The reason for my pessimistic thoughts

Graham_Devon

Would like others to join in and chip in, optimists most welcome.

Right, so we are all arguing once again today about who should be able to buy houses and how hard they should work, what level house prices should be etc etc.

So, this is my view, and I'm going to go a little personal in this one.

I have worked since I was 18. So 10 years so far in full employment. I earn around the average wage and always have done, and work hard to do so. I do not work 9-5 hours. I work sometimes in the evening, this month for example I am working every single weekend. Basically, to earn the average wage where I am, I have to step away from the trend of 9-5 and step into the trend of doing whatever job pays the most.

So in 10 years of doing this, I have chosen to buy on my own. Does not mean I have always been single, infact the reverse, but I personally have chosen to buy on my own and get myself sorted instead of having to rely on someone else to be able to pay my way through life. I do not like being reliant on others to live.

In 10 years working, I have got to the stage of buying a percentage of a property. Thats it. My dad always tells me that at 21 he bought a house. Full house. At 25 I was on the way so he traded up, and that I'm falling behind. At 26, my dad had me, and only he was working, mum wasn't. He was a lorry drive, so one lorry driver wage bought a 3 bed home, paid for me, and my mum. 2 years later, my sister comes along. One lorry driver wage pays for me, my sister a 3 bed house and my mum. He never had an inheritance, or any windfall, he did this just buy working an average job. Sure, they tell me it WAS hard. But, now, that would be impossible.

So this is why I have the views that I do. I have got, well, in 10 years, pretty much no where in terms of building up a secure future. People tell me you should be paying into a pension by now. Well sorry, but I haven't even got to the stage of buying a roof yet, because it's all so out of reach.

I cannot see how this country can survive when people like me, earning average wage can not afford to get on in life without relying on another person to also work full time, and then rely on them to continue working full time so we can live.

That, is the reason for my bearish views. I could have got more, yes, but I would have overindebted myself. I have chosen not to do such a thing.

Thats my experience, hopefully others may chip in. I could never ride the surge in the house market in order to become property rich. When I finally did get there, I paid too much and now in neg equity, so the next 5 years don't look great either.

Is this how we want to live in the UK? I sure don't. I want to be able to work hard, pay my way, pay my taxes, pay off my own back, but also, crucially, have a little enjoyment from life, instead of just doing all this JUST to pay the bills on my percentage of a house I have been able to get from working full time for 10 years.

Is that too much to ask? As I'm increasing finding it seems so, and I should be relying on someone else to help me pay my way through life.

JonnyBravo

Graham, for what it's worth, I agree you've had the !!!!!! end of a stick like many others. (However, there are many, many even worse off)

You seem simply to have been born at the wrong time and possibly made a poor decision about your timing on buying and possibly on what you bought.... (not sure about that as I don't know what you live in).... I do know however there is nothing you can do about the past.

All I'd say is that it is inevitable if you continue living in a sensible manner that things will come right.... it has to.... doesn't it?

Sorry, no great advice other than keep plugging on.

pipkin71

JonnyBravo wrote: »

I do know however there is nothing you can do about the past.

Very true for any situation really Jonny.

Sometimes though it's hard not to think of things past that affect your future

inspector_monkfish

Graham_Devon wrote: »

In 10 years working, I have got to the stage of buying a percentage of a property. Thats it. My dad always tells me that at 21 he bought a house. Full house. At 25 I was on the way so he traded up, and that I'm falling behind. At 26, my dad had me, and only he was working, mum wasn't. He was a lorry drive, so one lorry driver wage bought a 3 bed home, paid for me, and my mum. 2 years later, my sister comes along. One lorry driver wage pays for me, my sister a 3 bed house and my mum. He never had an inheritance, or any windfall, he did this just buy working an average job. Sure, they tell me it WAS hard. But, now, that would be impossible.

Depends what was in the back of your old man's lorry

Did he pick up many deliveries from South America:cool::eek:??

mitchaa

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Would like others to join in and chip in, optimists most welcome.

Right, so we are all arguing once again today about who should be able to buy houses and how hard they should work, what level house prices should be etc etc.

So, this is my view, and I'm going to go a little personal in this one.

I have worked since I was 18. So 10 years so far in full employment. I earn around the average wage and always have done, and work hard to do so. I do not work 9-5 hours. I work sometimes in the evening, this month for example I am working every single weekend. Basically, to earn the average wage where I am, I have to step away from the trend of 9-5 and step into the trend of doing whatever job pays the most.

So in 10 years of doing this, I have chosen to buy on my own. Does not mean I have always been single, infact the reverse, but I personally have chosen to buy on my own and get myself sorted instead of having to rely on someone else to be able to pay my way through life. I do not like being reliant on others to live.

