My Interest rate gamble pays off again!

RenovationMan

Percy1983 wrote: »

This is very true, we had a lot of luck with timing, the funny thing was we had debts between us and in the time we paid them all off houses dropped for around we had paid off debts in the same time, so strangley if we had not run up debts and bought earlier we would now be at a similar point financially but with less belongings.

As said that was pure luck.

It doesn't have to be pure luck though. A bit of effort put into research can go a long way. There were plenty of people forecasting a crash in the housing market pre-2007 and I don't mean the loons who were predicitng (AKA wishful thinking) a crash in 2001.

I timed the stockmarket crash almost perfectly in 2007, getting my money out of equities and into cash at the right time. That decision was based on research and evesdropping on discussions while I worked in the City.

I bought my dreamhouse based on research that told me that BoE rates would stay low for years and years. We maxed out on the mortgage to a scary 5x salary and have used low rates to pay it down to a more reasonable 4x salary. This could drop to an even smaller salary multiple before rates start to move up.

As I said, timing is everything - but with a bit of effort the timing need not be based on dumb luck but on a calculated decision.

wotsthat

RenovationMan wrote: »

Or, to be fair, learning from their previous mistakes.

..or compounding further previous financial mistakes.

This thread is the first time I've seen shared ownership being linked with financial astuteness. Shared ownership isn't the first thing I'd look for when trying to identify someone with financial acumen.

ess0two

Graham_Devon wrote: »

As dervprof suggests....financially astute would be buying what you can afford?

Out of interest is it possible to buy the rest at a later date?

wotsthat

ess0two wrote: »

Out of interest is it possible to buy the rest at a later date?

I think so but there's little point.

Shared ownership schemes are intended to help FTB's onto the housing ladder. The next logical step should not be to buy the rest of the house, which will tend to be in an 'affordable' area, but to sell up and move somewhere else.

ess0two

wotsthat wrote: »

I think so but there's little point.

Shared ownership schemes are intended to help FTB's onto the housing ladder. The next logical step should not be to buy the rest of the house, which will tend to be in an 'affordable' area, but to sell up and move somewhere else.

Seems Brit is always banging the drum how bad they are,must be some benefit in the long term.

wotsthat

ess0two wrote: »

Seems Brit is always banging the drum how bad they are,must be some benefit in the long term.

I think Brit is right. They combine renting and buying into a product which has the advantages of neither.

Graham_Devon

RenovationMan wrote: »

Or, to be fair, learning from their previous mistakes.

Whether a decision is financial astute or a financial disaster has a lot to do with timing. If someone entered into a house share in 2006/2007 at peak price and just prior to a crash, then one would struggle to find any astuteness. If someone entered into a house share in 2001 just before a boom, then it could be described as astute.

Timing is everything.

You appear to be stating that anyone who bought a house in 2006/7 was financially inept (whats the opposite for astute?).

I find that a remarkable assertion, which leads me to believe even you don't believe what you have suggested. Rather it's just another poorly thought out slur.

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

I think Brit is right. They combine renting and buying into a product which has the advantages of neither.

Yes you can buy more later.

Advantages of neither? I'd disagree. Has both disadvantages and advantages.

RenovationMan

Graham_Devon wrote: »

You appear to be stating that anyone who bought a house in 2006/7 was financially inept (whats the opposite for astute?).

I find that a remarkable assertion, which leads me to believe even you don't believe what you have suggested. Rather it's just another poorly thought out slur.

What are you going on about now, Devon?

Are you saying that you bought a shared ownership house in 2006/2007 and so I'm having a go at you? Believe it or not, but I have no idea when you bought your house. Was it in 2006/2007?

NB: I love the way you twisted my words to say "Anyone who bought a house", when we we actually talking about buying a share in a home - something quite different. Gotta love the way you wriggle in your debates.

Graham_Devon

So only people who bought shared ownership houses in 2006/7 are financially inept?