whats your current housing situation?

SamIAm_3-2

Cleaver wrote: »

Just to be serious for a second and blow my Inuit cover, I think that is one of those urban myths that certain languages or cultures have lots of words for snow compared to English.

Whilst there probably are many Finnish and Inuit words for snow, English has many synonyms for snow too: ice, hail, sleet, slush, frost, powder, drift etc.

Anyway, back to fishing in my ice hole.

Ah, this would make sense. I remembered a Top Gear episode where they commented on the number of words for snow in a particular language (in Finnish IIRC). And we all know how well informed the Top Gear presenters are on subjects such as this . More fool me for taking them literally!

Anyway - sorry all; this has gone completely off topic!

Thrugelmir

Cleaver wrote: »

Just to be serious for a second and blow my Inuit cover, I think that is one of those urban myths that certain languages or cultures have lots of words for snow compared to English.

Whilst there probably are many Finnish and Inuit words for snow, English has many synonyms for snow too: ice, hail, sleet, slush, frost, powder, drift etc.

Anyway, back to fishing in my ice hole.

snow = frost

Not sure about that.........

Cleaver

Thrugelmir wrote: »

snow = frost

Not sure about that.........

Frost = A frozen form of water
Snow = A frozen form of water

Similar enough.

Could someone please come on and post about their current housing situation before we all eat our own heads?

lbell_3

I rent a studio apartment in city centre of Birmingham for £500pcm, but do have help on the rent from my boyfriend who currently lives in a shared house elsewhere in Birmingham. I love where I live, especially being able to walk to work, but I have just given notice to leave because of moving in with my OH. We have a viewing this week for a 1 bed apartment in the same complex as I am now for £675pcm with canal views that is gorgeous so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that.

The plan is to live there for a year and a bit and then head off abroad. I spent 15 months abroad from April 2007 and came back last August to ridiculous petrol prices and a country on the verge of collapse and wished I had been able to stay away!

I have no intention of buying a house and being that tied down has never appealed to me. I have around £3000 debt which will be paid off by mid-2010. I have just had a promotion at work, which takes my salary from about £15,800 to £18,212. While that is not a lot of money compared to many people's salaries (especially some of my friends!) I am managing quite well by not going out very often, spending cheaply as possible, and I am really happy with my lifestyle.

[Deleted User]

This is our 7th house. First one bought in 1971 and we over stretched ourselves, couldn`t afford carpets so didn`t have them and only second hand furniture. Downsized to a semi and more comfy re outgoings. Cottage next (1750) in the middle on no-where. Chester next to a lovely architect designed house with a large garden on the edge of a council estate, 2 toilets in that house no en suite those days. Lake district followed and happy in a 5 bed link detatched house in friendly family area. All these moves were relatively cheap to do. Next down to s wales to our best house 4 bed, nice village, large garden etc and spent 22 years there. Alas getting older now and hip replacements for dh so decided to downsize while still relatively young and healthy and what a job that was. So hard to get rid off family furniture etc etc in fact it was back breaking too so making us realise that it was a good time to do it and of course to release capital

Now happy and settled 4 years in a 3 bed 5 year old town house, leasehold and in a lovely community of similar properties

The low rates of stamp duty in the past enabled all those moves, the high rates these days made us stay put

Norma_Desmond

DH and I bought this house (Big, old stone ruin of a place on the moors and overlooking the sea) a few years ago and just before prices went crazy for under 100k - we've *only* got 40k outstanding on the mortgage and no other debts; there's still a bit to do to the house, but we're in no hurry and will finish things off gradually as and when we can afford it and without the 'help' of any credit cards.

whathavewedone

Bought a one bed flat in London in 2002, moved in with oh in 2005, rented out flat for a year and then sold in 2006. Sold house in Chislehurst Kent with oh in 2007 (3 bed 1930s semi) to buy our current house, 4 bed 3 storey Victorian house further out of London.

Planning to stay in current house until children leave home so for about 20 years I guess. Maybe longer to encourage them to come and stay for a while at Christmas etc once they've flown the nest!

brixham

Thought I lived in a top floor 2 bed flat, but since coming on this site I now know I have a penthouse appartment ...........and ofcause a SHED !

BTW had a letter from Nationwide today to tell me they had dropped their interest rate and what my new payment would be. No mention of the collar:j I'm overpaying by what it has come down by plus £100 per month. Not a lot compared to some of you but better than nothing.

baileysbattlebus

We have a 5 bed house, bought it in 1993 (it was our 4th house), bought and sold at about the bottom of the last crash and to be honest we didn't know it was bottoming out at the time - but we desperately needed a bigger house. With high interest rates for a few years, it had always meant that borrowing (mewing hadn't really been invented then, you normally borrowed to do something to the house) the money to build an extension was always a step too far.

By the time rates had come down to where we felt comfortable borrowing the money - the bottom had fallen out of the market and we no longer had the equity to allow us to borrow the extra money. Our house fell 35% in the last crash - although people say the falls were 15%, not here they weren't.

So we sold ours and bought this - which had seen an even bigger drop than our own had. At the peak we wouldn't have bought this.

We bought it for £93k with a £13k depost - we have a few years left on the mortgage and in 2007 according to an estate agent friend of my daughter, would have sold for around £400k. No idea what it would sell for now - but we are not unduly worried - at the moment

Cleaver

baileysbattlebus wrote: »

We have a 5 bed house, bought it in 1993 (it was our 4th house), bought and sold at about the bottom of the last crash and to be honest we didn't know it was bottoming out at the time - but we desperately needed a bigger house. With high interest rates for a few years, it had always meant that borrowing (mewing hadn't really been invented then, you normally borrowed to do something to the house) the money to build an extension was always a step too far.

By the time rates had come down to where we felt comfortable borrowing the money - the bottom had fallen out of the market and we no longer had the equity to allow us to borrow the extra money. Our house fell 35% in the last crash - although people say the falls were 15%, not here they weren't.

So we sold ours and bought this - which had seen an even bigger drop than our own had. At the peak we wouldn't have bought this.

We bought it for £93k with a £13k depost - we have a few years left on the mortgage and in 2007 according to an estate agent friend of my daughter, would have sold for around £400k. No idea what it would sell for now - but we are not unduly worried - at the moment

And do you actually own a Battle Bus as well?