House prices....

saverbuyer

A.L.D.A wrote: »

Not really, unless you wanted to be a slum landlord. The problem with students is they depart over the summer.



I am merely telling you what some are doing, and they are not amateurs. It would seem they see low cost homes as the place to be. Time will tell if they are right. Some are serving a useful long term purpose by buying very poor houses and fixing them. They are taking the risk and I think we all gain.



Cost of rents in Dublin have dropped and the bus return fare is cheap. Apparently there are also Universities in Holland and Germany that teach in English according to daughter. If the pupil has good language skills they should give consideration to some of the European Universities generally. And then there is Scotland!

Well no because the leases actually last 12 months even though the student year is 8-9 so it was very much about yield.

Please define "amateur" when it comes to BTL landlords? I know people with multiple properties I would consider amateur. I know people (admittedly not personally) who amassed 30+ properties during the 00's and lost it all. Are they amateur?

Is “Johnny Brick Layer” who bought 10 houses in the Holy Lands in 2000, keeps re-mortgaging to release equity and then loses it all in 2011, amateur? Because in 2006 he would have been a property professional, an “investor”. Oh ah.

I don't really care what risks people take, as long as they do it with their own money (not leverage with loans from the banks I now own) and don't expect me to carry on setting a floor on the rental market through 250 million a year housing benefit in Northern Ireland.

Pretty reasonable I think.

I fail to see how we all gain????? 250 Million A year in NI or 16 billion a year in the UK. Tell me how even we the tax payer gains?

A.L.D.A

saverbuyer wrote: »

Well no because the leases actually last 12 months even though the student year is 8-9 so it was very much about yield. [/qoute]

That is not universal, and because of the initial cost of purchase yield was better elsewhere.

saverbuyer wrote: »

Please define "amateur" when it comes to BTL landlords? I know people with multiple properties I would consider amateur. I know people (admittedly not personally) who amassed 30+ properties during the 00's and lost it all. Are they amateur?

People who personalise their decisions to buy and what they do, who don't factor in possible down sides, who underestimate costs, who don't have plan B or a fall back position.

saverbuyer wrote: »

Is “Johnny Brick Layer” who bought 10 houses in the Holy Lands in 2000, keeps re-mortgaging to release equity and then loses it all in 2011, amateur? Because in 2006 he would have been a property professional, an “investor”. Oh ah.

No that sounds like a different class altogether. The compulsive gambler, double or quit until you bust. They have the same attitude to building investment as some have for 'investing' on horses. I have seen so many of these and they all eventually run into financial problems for one reason or another.

saverbuyer wrote: »

I don't really care what risks people take, as long as they do it with their own money (not leverage with loans from the banks I now own) and don't expect me to carry on setting a floor on the rental market through 250 million a year housing benefit in Northern Ireland.

Pretty reasonable I think.

Don't think we disagree on this? See previous post. As for leverage from banks some of what I have seen should never have been approved if the Banks were applying any sort of rational approach.

saverbuyer wrote: »

I fail to see how we all gain????? 250 Million A year in NI or 16 billion a year in the UK. Tell me how even we the tax payer gains?

Someone buys a house in need of serious repairs, fixes it, and makes it available for rent. Often the alternative is; building sits and rots and we then have to build new social housing or increase the number in emergency accommodation. Maintaining existing housing stock is positive, and electricians etc are employed, tax take increased and need to build social housing reduced. Where I have difficulty with it is when people are being outbid by buy to let. At present that is not a problem.

Many have often stated that renting is economically preferable to purchase. If it is true for the individual would it not be more so for the Government?

Personally I would like to see a radical simplification of social housing, how it is provided and the bodies involved.

qwert_yuiop

A.L.D.A wrote: »

And then there is Scotland!

Possibly the worst country in the world. I can't understand a wish to leave a country considered too cold and wet to live in one that's colder and wetter. Speaking as one who's never met an unhappy Scottish emigrant.

Met a girl last week who's just abandoned a course in veterinary medicine in Budapest to take up medicine (human) in Dublin.

A.L.D.A

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

Possibly the worst country in the world. I can't understand a wish to leave a country considered too cold and wet to live in one that's colder and wetter. Speaking as one who's never met an unhappy Scottish emigrant.