In 10 years working, I have got to the stage of buying a percentage of a property. Thats it. My dad always tells me that at 21 he bought a house. Full house. At 25 I was on the way so he traded up, and that I'm falling behind. At 26, my dad had me, and only he was working, mum wasn't. He was a lorry drive, so one lorry driver wage bought a 3 bed home, paid for me, and my mum. 2 years later, my sister comes along. One lorry driver wage pays for me, my sister a 3 bed house and my mum. He never had an inheritance, or any windfall, he did this just buy working an average job. Sure, they tell me it WAS hard. But, now, that would be impossible.

So this is why I have the views that I do. I have got, well, in 10 years, pretty much no where in terms of building up a secure future. People tell me you should be paying into a pension by now. Well sorry, but I haven't even got to the stage of buying a roof yet, because it's all so out of reach.

I cannot see how this country can survive when people like me, earning average wage can not afford to get on in life without relying on another person to also work full time, and then rely on them to continue working full time so we can live.

That, is the reason for my bearish views. I could have got more, yes, but I would have overindebted myself. I have chosen not to do such a thing.

Thats my experience, hopefully others may chip in. I could never ride the surge in the house market in order to become property rich. When I finally did get there, I paid too much and now in neg equity, so the next 5 years don't look great either.

Is this how we want to live in the UK? I sure don't. I want to be able to work hard, pay my way, pay my taxes, pay off my own back, but also, crucially, have a little enjoyment from life, instead of just doing all this JUST to pay the bills on my percentage of a house I have been able to get from working full time for 10 years.

Is that too much to ask? As I'm increasing finding it seems so, and I should be relying on someone else to help me pay my way through life.

Location, location, location;)

I suspect you are priced out in the madness in the south? In a lot of Northern regions above the Watford gap, your average wage would or should be enough to buy you a 2bed flat with little trouble.

Add in a 2nd income to that and things get a lot lot easier. I agree, we may not go back to the singular wage buying a 3bed house as in your fathers case, but perhaps you wouldn't have the same views you do now if you were living in a more affordable northern area and your salary was going a lot further?

Did your parents live in council accomodation and then benefit from the RTB scheme, perhaps this would explain why your dad was able to afford the house on a single salary and you are not?

pipkin71

mitchaa wrote: »

Did your parents live in council accomodation and then benefit from the RTB scheme, perhaps this would explain why your dad was able to afford the house on a single salary and you are not?

My dad bought a house on a single salary, and they had never lived in council housing [so no benefit from rtb].

They've also been mortgage free for many years on the one wage.

Lotus-eater

mitchaa wrote: »

Location, location, location;)

I suspect you are priced out in the madness in the south? In a lot of Northern regions above the Watford gap, your average wage would or should be enough to buy you a 2bed flat with little trouble.

Add in a 2nd income to that and things get a lot lot easier. I agree, we may not go back to the singular wage buying a 3bed house as in your fathers case, but perhaps you wouldn't have the same views you do now if you were living in a more affordable northern area and your salary was going a lot further?

Did your parents live in council accomodation and then benefit from the RTB scheme, perhaps this would explain why your dad was able to afford the house on a single salary and you are not?

A great many couples did what you advise and bought a flat in the north, many are now in deep do dos, as they are in neg eq and want to either move to a bigger property or just sell the damn thing because they are in some kind of money problems.

I would say from personal experience only, that the majority of people who brought houses when our Dad's did, did it on a single income. Depends how old you are of course

SandC

Wasn't that more to do with men earning comparatively a lot more back then than they do now?

For instance, my father reached middle management in his employment. With that kind of job he was able to keep the family (wife, two kids) comfortably on that.

These days a middle management job would not afford the same even if you take the relative cost of housing out of the equation.

It's difficult for sure, especially as I was able to buy a 2 bed terraced house on a salary nowhere near 'average' (and I still don't earn anywhere near average salary but I do live ooop North - I, however, could not have bought a property in my 'home' village and was only able to buy what I have because it is/was an industrial area and there are thousands of streets like mine with former 'two up two downs').

lostinrates

FWIW: I agree with the essence of what Mitchaa is saying aboutchoice. We could all do something different to our benefit personally: however: that still leaves other people in the position we were then in...........at some point the market over reaches not the individuals with choice but the strata of society, with little choice.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Cheer up....


You get to use that bit of paper that has been sitting on your coffee table for the last 6 weeks today!!!

Makes life worth living


:rolleyes:

lostinrates

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

You get to use that bit of paper that has been sitting on your coffee table for the last 6 weeks today!!!

I was a proxy: I got to 'use' two.