Renters pushed to breaking point as Britain's selfish homeowners gloat their hands

ukcarper

lisyloo wrote: »

I'm not one of the people that denies there is a housing issue.

I think we've suffered chronic underinvestment.

It really doesn't help someone's case though if they won't move into a place because they can't walk when it's raining or move somewhere that has brown carpet.
Plenty of those of us who are owner occupiers moved into houses without carpets, curtains and didn't have everything on day 1.
The attitude of "want it all now on a plate" doesn't help.

I'd agree with you there I would be quite happy if the price of property had just kept pace with earnings. I believe the real problem is London and parts of the south east.

mwpt

ukcarper wrote: »

I'd agree with most of that but what good is moaning on hidden forum going to do.

What is the point of this forum, then?

I could turn that argument around and say stop moaning about my moaning

ukcarper

mwpt wrote: »

What is the point of this forum, then?

I could turn that argument around and say stop moaning about my moaning

No I quite happy for you to moan that's what this forum is for just don't expect everybody to agree with you or to change anything.

mwpt

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

I agree completely, you should be angry about it, that we build so few homes in comparison to housing need and have done for so long is little short of a national disgrace.

Hopefully you'll do something constructive with that anger and start lobbying your MP to get more houses built, more finance available for people to buy them with, and fewer restrictions on where they can be located.

The problem with many of the people that come over here from 'that other forum' is that they direct their anger at entirely the wrong targets.

- It's not the fault of a boomer that they came of age to buy a house at a time when there wasn't a housing shortage.

- It's not the fault of a landlord that they saw a commercial opportunity and positioned themselves accordingly.

- And you can't blame people that bought pre-crash on great mortgage deals and have taken advantage of the lowest rates in history since then to lower their lifetime housing costs.

These people are acting rationally given the facts as they exist at the time.

Whereas some people (the ones that got 'crash-fever') chose to act irrationally, in the expectation that they would be right and the majority wrong, and it hasn't worked out for them.

I agree with most of that Hamish (see, we have a lot of common ground). I think you'll find I don't blame anyone for acting in their own interests. I don't blame decent landlords, or older people. I was banned from housepricecrash probably because I didn't toe the line 100%.

But, my observation - and you may not like this - is that many people with a vested interest in high property prices can be just as blinkered as those who want prices to come down to historically affordable levels.

(Note, I said many, not all)

Mistermeaner

I live in Cheshire. It's 2 hours by train to euston. Lots of London workers here, most sold hovels for rediculous sums and now live mortgage free in 5 bed detached homes. They come in our pubs with funny accents and their southern ways. There's also jobs here too.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

mwpt wrote: »

But, my observation - and you may not like this - is that many people with a vested interest in high property prices can be just as blinkered as those who want prices to come down to historically affordable levels.

(Note, I said many, not all)

I suppose it depends on what you mean by that.

I don't think you'll find many people on here that don't want to see the young able to afford to buy their own houses. And I don't think you'll find many people on here that don't want to see more houses built.

Where you may see a real difference between the posters on this site and the posters 'elsewhere' is in how we think that is achievable.

In general terms, many of the posters here have been discussing this for a long time, and have consistently noted that a crash in prices caused by a global financial crisis & consequent restricted mortgage lending was completely counterproductive if your goal is more people being able to buy a house.

Whereas a few of the posters here, and many 'elsewhere', cheered on the fact that fewer people being able to buy meant prices might fall. While seemingly ignoring the reality that this would exclude an entire generation from buying a house.

And now we end up in a position where the events of the last 7 years have only worsened the housing shortage, driven rents to new record highs, caused building to fall to the lowest levels in a century, and prices have now risen to a new peak regardless.

lisyloo

mwpt wrote: »

What is the point of this forum, then?
I could turn that argument around and say stop moaning about my moaning

It's a perfectly valid point :-)
However you can't expect anything to happen unless you take action.

I often use forums as a way of questioning my thoughts and ideas and then I take action.
You are quite entitled to moan but without being coupled with action it's not much use and I'm not sure it makes anyone feel better either.

lisyloo

is that many people with a vested interest in high property prices can be just as blinkered as those who want prices to come down to historically affordable levels.

Some yes, but please don't tar us all with the same brush.
Most reasonable people do not want their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews etc. to have a terrible time.

cells

I have a lot of sympathy for renters but the truth is that most of them could not buy at current prices or prices that are 25% off today.

if the goal is to maximise home ownership these things need to be done

build more homes (about 400,000 a year)

Sell the council and HA stock (as this is effectively a cap on how high home ownership can go)

Both are needed imo. The second will be more contrivirtual but if homes were plentiful (ie we did build 400,000 a year) it would be less so

cells

lisyloo wrote: »

Some yes, but please don't tar us all with the same brush.
Most reasonable people do not want their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews etc. to have a terrible time.

I've never met a landlord who thinks we have too many homes or just the correct amount. They are all pro building if for nothing else that they see how shameful it would be to have multiple homes and deny others via a shortage of new builds.

to be honest they are some !!!! landlords but I suppose there are just as many !!!! (insert any profession).

renters need to realise two important points. More homes need to be built and that some people won't or can't achieve home ownership be it for very low pay work they do or for other issues. However maybe 80-85% homeownership can be achieved if the conditions are as good as they can be (high new build rate and a lowering of the social stock level)