TV Expert

mystic_trev

MortgageMamma wrote:

if I thought for a minute that NOT owning a house would improve my quality of life then I'd be more than happy to rent - In fact, I did rent once for 8 years

That's what I've done - STR'd now awaiting the correction. The thing is I still own two BTL's (no mortgage) From Landlord to "Tenant Landlord" Bet there's not many of us around? I always like to be different!

regularsaver1

There as so many BTL's here - I'm in Portsmouth

Many students see

MortgageMamma

lol, can you not look into your crystal ball and let us know when there's gonna be a house price crash

libitina_2

MortgageMamma wrote:

I live up North, Colne in Lancashire to be precise, and it really is grim in some bits. However, in some of the more average parts you can get a 3 bed terraced for 100k, a 3 bed semi for 120-140 and a 4 bed detached garage etc for around 160-250k. A quarter of what you pay in the south. So I suppose I am luckly, having much higher than average earnings, living in an area with much lower than average property prices. But do I live in a big flash house?

No

I live in a three bed terraced with a good size garden semi rurally.

Why?

Because there's so much more to life than the size of your house and keeping up with the jones's! You should all just get out there, stop fretting over house prices and have a good life!

I know the area well.
However, you forgot to mention what the average wage is up there and also the fact that prices have more than doubled in the last two years in the area.
One of the last areas in the UK to boom, and most likely one of the first to go bust imo.

MortgageMamma

You could be right Libertina, however, I really do not speculate too deeply on house prices on an small scale basis, as it would take up too much of my time, but I do remember looking at houses in Nelson back in 2003 for 45k and now on the same street they are selling for 95k - I don't know what the average wage is in the burnley/colne area, but I remember when I was looking for a job, and I'm very well educated with over ten years experience in the financial service sindustry, I couldn't find anything that would pay more than 25k. Thats why I went self employed, I thought, if the opportunities arn't here I'll create my own. It was hard at first but it worked. I originally lived in Manchester where my kind of work is plentiful and well paid so it was a big shock when I relocated here in Nov 2004

homer_j_3

I am very close to Mortgage Mammas location and I dont see how your statement of being last to boom means first to bust works?

Colne is like any town of a similar size - it has its good and bad areas. Colne is ideally located with its rail link to manchester, blackburn and preston and is close to motorway links etc so is an ideal location for commuting and is only a 15 min drive to the gateway to the yorkshire dales Skipton.

I dont see the bust being up here as it remains affordable and the income multiples are not really that stretched in comparison to some parts of the UK. The bust is more than likely going to be a slowdown in my opinion as it did last year a little

richgirl

man-in-the-street wrote:

I had to laugh out loud this morning watching a 'money saving expert' on television discussing house prices. He was attempting to argue that houses might not be a good investment over the life of a mortgage as prices might drop. Has anyone ever come across a normal house that is now cheaper than it was 25 years ago, even allowing for inflation? Thought not.

He then went on to discuss the plight of the first time buyer, saying the average house price in the UK was £180,000 (it isn't - it is currently £193,000), and that a first-time buyer would therefore need to be earning £50-60k. Well DUHHH!! Mr Lewis, first-time buyers with low incomes don't buy an 'average' house, they buy at the cheaper end of the market!

I hope not all the advice on this site is this poor.

You are absolutely correct !

You should go ahead and get that Buy to Let at £193k ! yes the the yeild of 3% is all you need

Goood luck

MortgageMamma

I must admit when you look at what you can get up here in the beautiful countryside for say 200k, as compared with what you get in London or even Manchester for that matter, it makes me realise how fortunate I really am!

Edit - and these roads are so much more fun to drive on, especially enroute from colne to Skipton over the tops - don't you think?

homer_j_3

yes unless you have a mortgage mamma megane coming the other way....

MortgageMamma

LOL, I'm not that bad, I never over take more than 4 lorries at once and stay on my own side of the road apart from when I take sharp bends at 70mph - I feel so sorry for my London based broker friends who don't have the pleasure of proper driving - you should have seen SS's face the first time he got in my car :rotfl: