Should we Gazunder???

milliebear00001

citizen11 wrote: »

If I became unemployed wouldn't my spouse have to claim income based JSA there by entitling us to claim SMI after 13 weeks?

No - you would have to claim. It will be a joint claim (meaning you get extra money for a spouse) but you would lead the claim as it would be you that had lost your job. It's the JC who decide which of the JSA benefits you must claim based on the circumstances of the claim.

Edit to say - actually, I'm not sure you do get extra money for a spouse on CBJSA. Think it has to be an individual claim. Been some years since we did it, but remember being asked lots of questions about OH's work situation and being told he had to apply for CBJSA, not IBJSA, even though I could have been seeking work as well.

May be worth ringing up and asking the question about whether your wife could claim alongside you for IBJSA, although in my experience, the JC staff are not always the best informed! Could try the benefits board here as well!

citizen11

milliebear00001 wrote: »

No - you would have to claim. It will be a joint claim (meaning you get extra money for a spouse) but you would lead the claim as it would be you that had lost your job. It's the JC who decide which of the JSA benefits you must claim based on the circumstances of the claim.

As a taxpayer I find that rather reassuring, looks like I'll have to cough up for the PPI.

On the plus side looks like if I do get laid off I get 1 year on the my insurance then 2 years on the social. Beauty!

Obviously though living on benefits is no picnic. You're point about outgoings is noted but this mortgage is the debt I have. If I lost my job I would expect my standard of living to fall significantly.

RedDragon22

More than just morals involved......with the wrong people you risk losing the deal.

Not everyone selling houses needs to move by certain dates or have necessity to sell at their moment in their lives so some people may simply refuse to continue the transaction.

So yes you could save money, the down side is you could lose the property (and money already spent).

Appreciate it is the biggest purchase you will make, but ethics in business exist whether you wish to agree or not.

citizen11

RedDragon22 wrote: »

More than just morals involved......with the wrong people you risk losing the deal.

Not everyone selling houses needs to move by certain dates or have necessity to sell at their moment in their lives so some people may simply refuse to continue the transaction.

So yes you could save money, the down side is you could lose the property (and money already spent).

Appreciate it is the biggest purchase you will make, but ethics in business exist whether you wish to agree or not.

This is crucial, my vendors move I suspected to be discretionary and I really didn't think I would be able to squeeze them. However, seems that all the recent news has spooked buyers and sellers alike.

citizen11

RedDragon22 wrote: »

More than just morals involved......with the wrong people you risk losing the deal.

Not everyone selling houses needs to move by certain dates or have necessity to sell at their moment in their lives so some people may simply refuse to continue the transaction.

So yes you could save money, the down side is you could lose the property (and money already spent).

Appreciate it is the biggest purchase you will make, but ethics in business exist whether you wish to agree or not.

This is crucial, my vendors move I suspected to be discretionary and I really didn't think I would be able to squeeze them. However, seems that all the recent news has spooked buyers and sellers alike.

That said I was willing to risk (and looking like a pratt) calling their bluff if they hadn't accepted I would have called them in a month or so to see if the felt differently

RedDragon22

Not all buyers and sellers are spooked by the news......because it is simply speculation. There is no cystal ball.

Statistics can be interpretated in many different ways

Some people have strong enough beliefs that even in a month's time they would still not deal with someone who they believe to lack morals.

Your belief is that the market has fallen or due to fallen, this is not a fact.

It costs very little to sell a house prior to completion so sellers do have a strong hand if they are not constrained by a sale date.

citizen11

RedDragon22 wrote: »

Not all buyers and sellers are spooked by the news......because it is simply speculation. There is no cystal ball.

Statistics can be interpretated in many different ways

Some people have strong enough beliefs that even in a month's time they would still not deal with someone who they believe to lack morals.

Your belief is that the market has fallen or due to fallen, this is not a fact.

It costs very little to sell a house prior to completion so sellers do have a strong hand if they are not constrained by a sale date.

The market for the house I wanted to buy fell by about 5% on Friday. That is a fact.

RedDragon22

based on what?
AVERAGE house prices?
What a buyer is willing to pay?
What a seller is willing to accept?
future belief about interest rates?
FSA paper on mortgage lending criteria?
inflation expectations?
estate agent VALUATIONS?
government job losses?
lending criteria of banks
etc etc.......

please tell me what 100% accurate source has told you that they are 100% certain that all the above factors have led to a 5% fall?

besides if you are absolutely certain the market in this particular street is 5% lower in two months then surely you will need to have 100% accurate knowledge of where the price is going to go in the future.......

I think you are putting too much weight on one intepretation of statistics which is probably reliant on a limited number of factors (average house prices?)

citizen11

RedDragon22 wrote: »

based on what?
AVERAGE house prices?
What a buyer is willing to pay?
What a seller is willing to accept?
future belief about interest rates?
FSA paper on mortgage lending criteria?
inflation expectations?
estate agent VALUATIONS?
government job losses?
lending criteria of banks
etc etc.......

please tell me what 100% accurate source has told you that they are 100% certain that all the above factors have led to a 5% fall?

besides if you are absolutely certain the market in this particular street is 5% lower in two months then surely you will need to have 100% accurate knowledge of where the price is going to go in the future.......

I think you are putting too much weight on one intepretation of statistics which is probably reliant on a limited number of factors (average house prices?)

I agreed a price with the vendor in August that was 5% higher than the price we settled on Friday. I am only talking about the house that I am buying, to me it got substantially cheaper.

citizen11

RedDragon22 wrote: »

Appreciate it is the biggest purchase you will make, but ethics in business exist whether you wish to agree or not.

RedDragon22 wrote: »

This seems fairly straightforward......how important is £4000 to you?

Sold and completed my house on Friday...... sold it with no chain and actually improved the house after the offer was accepted out of goodwill. HOWEVER, £4000 is important to me so if I had been in your position then I certainly would try to maximise what my asset is worth.

People can raise the issue of morals and a person's word.....but its not a black and white situation. If the second offer is genuine then you are walking away from £4000. I loved my house whilst I lived in it....but once that for sale sign went up it was an asset/investment.

You have to protect and look after yourself in this situation and do what is right/best for you. So.....walk away from £4000 or take it depending on how important it is to YOU.

RedDragon you should be ashamed of yourself. Maximising the value of your "asset" is ethical yet a buyer maximising the value of their cash is not?

That is the best yet. Brilliant!