The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

pawpurrs

Interest mortgage support is paid for two years, Dopester.
Yes I agree, that you should sell things to support yourself, but they dont take those in to account. You could have no income, but be sitting on a Picasso, worth millions!

dopester

pawpurrs wrote: »

Of course the average age of FTB has gone up, in no small part due to rampant HPI. However had you a crystal ball would you not have bought in 1999?

Good for you. That is fine and great, for you as an individual.

However I wasn't in a position to, and had other important things to pursue.

Regret not buying in 1999?

No, when I had other things to pursue - as many FTBs before me have done without values having ever risen so furiously in the meantime.

You'd be asking me to regret not having "won" with asset-value gain, through a time Labour's financial regulatory systems were allowing reckless borrowing to let rip on the system to rapidly force up the value of property, beyond anything sustainable.

Give it a few more years. Whilst some of us have been locked out of the asset value inflation party, some of us expect the HPI gains from Labour's rule to be lost as values correct.

pawpurrs

I hope they do, but not sure that they will go down to 1999 prices.

lostinrates

pawpurrs wrote: »

However had you a crystal ball would you not have bought in 1999?

You know, I'm inviting a lot of flack on myself, but there is a house I regret not buying in 2004/5. It was well priced, well locted and would have been easily lettable while we were abroad. It is the only place I have seen (and I've seen lots now, including feeling almost broken hearted this year) that I feel really sad about.

We did make a verbal offer, and there was a mix up and my offer wasn't advanced to the managing agent by the sales person. This only came to light 24 hours later when the buyer had accpeted an offer we were told was higher by the managing agent, and the seller was honourable we were told, and was removing the house from market.

Only later did I find out via the sales sites, it sold for less than our opening offer . Only one thing in that road sold since, for LOTS more and one bedroom less. Maybe survey brought some horrors to light . Its not not buying that I regret really,its not buying THAT house: while it might have been awkward when we went abroad I think we could have made it work for us. But, you know, life moves on.

If it came up for sale now I'd be interested in wht price it was and how I felt about it at this point.

dopester

pawpurrs wrote: »

I am in the same but worse postion than Max, in that I do have a mortgage to pay, I have been trying to sell before the job loss to no avail, so even if you made people sell up, in this market it could take some time, by which time, I would hope that a job would have been found.

pawpurrs wrote: »

The only reason I want to sell, is I want to move area. As circumstances are at the moment I will be forced to STR, as I wouldnt be able to get a mortgage at this exact moment in time.

You'd have an equity cushion though yes, given that you'd had HPI equity gains 8 - 10 years?

I suppose it depends on how much of your equity you are prepared to cut down on, in order to try and secure a swifter sale.

How far is the area you'd like to move to from where you are now? You don't have to answer that. Just wondering. Not owning a house does allow you more freedom to move to where opportunity presents itself.

lynzpower

dopester wrote: »

You'd have an equity cushion though yes, given that you'd had HPI equity gains 8 - 10 years?

I suppose it depends on how much of your equity you are prepared to cut down on, in order to try and secure a swifter sale.

How far is the area you'd like to move to from where you are now? You don't have to answer that. Just wondering. Not owning a house does allow you more freedom to move to where opportunity presents itself.

The other alternative of course, is that Max, should he really feel the need to, over the coming months, can consider rentingf his house out. Indeed he could rent out his property to housing benefit claimants and follow the work, in london,overseas, wherever it likes.

He might even turn a little profit

dopester

lynzpower wrote: »

The other alternative of course, is that Max, should he really feel the need to, over the coming months, can consider rentingf his house out. Indeed he could rent out his property to housing benefit claimants and follow the work, in london,overseas, wherever it likes.

He might even turn a little profit

Max owns the house outright so I can see where you're coming from.

Could work out in the short-term. There are longer term risks involved.

Not sure whether such a course of action would protect him from rent values crashing, property values crashing, problem tenants... when growing numbers of people in any locality may be in similar situations of unemployment, and also choose to follow the work.

His description of that large estate near him, where you'd have to be some manager-type to have afford a house there, before values went even higher... this unravelling might leave some houses worth nothing.

mewbie_2

How about Max (given that we are talking about him rather than to him) sells half his house to Dopester, and they share. Spreads the pain, and benefit fairly equally.

Max_Headroom_3

dopester wrote: »

Maybe partly I agree people should be made to sell their homes if they can't afford - why should renting first time buyers be forced to pay higher amounts for available property when there are people are in houses they can't afford to run or pay the mortgage on?

For Max though I was presenting it STR as an opportunity. The STR money could last him out a long time if done carefully, and buy back in at much lower levels. You also decided to try and sell.

How long for?

mewbie_2

Max_Headroom wrote: »

Oh lol big time.