Another one of those benefits threads

SingleSue

I am lucky (or is that unlucky) in that I have seen it from both sides.

I worked part time in the evening to fit around the child care issues whilst now ex hubby worked during the day, I've worked full time and now I don't work.

We saw negative equity and a repossession during the 90's, we've seen affluent times, we've seen poor times.

We've done rental, we've done home ownership and we're doing social housing.

I know which life I preferred......and it's not the social housing, on benefits, single parent one.

Arrggghh, said I wasn't going to get involved!

lostinrates

headcone wrote: »

If you are not qualified or intelligent enough to get a job that earns more.

it`s your own fault.

The same could perhaps be applied to all, but that would leave everyone n receipt of benefits or tax credits included in this attitude.

Harry_Powell

Why don't you post these threads on the benefits board, carolt? I'm sure you'll get the reception you deserve but at least it'll be educational for you.

drc

PhylPho wrote: »

Here's hoping.

One of the best ways of getting the country back on its feet is to no longer encourage so many to lie flat on their backs.

Very clever:rotfl:.

Drea

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Rubbish ! Most of those that can't afford to rent/buy and can't stay in the family home any more end up in temporary accommodation. For years usually.

Just wanted to reply to this part. I've been one of those who couldn't afford to rent/buy and yes, I was in temporary accommodation, in a hostel. We were only allowed to stay 3 months in any one hostel and then we had to move on. Most hostels were completely full so this really isn't ideal! The first day in one of my hostels a girl tried to kill herself, the hostels are full of drunks, drug users, violent people, etc.

Just didn't want people to think that staying in "temporary accommodation" is anything anyone would ever want to. Neither is it possible to stay there for years.

jennihen

silvercar wrote: »

Dare I say that it is harder work being at home with 3 kids under 5 than it is going out to work and leaving your kids with someone else?

(Harder work, but more rewarding.)

LOL - :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Jonbvn

Must be cold in hell today, since I am full agreement with carol on this. (You may want to save this for posterity).

The situation as per the DM article is clearly economically unsustainable. It is also of questionable morality to incentivise divorce.

PhylPho

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Rents are too high.. it's not the wages, it's just that the wages won't cover the rent. Rent's won't come down till mortgages do, and those won't come down until house prices do.

Spot on -- and it's a shame that so many are (properly) angered by the State benefits bill but forget they're looking at an effect. Not the cause.

BTLs have dined out on taxpayer largesse for so long, it's no wonder so many are so smug. The sooner the State decides that X figure is the maximum amount it will pay a landlord, the better. Then we'll see just how brilliant these BTLers have been. And maybe the beginning of a return to sanity in the UK housing market overall.

StevieJ

PhylPho wrote: »

Spot on -- and it's a shame that so many are (properly) angered by the State benefits bill but forget they're looking at an effect. Not the cause.

BTLs have dined out on taxpayer largesse for so long, it's no wonder so many are so smug. The sooner the State decides that X figure is the maximum amount it will pay a landlord, the better. Then we'll see just how brilliant these BTLers have been. And maybe the beginning of a return to sanity in the UK housing market overall.

I was told by someone without a job that the BTL lot did not want to rent to people on benefits.

PhylPho

StevieJ: Thanks for that. My understanding is based only on a drink-in-the-pub with a friend of ours who is a local, independent estate agent. He said he himself hadn't followed the benefits situation in detail but he'd been involved in a number of property sales (one and two bedroom new build flats) where the prospective purchaser(s) had told him they were "confident" about their investment in view of the housing benefits being paid. He said he was told they (the LTBers) were intending to go the route of making a tenancy agreement conditional on the Local Authority's payment-direct-to-landlord option rather than payment to the claimant.