Was STR worth it?

mewbie_2

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

You sure? You've been and done everything else

In some ways I could be immortal, and this user name could be franchised out / passed on - like Al Quaida. But as it only started in Jul 2008 that's going to be a hard one to pull off.

IveSeenTheLight

mewbie wrote: »

In some ways I could be immortal, and this user name could be franchised out / passed on - like Al Quaida. But as it only started in Jul 2008 that's going to be a hard one to pull off.

Well with an average 12 posts per day, you outpost Hamish

GracieP

I STR'd in early 2008 and it's by far and away the best decision I ever made. I took that money, I used what I had learned about markets and I made a tidy fortune. I now consider myself to be more than a little bit rich and have enough to buy the type of house I want for cash (I'm 30 btw) but I won't be buying anytime soon as the market is nowhere near the bottom. Though as I want to buy in Ireland that's pretty easy for me to say.

I don't need to work, I'm halfway through a novel and I'm recapping on my secondary school mathematics with a view to studying astronomy and physics formally instead of as a hobby.

The "trick" with economics is to keep assessing the situation. Keep examining all factors, external and internal. Don't just form one opinion and stick with it. As much as many economists like to call economics a science - it is not - it's subject to the whims and rule changes of governments. If you are going to play it, play it with your eyes and mind wide open.

Thrugelmir

There are also those that found themselves over extended with their financial obligations.

Whilst the period 1999 - 2007 was a growth period for house prices. It is also overlooked that BOE base rate move upwards from a low of 3.5% in 2003 to 5.75% in 2007. So even those with low tracker rates were still paying far higher rates of interest on their debts.

We also know now that many for affordability reasons took out interest only loans, income uncertified loans. So cashing in at the market peak was more than just moving into rented on the basis of expecting a fall. It was to cash in on the equity gain and perhaps use this to resolve other financial issues.

LittleMissAspie

StiflersMom wrote: »

My own thoughts exactly purch.

It is reckless in the extreme. What if the market moves against you? You are stuck in rental for years

How would someone with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds in the bank be stuck in rental for years? If that's the case then younger people with less cash are even more stuck.