Baffling London BTL economics

economic

30-35 years is a long time. anything can happen during that time frame. zone 2 is already inner london and close to central but central will always be central and nothing can replaceor chage that.

the problem with removing social housing is one of politics as you say, funding and linked to this are demand and rationale. i believe in any areas we do need low level labour and so there should be affordable housing to suit.

cells

economic wrote: »

i believe in any areas we do need low level labour and so there should be affordable housing to suit.

The national average for social homes is ~17% but that varies from a lot less than that to at one time over 50% in some boroughs.

There is no need for more than the national average in inner London so they should be sold down until the inner boroughs are no more than 17% and I think it should go further towards 10% for simple logistical reasons.

mwpt

Generali wrote: »

I guess that unless you manage to muck it up monumentally then you're unlikely to lose much so I'd say it's worth a go. I don't regret it although I wouldn't do it again. I do have other ideas but I'd rather not discuss them.

If you don't want to discuss them, could you just tell us what they are?

Generali

mwpt wrote: »

If you don't want to discuss them, could you just tell us what they are?

Not really.

I have a business idea which I'd like to take up in perhaps a decade when the Generalissimos have finished school. The driving force behind the idea is that it takes housing equity and turns it into an income and a decent lifestyle in an easily run business for someone aging who has little or no pension.

mwpt

Generali wrote: »

Not really.

Yeah, it was my small Friday morning hungover joke.

I have a business idea which I'd like to take up in perhaps a decade when the Generalissimos have finished school. The driving force behind the idea is that it takes housing equity and turns it into an income and a decent lifestyle in an easily run business for someone aging who has little or no pension.

Btw, I took lodgers (a couple) for the first year of my home ownership. I went over the tax free threshold but it was still a nice chunk of money to have coming in for essentially doing nothing more inconvenient than what I had been doing in previous house shares. I'm old enough that I don't really want to be doing this and my equity and earnings position is good enough not to have to, but I can't resist the free money.

What I'd really like to do is convert our shed at the bottom of the garden into a nice annex, put in some hedges to cut it off from direct view of us (and neighbours) and run it as an airbnb place rather than have a permanent lodger. I'd run it in the minimal work style, where we just provide clean linen and towels and make sure everything is clean, but apart from that no real fuss. The problem is, I just don't think I'd be allowed to by planners. I am told it would be incredibly difficult to get permission for this, particularly adding a toilet.

Later in life an idea once we have enough equity and are reasonably financially independent of work, I'd like to do something similar but in the south of France.

Conrad

chucknorris wrote: »

All that said though, I am finding it hard to 'switch off' and switch to leisure only activities, but the thing is that you can't afford to leave it too late,

I'm the exact opposite, never enough hours in the day for hobbies and leisure - my parents are like this too.

I've seen too many retired people becoming bored and losing a sense of purpose, it's such a shame.


My tips are;

1. Absolutely you must have a hobby or 2 you are passionate about. The possibilities are limitless. A retired woman on radio said her biggest life regret was not having a hobby
2. Be content - notice the small things and take pleasure in them. I like a cuppa in the morning in my garden - just listening and looking, such a treat
3. Volunteer for charity / make it your job to go visit lonely old folk / help out in your wildlife charity - very rewarding work - help look after turtles in a sanctuary in Indonesia / volunteer to count butterflies in your village - again endless possibilities and quite social
4. Travel - maybe try mountain biking in the Forest of Dean or learn to surf - you're never too old
5. Exercise - the Horizon show on age told us the biggest killer of all is sitting down. Exercise hard for 20 minutes per day without pause - squat thrusts etc - you feel MUCH better the rest of the day - even walking is better than nowt
6. Join a political movement / party
7. Bake artisan bread (not using bread makers) - I've recently discovered this pleasure - nothing like watching the rise on your dough - you never know quite how it will go. It took 30 attempts to make properly lite and airy French sticks that had a crunchy tasty crust

Plus all the other things such as cooking, eating out, films,
I don't really understand the boredom thing if I'm honest. I think it stems from a lack of imagination, a lack of fascination with the world around you, but I think one is able to re-train the mind and conquer boredom. I've helped my neighbour to do this and she says it's stopped her winter blues.


