Gallygirl's "A journey of 121,226.67 pounds begins with a single penny" diary

greent

I also need a new kettle but refuse to spend many ££s on it - so am waiting until Thurs for this one: https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-8th-may/product-detail/ps/p/ebony-kettle/

edinburgher

I agree greent - GG spends more on a kettle than I do a car

gallygirl

edinburgher wrote: »

I agree greent - GG spends more on a kettle than I do a car

Yes well, seeing as how you got given your car that's pretty hard to beat :rotfl:.

New kettle is great, it does that heaty-up-water thing really well :T:T:T.

Left home in pouring rain, arrived at work to blazing blue skies. Really need to start looking at weather forecast in the morning, not sure if boots may make feet explode :eek:.

Happy Tuesday

edinburgher

Aye, and I want to get rid of it already!

Suggested to Mrs E selling it and just giving the money to her Mum, but that was met with frosty glances. Still, she's ok with the future car club idea, so that's a start.

I was looking at Rightmove today. As a student and young adult, I lived in one of the studenty parts of Glasgow. There are some cracking bargains going in the BTL arena, I could so build a profitable portfolio of flats. I just don't want to. Depressing to think that we were paying £550/3 on a 2 bedroom flat that can be bought for £25k!

gallygirl

edinburgher wrote: »

I was looking at Rightmove today. As a student and young adult, I lived in one of the studenty parts of Glasgow. There are some cracking bargains going in the BTL arena, I could so build a profitable portfolio of flats. I just don't want to. Depressing to think that we were paying £550/3 on a 2 bedroom flat that can be bought for £25k!

What's made you so against it Ed? Lots of potential for spreadsheet fidgeting

edinburgher

11 years of renting, with 10+ addresses

In all seriousness, I have seen some lovely cheap flats going. For example, a fully reburbished (small )1 bed on the ground floor of a quiet block, with new kitchen, bathroom, neutral decor to a decent standard. £45k! It's in an area perceived to be full of junkies, hence the low price. In fairness, it is, but they're usually quite peaceful neighbours :eek:

westie660

Hi ed,

I am quite intrigued by your dislike of property

I do agree that paying your hard earned into bricks and mortar can be a bit of a gamble. Prices can (and do) go down as well as up, and being a 'buy to let' landlord can also have its fair share of headaches.

The big negative is the crazy amount of interest that people end up repaying to their lender.....but that is where the benefit of overpaying makes such a huge difference.

For me, property feels like the most secure 'home' for my money. Of course, real estate may well crash next week, but at least you still own the property......and if you do want to sell and move on, then the price of your next property should have dropped in a similar fashion. The secret is to get rid of the mortgage (and hence the added interest) as soon as is possible. :T

I suppose I'm just more wary of stock/bond type investments....I don't understand why anyone would rather have a piece of paper to prove ownership of something than an actual physical thing! It's the old saying "if you can't touch it, then you don't own it".

If the whole financial system went belly up tomorrow (and that wouldn't surprise me one bit) would I rather own a property outright, or a piece of paper stating that I owned 1000 shares in XYZ? And most likely, the next headline in the newspaper that day would be that company XYZ was a giant ponzi sheme, and the CEO has done a runner with all the cash! Maybe I'm just an old cynic

Sorry, getting a bit heavy there Please don't think that I'm having a dig.....I absolutely am not. I am genuinely interested to know why you favour one course of action over the other? I think it's great to hear the thoughts and opinions of others, and hopefully helps us all to reach our own goals sooner.

Cheers all :beer:

Westie

edinburgher

Good question, poor GG's thread is about to be cluttered (sorry!)

I have no inherent dislike of property, I have a mortgage and some day will discharge it so that I no longer have to pay for somewhere to live.

What I dislike is residential property *as an investment*. The peculiarly British fascination with house prices and our collective inability to trust intangible investments has led to massive distortions in the value/perceived value of these assets. In my opinion, this has benefited some people very much, but hamstrung at least as many people.

The 'bricks is bricks' argument has made it harder for families to buy homes and has led to a worrying concentration of risk in assets that are highly illiquid and *can* fall in value. For example, our 2 bedroom flat was £136k when we bought it in 2012, which is total nonsense. It was also a relative bargain - neighbours with nearly identical flats paid £20k more 4 years before us!

In addition, I rented for a long time. With 1-2 lovely exceptions, most of the landlords were petty, money grubbing idiots of the worst possible temperament. I've never paid rent late in my life, I am clean and conscientious and still found dealing with landlords to be a special kind of torture! The worst are accidental landlords unwilling to learn the 'rules' of a business relationship, particularly those who are too attached to 'their' houses, forgetting that they have become someone else's *home*.

The financial system has gone 'belly up' and continues to do so with frightening regularity. Despite one of the worst recessions in goodness knows how long, indexes remain relatively flat over the last 15 years. Also, with investments, there is £50k/provider of protection in the case of a scheme collapse/massive con etc. Yes, equities rise and fall constantly, there is a definite risk of loss. It's also worth noting that in many collective investment schemes, the assets aren't actually owned by the provider, so even if they go bust, the shares remain.

That said, it's very easy to be diversified across a massive range of companies that provide the very staples of daily life, the services we use and the infrastructure that lets it all flow from one place to another.

I politely submit the argument that it's far easier to trust in the collective wisdom/greed of the largest companies in the country/world than it is to trust in a few brick boxes

westie660

Good answer ed....and thank you for taking the time to reply (sorry from me too GG for cluttering your thread!)

I agree with a lot of what you say....house prices have got pretty crazy, and I hate to see young people/families being priced out of the market! We do have too much of an obsession in this country with bricks and mortar, but that does not necessarily make it a bad area to invest in. The right financial decision, is the one that is right for you.....and property makes sense to many. They feel that they understand it, and for that reason alone are more comfortable in their choices.

I would also add that there are many 'good' landlords out there (and I would like to include myself in that), who's main motivation is not money grabbing in any way. I bought buy to let property for two main reasons 1) To provide a regular ongoing income for us and 2) To offer comfortable and affordable accommodation to suitable tenants. I want reliability and assurance for both parties, and at all times I have taken the needs of both myself and my tenants into consideration. I have had great tenants in both properties for the last 4 years, and I would say that we have an excellent business relationship, based on mutual trust and respect. I think the stereotype of the 'dodgy landlord' needs to be erased, and what better way of doing that than by getting involved.

I do have stock based investments, and have moved in and out of share based assets over the years.....I have a pretty varied investment strategy (to say the least), so am not in any way against this sector. I was just curious to hear why you sounded so anti property.

Anyway, thanks for the wee debate....enjoy reading your thoughts.

I will clear out of your thread now GG.....summer season of work starts again next week, so I better get the sailing kit looked out and organised (it's a hard life!) :j :j

Westie

gallygirl

westie660 wrote: »

summer season of work starts again next week, so I better get the sailing kit looked out and organised (it's a hard life!) :j :j

So basically you play all winter....... and play all summer :T:T:T.

Really interesting debate. I have to say I agree with Westie (but then I would ). I treat my tenants with respect and am very mindful it's their home, not mine. In all honesty in some cases I've been a far better landlady than the tenants have been good tenants . But I understand property, I don't buy for capital gains but for a steady income stream and know all my obligations. It all basically started as I got shares in one company as part of my divorce and sold them as I thought shares in one, AIM-listed, company were too dangerous. They've been taken over so many times but I must try to find out what they'd be worth.