It seems there's no help for us young home owners!!

FTBFun

Let me get this straight - you have sufficient finances to buy a property in a time when mortgage lending is fairly strict - and you're whinging about only getting £23.99 off of insulation?

Give me strength.

mbga9pgf

Use your noggin.

People that rely on handouts dont do this. You can save for a house, it just takes personal sacrifice. One other point, house prices are at the start of another long leg down, but if all you are going to do is whine about not getting a leg up onto the housing market, nothing will change. Get saving. You need a 15-20% deposit minimum to ensure decent a decent mortgage deal. feeling sorry for yourself wont help.

I do agree though that the BTL sector has an unfair advantage; the fact they can offset their mortgage on the property against the tax incurred is wrong imho.

poppysarah

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Use your noggin.


I do agree though that the BTL sector has an unfair advantage; the fact they can offset their mortgage on the property against the tax incurred is wrong imho.

There's also a lot of grants for landlords to do up properties too which always struck me as utterly wrong.

mlz1413

I bought my first home when there was MIRAS relief - it was a ploy to get people to own homes and then the interest rate shot up to 15%.
Do I want that type of handout from the government again - only if I'm a saver!

I bought my current home 5 yrs ago and had no help from the government, I enquired with my local council if any grants were available and they said as the toilet was inside then no.
As I bought the house with a hole in the roof, missing floorboards and damp I just got on with it and certainly didn't come on a internet forum to moan about the government!

Loft insulation is cheaper to buy and install yourself, any company offering deals will only do it for people on benefits.

If you envy your mates then get preganant and join them
PS I hope the government stops child benefit really soon.

tbs624

poppysarah wrote: »

There's also a lot of grants for landlords to do up properties too which always struck me as utterly wrong.

So would you rather Ts who are at at the poorer end of the spectrum ( ie unable to afford to buy a property) survive in properties that are below standard?

Would you prefer that a LL (a) either doesn't bother sorting out their HMO fire regs or (b) decides they'd rather not bother letting out an HMO at all because the initial outlay is too high?

It's far cheaper for the Councils to hand out grant money to the PRS than it is for them to set about building new housing stock.

If you look, for example, at the Empty Homes Grant, the LL of an empty property has to agree to take on a council-nominated T, on a two year AST, in return for that Grant

Grants are also currently available to *vulnerable* owner occupiers - is that wrong too ?

tbs624

mlz1413 wrote: »

I bought my first home when there was MIRAS relief - it was a ploy to get people to own homes and then the interest rate shot up to 15%.
Do I want that type of handout from the government again - only if I'm a saver!

I bought my current home 5 yrs ago and had no help from the government, I enquired with my local council if any grants were available and they said as the toilet was inside then no.
As I bought the house with a hole in the roof, missing floorboards and damp I just got on with it and certainly didn't come on a internet forum to moan about the government!

Loft insulation is cheaper to buy and install yourself, any company offering deals will only do it for people on benefits.

If you envy your mates then get preganant and join them

Good post

mlz1413 wrote: »

PS I hope the government stops child benefit really soon.

...universal child benefit, yes, all CB, no.....

tbs624

mbga9pgf wrote: »

I do agree though that the BTL sector has an unfair advantage; the fact they can offset their mortgage on the property against the tax incurred is wrong imho.

They can only set down the *interest* element against their rental income and it's no different to the arrangements for other businesses. A BTLer cannot live in the property him/herself and pays a higher rate than a home owner does on their resi mortgage product.

LilacPixie

I have my own house too, well it's mortgaged although I have a plan to make that as short a period as possible but thats beside the point. I am also possibly considered ' young' depending on your thought process. No help for us buying a house, we choose to buy using income we earn and if anything the banks actually lend you less having dependents than without.

mbga9pgf

tbs624 wrote: »

They can only set down the *interest* element against their rental income and it's no different to the arrangements for other businesses. A BTLer cannot live in the property him/herself and pays a higher rate than a home owner does on their resi mortgage product.

Other businesses arent depriving the younger population from enjoying the cheap housing the previous generation did.

Personally, I think btl should be disincentivised. Why should they be able to offset a business expense against tax? It makes no sense. If the government were responsible for the cost, for example, VAT, then fair enough.

I wish I could offset my mortgage against my 40% tax, but I cant. BTL shouldnt be any different.

If you want to insulate, Npower have a deal where you can buy insulation at £3 a roll. Make sure you claim for the max amount and just superinsulate; we have 400mm of insulation in our loft space and our roof u value is 0.1. Cost us £200 to do. Save us a fortune over the life of the home.

originalmiscellany

I bought my home several years ago, when the value of the house was over 5 times my salary, and since then I've worked hard, taken promotions at work and saved hard.
I don't drive a brand new car, have OTT holidays, drink (much) or smoke (never) and over time I have seen the mortgage drop.

I also had lodgers (often 2 of them) in a 3 bed house which provided company, free help on the house and helped pay the mortgage.

I hope you can find a new tenant to replace your cousin, and that the insulation in the long run saves you money. We're getting ours done at less that you've paid but I hope it will in time add value to the house (slightly!) and lower gas bills which is more important.


http://www.government-grants.co.uk/?gclid=CK_go8uCsKYCFQse4QodWT4kZg

implies you should be able to get 50% off which is what we have received - hope the link is of use to you

And welcome to this board, it's usually a very friendly and informative place, and if you want advice on saving more efficiently this is the place to be