Diary of a repossession

fc123

Pobby wrote: »

From your post I get the impression that your landlord is jacking up the rent. I had that last time round. The boom had ended (Thatches boom) resulting in, boring, houses over valued, but that was the excuse for the landlord to really ram it up us as we plunged, not only into a recession, but those loverly Tories then ramped up interest rates.

As for the general public.....don`t start me on that!

I am quite accepting of things I can't change (now I am older) and we signed that lease in 1998....rising rents etc had never affected us before (our other shop was signed in 1990)....much the same as people now who don't believe values can go down or remain the same.

Unlike houses, if shop leases increase in desirability, the lessee doesn't gain any benefit.

A corp idiot has just taken on a letting around the corner on top whack, no incentives so, better to put the energy into the other venture for the time being.

There are takers looking in the area but LL will be difficult over who he permits in as 'High Profile Blue Chips' are their fave occupiers, but there are also laws protecting us against them refusing all offers.

TBH, if I could lock the door and throw the keys in the sea I would BUT that's partly because I am tired.

Have now been booked in for monthly ranges (E-Tail client) plus asked to do a seperate niche range for another High St name...except I can't fit it all into my life.

The ACTUAL making things is what I love to do...all the other fluff and stuff (and fashiony bit) is just the add on.

Getting an idea then turning flat pieces of shaped card into 3D garments...that's the bit I would prefer to concentrate on for now.

poppy10_2

Grrr... this thread should have come with a health warning. Can't believe they are whining after p!ss!ng away all their money on a £20,000 kitchen, BMW Z4, rent-free accommodation for their two adult sons, a BTL property... on top of that they refuse to drop their asking price of £400,000 by 20k, even though this would be more than enough to pay off all their debts and still leave them with a healthy profit.

Must be a spoof article, surely?

dopester

fc123 wrote: »

All of the above is true...we have known loads to get going with very little finance, us included.

Best way to do it.

Go It Alone!: Streetwise Secrets of Self-employment
Geoff Burch

The comments section of a recent Independent article put it this way for where we find ourselves:

My age group are already at the point where we are living a lower quality of life than our parents. Let the deflation happen so we can join the human race again.

These last ten years have been the biggest transfer of wealth from the young to the old(er) we have ever seen. It is time to let the markets stay free and balance themselves out.

You've had it your way far too long, let me get on with my life, anyway I need to start saving so I can pay for your pension!

Which I fully agree with. The markets are unwinding because the system can not allow for one greed generation trying to suck the entire wealth and resources for themselves. They want it all. House prices, and not just over 11 years of house prices trebling, but 30+ on the long-cycle up, mega-wages and fat pensions.. the lot.

There are some balancing forces and cycles that even Gordy can't overcome. He either lets it unwind or it will take everyone down so the younger generations can have a chance. Either way, I'm past caring, cause younger generations will not come through as total debt slaves to the old any more.

This is a rebalancing. Gordy shouldn't try to support all the business failures but allow sound, fresh and good money to come through... even if such money doesn't match the inflated values the old would like to believe their assets are worth. Let the market decide without trying to keep it inflated.

dopester

And the couple who were repossessed brought it fully upon themselves.

Adding more and more leverage to their position, putting their home at risk.

£125 / or £150 cheques as annual Christmas presents for 2 sons of 18+ years of age? Fair enough if you can support it, but still.... a well thought out and chosen gift seems more fitting to me as a gift.

dopester

Pobby wrote: »

but those loverly Tories then ramped up interest rates.

If Labour or Treasury/BoE/FSA had any guts, interest rates here would have been ramped up back in 2002 to put a stop to a deadly and unsustainable house price boom.

Sometimes such ill-tasting medicine is needed early, rather than things getting near fatal for everyone later.

moanymoany

Kenny4315 wrote: »

DON'T SPEND WHAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY BACK .......

it's common sense but has become a concept in Britain that is almost crazy.

People in Britain seem to continual live on the never never, this is a concept that is non-sensical to me. In fact when you talk about paying cash for large items retailers ain't got the foggiest. I once got an import car, and when it arrived got a call saying it's in blah balh blah, how would you like to arrange finance. I said I'm paying with cash, they had no idea how to deal with it, and had to seek advice , eventually paid with cheque.

I'm pretty fed up with everything being blamed on the 'credit crunch', if little Johnny down the road has flu its because of the credit crunch, when in reality most of the current fallout is because individuals have simply borrowed to much to pay back FULL STOP. :mad:

We bought a second hand car. When we went to pay, the chap looked at us and said 'cash purchase Mr. and Mrs. Moany?' We got outside, looked at each other and laughed!

SouthCoast

fc123

As I recently had to pay £7.20 to park for 2 hours 20 minutes in the NCP Church St car park, I had no money left for the shops!


If I had known how much it was going to cost I would not have given the beggar at the entrance money.

fc123

SouthCoast wrote: »

fc123

As I recently had to pay £7.20 to park for 2 hours 20 minutes in the NCP Church St car park, I had no money left for the shops!


If I had known how much it was going to cost I would not have given the beggar at the entrance money.

Ooooh the parking debate...never ending.
Will only halt when the petrol runs out.

I remember Greenwich borough being the tester borough for parking controls...I think it was back in '92 or '93.
Sunday was our main trading day (markets etc in town) and shopping centres etc weren't open on Sundays then either.

People drove down, went to park outside someones lovely, big house for free to discover residents bays...then went to carpark; Full up! They then drove home.
T/O halved for nearly a year and took many small businesses down...but it recovered and life went on.

The parking company had forecasted to break even after 3 years, IIRC, but went into profit after 6 months.

I do remember a council meeting where one councillor was talking about the benefits of lots of new jobs as traffic wardens, clampers etc and any small business who couldn't survive wouldn't worry about losing their living....they could become parking wardens instead....that concentrated the mind to try and survive :rolleyes:


I have been experienced drops in T/O many times over the years due to all sorts of things.....this one is different...it feels different.

fc123

dopester wrote: »

The comments section of a recent Independent article put it this way for where we find ourselves:

Which I fully agree with. The markets are unwinding because the system can not allow for one greed generation trying to suck the entire wealth and resources for themselves. They want it all. House prices, and not just over 11 years of house prices trebling, but 30+ on the long-cycle up, mega-wages and fat pensions.. the lot.

There are some balancing forces and cycles that even Gordy can't overcome. He either lets it unwind or it will take everyone down so the younger generations can have a chance. Either way, I'm past caring, cause younger generations will not come through as total debt slaves to the old any more.

This is a rebalancing. Gordy shouldn't try to support all the business failures but allow sound, fresh and good money to come through... even if such money doesn't match the inflated values the old would like to believe their assets are worth. Let the market decide without trying to keep it inflated.

Our street used to all Indie.

The whole area has frumped up and we had to change direction 3 years back and go more mainstream. Yes, T/O jumped up by 20% but the fun started to drip away, slowly.
The work I am doing now is far too funky for the area I trade in now.

Our premises should go to a younger version of us, do something new, different, start the whole cycle all over again.
LL (who employs Mr Mock Tudor Man, perhaps late 50 something, hanging on for dear life) wouldn't even consider a young start up taking on our premises.

Plus it's too expensive now for niche trading anyway.

We are mid 40's (started a family young); The Sandwich Generation...not really benefitting from the welfare state as much as before but unlikely to inherit as much due to care fees, inheritance tax etc.

lesley1960

Turnover is vanity
Profit is sanity

Any company could turnover over £1 million pounds , the trick is not to spend £1.5 million a year doing so !! Only a fool would make their first business transaction a new BMW .