Jobs in construction affected by Credit Crunch

Bluediamond

I have been an ardent MSE Fan for years and in fact this site has helped me and my little family no end over the last two years. We got bank charges back and started a DMP 18 months ago but the last 6 months we have suffered as my Husband is a self employed carpenter who subs off Homebuilders in our area. The Credit Crunch takes it toll so many people and indeed we are one of them but when the work dries up because there are no new homes being built it effects him and others in the follow on trades. Our regular income has dried up and the bills still come in. We are just managing to pay our mortgage and have £500 arrears there and we have to pay our DMP each month too but again, we are making that priority along with the mortgage to get paid. We are living week to week and god knows how we are doing it but we have no choice. This last week I had £15 to feed us as I had two big bills to pay and I had to pay them. The pressure on us is immense, we try not to argue as it won't solve anything but we auave to stay strong for our own sanity, all the while we can see no end to this desolate time we are having.

So this thread is a Big Up to all of us families who have Bread winners in the building trades and like us are finding it so hard to get by. Stay Strong and lets all hang in there!

sophie27

My OH is an architectural technician who specialises in new homes. :rolleyes: He took a break for a couple of months before the crunch hit as he had been flat out. Unfortunate timing as when he started to look for work, there was none! Thankfully his last employer is taking him back on a freelance basis, not sure what we would have done if that option wasn't there!

rog2

PERSIMION HOMES - Britain's largest housebuilder - announced that it would be starting no new developments last week.
The construction industry is the true indicator of recession, and, with falling house prices and rising food prices, debt problems are an inevitable consequence.
Yet we have a Government in denial.

Bluediamond

Sophie and Rog

Thanks for that. Just felt that there must be loads of people in our shoes and wanted to say that we are in the same boat !

Sophie - you are lucky that your husband was able to go freelance with his ex-employer.

Rog2 - Thanks for the info, Persimmon is just one homebuilder that is doing that. It really does have an effect on everything. Mr Brown should be shot for the way he has governed this country.

Stardust77

Hi Blue,

I haven't got any advice to offer but you're definitley not alone. Although we managed to drag ourselves out of debt recently it's proving so hard to stay out of it!! My husband is also a carpenter and has had very little work this year so far. He doesn't do a great deal of work for the big companies, he runs his own small business but the knock on effect of people worrying about money and not willing to spend out on home improvements has nearly killed him financially.

He's now trying to move out of the industry all together. It seems a shame after college years and 18 years of experience but I can't see it getting a great deal better for a while yet.

Good luck to you and your family, keep your chin up, you never know what's round the corner x

wot_a_life

We are in exactly the same position as you Blue,

My husband is a self employed builder/plasterer, when we bought our house, we didn't even have to think about money as it was always there, now, we like you are living week by week.

My husband has just found two weeks work after being out of work for three weeks, mortgage arrears have mounted up to £2000, we are behind with our water payments by 4 weeks, we are struggling with the council tax and already have a rebate and arrears.

Last week I had £50.00 to feed a family of 5 and this week, I have £80.00, the bills are piling up, red letters are pouring in and we simply do not know when the next penny is coming in. I work Part time and my allowance is swallowed by petrol allowance, school lunches and what contribution I can afford to put to the bills if any!!

It is a nightmare to say the least, eventually, we will loose our home, I am sure of that unless some miracle happens!!

Bluediamond

Thanks Stardust and Wot a Life

Wotalife - we are the same as you. red letters, endless phonecalls and so many missed payments it is scary. Everyday you wake up with a sigh. We have three kids like you and it is hard keeping to the low budget day in day out but somehow we do don't we.

Stardust, I wish my husband could do a new job sometimes and my parents keep saying he should get anything that is regular money but like your husband mine has been doing it since he left school - he is 42 now so it ain't always that easy is it.

Last year we were having large wages each week which we thought would never end...oh how wrong we were!

Thanks for your support, really nice to speak to someone in the same situation as us but sad at the same time if you see what I mean

S x

jimm24

Wot a life where is your husband based?I often need plasterers to work around london m25

shopaholic2008

Yep also effecting me just think this country needs to be sorted out as i can only see it getting worse

Good luck to everyone and with careful planning budgeting and cutting back, things should tick by for me.

ZTD

Is there anyone else affected - apart from the building trade?

Essex-girl_2

Well OH and I have a small transport company, so far we are £950 pm worse off because of the diesal, if it goes up to the £1.50 litre which is rumoured it will cost us another £600pm. We cant get any extra off of our clients (massive company's) because they need to make futher cutbacks. - We only run vans so you can imagine the increases for large lorries.


We have no option but to put our drivers on a 4 day week, we do pay well and they will still be on good money and we have tried to avoid this but basically if we dont the company will go bust and everyone will lose their job.

Its going to be a very hard year. I worry about everything though - crime rates are so high even when things were good - how much worse will it get.