PS - this was a general post, not aimed at you, you just got me thinking as I see too many bored retired people and feel with a bit of a prompt almost everyone can avoid boredom

westernpromise

Whenever I've been out of a job or on gardening leave I've found it's no more than a week or three before I start to wonder how I ever found time to work. There is so much to do and to want to do that very quickly I find I need all day to do it.

I can't wait to retire. I so so want to have that time.

Conrad

westernpromise wrote: »

Whenever I've been out of a job or on gardening leave I've found it's no more than a week or three before I start to wonder how I ever found time to work. There is so much to do and to want to do that very quickly I find I need all day to do it.

I can't wait to retire. I so so want to have that time.

My parents (Dad died in late 60's) always said they had no idea how they managed to fit work in. The point is to find hobbies / charity work that are as important and fulfilling as a paid job - all workers are replaceable, so never confuse a job with the essence of your being - that job will easily be done by someone else and you will be a distant memory 3 weeks later

chucknorris

Conrad wrote: »

I'm the exact opposite, never enough hours in the day for hobbies and leisure - my parents are like this too.

I've seen too many retired people becoming bored and losing a sense of purpose, it's such a shame.


My tips are;

1. Absolutely you must have a hobby or 2 you are passionate about. The possibilities are limitless. A retired woman on radio said her biggest life regret was not having a hobby
2. Be content - notice the small things and take pleasure in them. I like a cuppa in the morning in my garden - just listening and looking, such a treat
3. Volunteer for charity / make it your job to go visit lonely old folk / help out in your wildlife charity - very rewarding work - help look after turtles in a sanctuary in Indonesia / volunteer to count butterflies in your village - again endless possibilities and quite social
4. Travel - maybe try mountain biking in the Forest of Dean or learn to surf - you're never too old
5. Exercise - the Horizon show on age told us the biggest killer of all is sitting down. Exercise hard for 20 minutes per day without pause - squat thrusts etc - you feel MUCH better the rest of the day - even walking is better than nowt
6. Join a political movement / party
7. Bake artisan bread (not using bread makers) - I've recently discovered this pleasure - nothing like watching the rise on your dough - you never know quite how it will go. It took 30 attempts to make properly lite and airy French sticks that had a crunchy tasty crust

Plus all the other things such as cooking, eating out, films,
I don't really understand the boredom thing if I'm honest. I think it stems from a lack of imagination, a lack of fascination with the world around you, but I think one is able to re-train the mind and conquer boredom. I've helped my neighbour to do this and she says it's stopped her winter blues.


PS - this was a general post, not aimed at you, you just got me thinking as I see too many bored retired people and feel with a bit of a prompt almost everyone can avoid boredom

I think perhaps you misunderstood, I do have lots of hobbies, and I have a zest for wanting to do everything, hobbies and business. It isn't a case of sacrificing hobbies for business, its a case of doing everything, but I am trying to slow down on the business side.

Although that said my latest 'hobby' is walking (although it is more like hiking) and that is very time consuming, I'm only doing up to 12 miles at the moment, but I want to double that (but I don't really have the time while I am still working), so I think that is certainly going to help, as it will challenge my time management to fit everything in. There isn't much hope for me getting bored, in fact, when we retire (next year) we have got Spain and the Algarve to explore too (as we will spend our winters there).

Conrad

chucknorris wrote: »

I think perhaps you misunderstood, I do have lots of hobbies, and I have a zest for wanting to do everything, hobbies and business. It isn't a case of sacrificing hobbies for business, its a case of doing everything, but I am trying to slow down on the business side.

Although that said my latest 'hobby' is walking (although it is more like hiking) and that is very time consuming, I'm only doing up to 12 miles at the moment, but I want to double that, so I think that is certainly going to help, as it will challenge my time management to fit everything in. There isn't much hope for me getting bored, in fact, when we retire (next year) we have got Spain and the Algarve to explore too (as we will spend our winters there).

Yes I had a feeling I was barking up the wrong tree with you - my comment was more a general observation, and one I'd love all retirees to read as I have met plenty that are trapped in boredom - almost always they were work fanatics and somehow lost their essential selves somewhere on the way