my parents and make over payments for 3 years until I have paid off 35%. After I've paid off 35% the rental income will cover the mortgage and then I can just sit tight.

Well good luck and I hope it turns out OK. I was going to write a long, boring post with lots of numbers in working out the least bad option, but I shan't bother now...

Why write off 40K, when I can put in an extra 40K and then reap the rewards in 10 years time, I'll only be 40 y/o.

...although this doesn't make much sense to me, and I find the "negative equity doesn't matter unless you sell" theory rather, erm, unconvincing (to put it charitably).

phil_b_2

I thought we said 'you havnt actually lost money until you've sold', not that neg equity doesnt matter. Whether or not neg equity matters depends on specific personal circumstances and whether or not the asset in question either only goes down in value, or fluctuates!

Congrats bob on being very level headed and cool about the whole thing. I wish I was more like that. Being a worry-wart type, the stress monster often comes out to play.

Dithering_Dad

GDB2222 wrote: »

Yes, I would write off £40k if that's the best option. I am NOT trying to talk house prices down in the hope that I can buy one more cheaply. I certainly don't think that it's ruining someone's life to look at the option of biting the bullet now, going through a 1 year bankruptcy period, and emerging debt-free at the end of 1 year. Your option of a long-term millstone round the neck is more likely imho to lead to a ruining of lives.

Apologies if I implied that the two poster I was respoding to were trying to talk down the market, I'm from 'oop norf' where we say "you" meaning "people in general". I do sincerely believe that a lot of the pro-crash MSE posters are trying their absolute best to talk down the market. They need to remember that while MSE is a large website, not everyone in the UK reads it and not everyone even on MSE comes into the housing boards. [strike]You[/strike] Individuals cant affect the market by talking it down on MSE, they just make people in difficulties more depressed.

As far as millstones - the chap had decided to rent his place anyway. If he continues to rent it out then eventually the market will turn and his neg. equ. will vanish.

You cant recommend bankruptcy to solve all of life's financial problems. What if the guy has other savings, assets or belongings. He'll lose everything if he gets declared bankrupt - even his job in some cases. Absolute mad idea. I suggest you pop into the bankruptcy sub board on the DFW and ask those guys if it's an easy option. I'd look forward to seeing the replies.

phil_b_2

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

You cant recommend bankruptcy to solve all of life's financial problems. What if the guy has other savings, assets or belongings. He'll lose everything if he gets declared bankrupt - even his job in some cases. Absolute mad idea. I suggest you pop into the bankruptcy sub board on the DFW and ask those guys if it's an easy option. I'd look forward to seeing the replies.

I was going to say... I've seen about 4 posts in the last few days relating to a poster in financial difficulties regarding property, and the response has just been along the lines of 'go bankrupt... job done.'. This before even beginning to consider other options and solutions or assesing the persons circumstances and property in question. Madness. Sums up this forum sometimes really.
I often spend several days away from here and hear nothing spoken of the economy or housing market, then return and apparantly England will soon be a third world country and most folk will be out on the street leaving the rest to pick up 4-bed detacheds for £40k. It's like some stange other planet sometimes!

Dithering_Dad

phil_b wrote: »

I often spend several days away from here and hear nothing spoken of the economy or housing market, then return and apparantly England will soon be a third world country and most folk will be out on the street leaving the rest to pick up 4-bed detacheds for £40k. It's like some stange other planet sometimes!

I was think this the other day. People on here seem to be obsessed with doommongery. I wonder if they're too close to the issue to make accurate judgement calls. When you speculate about a 10% drop for a couple of weeks with like-minded people, it becomes ingrained as fact and so they talk about 20% drops for a couple of weeks and it becomes fact, then 30%, then 40% then 50% then 60%.

In reality most people will have to make a few cut backs but won't need to sell their houses and won't be made redundant and won't be living in death camps or housed in aircraft hangers.

Life will pretty much muddle along as it always has. Some people will struggle, some people wont.