:rotfl:

Excellent. Tend to agree. Salted porridge to start the day; yum. It is only for a few years and life will definitely improve when you leave University.

On these islands we should draw a line from the Wash to Limmerick and declare anything north of it a nature reserve and a place for social housing.

Could tell you a tale of north of the Arctic Circle, mid winter, Norway. Hell is gloomy and white. Explains the Viking raids.

qwert_yuiop

A.L.D.A wrote: »

:rotfl:

Excellent. Tend to agree. Salted porridge to start the day; yum. It is only for a few years and life will definitely improve when you leave University.

On these islands we should draw a line from the Wash to Limmerick and declare anything north of it a nature reserve and a place for social housing.

Could tell you a tale of north of the Arctic Circle, mid winter, Norway. Hell is gloomy and white. Explains the Viking raids.

Seriously off-topic, but apparently Scotland has a murder rate treble that of England. And when you subtract the "black on black" violence familiar to any of you who've lived in London (as well as the black on white? Oh no I've said the wrong thing again), and boozed up Slavs who seem to think it's a good idea to bring a dagger to a house party, the actual Anglo-Saxon murder rate is about a fifth.
Yea, Dorset is more appealing than Dundee.

fredy34

whats the biz with prices in east belfast? nothing seems to be selling? With my pension and pay being slashed im thinking of a house as an investment. Good idea?

fredy

tara747

In a word - no.

saverbuyer

fredy34 wrote: »

whats the biz with prices in east belfast? nothing seems to be selling? With my pension and pay being slashed im thinking of a house as an investment. Good idea?

fredy

I see from your previous posts (in 07) you didn't think prices would drop 50%. They have dropped that and are still dropping. People have this "prices only go up" mind-set. They don't.

I would stick to the savings. Your yield will work out better than on a buy to let. Capital appreciation ain't happening anytime soon, 2007 prices won't be seen for a generation or more.

A.L.D.A

saverbuyer wrote: »

I see from your previous posts (in 07) you didn't think prices would drop 50%. They have dropped that and are still dropping. People have this "prices only go up" mind-set. They don't.

I would stick to the savings. Your yield will work out better than on a buy to let. Capital appreciation ain't happening anytime soon, 2007 prices won't be seen for a generation or more.

But eventually (whenever that may be) there comes a time when a floor is reached. Regards savings, return on savings account are what 3.5%? Rate of inflation somewhere around 5%.

fredy34 wrote: »

whats the biz with prices in east belfast? nothing seems to be selling? With my pension and pay being slashed im thinking of a house as an investment. Good idea?

fredy

I don't see any advantage in haste just yet. If the market does bottom out it is unlikely to shoot back up. Nothing much is going to happen over Christmas and the winter months. At the lower end of house prices, particularly if it is in an area where demand is normally strong, I would keep an eye on it as we run into next year. If a house has dropped in price by over 50% just how much more is it still likely to drop? None of us know and it is a guess that you will have to make for yourself.

saverbuyer

A.L.D.A wrote: »

But eventually (whenever that may be) there comes a time when a floor is reached. Regards savings, return on savings account are what 3.5%? Rate of inflation somewhere around 5%.



I don't see any advantage in haste just yet. If the market does bottom out it is unlikely to shoot back up. Nothing much is going to happen over Christmas and the winter months. At the lower end of house prices, particularly if it is in an area where demand is normally strong, I would keep an eye on it as we run into next year. If a house has dropped in price by over 50% just how much more is it still likely to drop? None of us know and it is a guess that you will have to make for yourself.

None of us know ALDA what the exact falls from peak will be. We do know a couple of things though,

1: Rent levels are currently supported by housing benefit payments. These are to be reduced in January. Rent levels will fall. They will continue to fall with the introduction of universal credit.
2: EVERY housing bubble in HISTORY has undershot and returned to the long term average 3.5 time SINGLE earnings. So the average house price of 70-80k.

Please do some research yourself. Don't listen to vested interests. Look at history and look at where we are today with the biggest financial crisis in history. Do you really want to put you retirement money in an immovable easily taxed asset dependent on continued support from a bankrupt government?????

Or you could do what ALDA's "professional investors" do and buy a house on the Donegal Road and make your millions........ What could go wrong??????