Innocents affected by this

thriftybabe

There are a lot of innocent people who are going to be affected by the collapse of the housing market. Not everyone ran up debt, overspent, bought flash cars etc and are now going to pay for this.

There are a number of my OH's friends who will find out next week if they have a job! These are innocent victims of the slow down in the housing market who have worked hard, have mortgages and children, and who may now not have jobs. They have not made huge amount of money from getting into buy to let and most have been sensible and their only debt is their mortgage.

These are the people I feel sorry for.

dopester

thriftybabe wrote: »

There are a lot of innocent people who are going to be affected by the collapse of the housing market. Not everyone ran up debt, overspent, bought flash cars etc and are now going to pay for this.

There are a number of my OH's friends who will find out next week if they have a job! These are innocent victims of the slow down in the housing market who have worked hard, have mortgages and children, and who may now not have jobs. They have not made huge amount of money from getting into buy to let and most have been sensible and their only debt is their mortgage.

These are the people I feel sorry for.

I was showing a little sympathy before I read it wasn't just money borrowed for their own homes... but for Buy-To-Let "investments".

Tough luck. DYOR. Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it. No one forced your innocents to buy more additional houses/flats. Property isn't a one way bet.

dopester

Unless you mean they didn't get in to buy-to-let fuelled by cheap easy credit, but just bought their own homes at increasingly skyhigh prices of recent years?

Yes, it's an unhappy situation for many "innocents", but crashes always have victims unfortunately. And the victims are often those who couldn't see any of the big flashing red warning signs to the dangers ahead. Just the way it is, unless you know of a way to fluffy cushion the pain for everyone. It's not nice but it's happened throughout history. People win and people lose.

mizzbiz

dopester wrote: »

I was showing a little sympathy before I read it wasn't just money borrowed for their own homes... but for Buy-To-Let "investments".

Tough luck. DYOR. Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it. No one forced your innocents to buy more additional houses/flats. Property isn't a one way bet.

I didn't read it as the friends having a Buy to Let. It looked like the poster was just saying not everyone was involved in causing the bubble yet we all must suffer the consequences of the few that did fuel it.

dopester

Actually too blunt of me above. I remember now you have colleagues in the building trade / construction.

We've had a very long mega-mega boom and that sector has done very well for many years. Unfortunately downturns, when they come, can be very painful for employment and employment prospects.

At the same time it's just a consquence of ridiculous lending policies and easy credit boom ending. Hopefully your colleagues and friends can adjust and find alternative income.

Kez100

These people have had boom years and should have saved to help in lean times.

kennyboy66_2

Kez100 wrote: »

These people have had boom years and should have saved to help in lean times.

Its bad enough people gloating over the troubles of those people who have foolishly over stretched themselves, but the sanctimonious, patronising 'advice' to people who may be made redundant is sickening.

Many people who work in the building trade have had to spend most of the week working away from home on mega projects like T5, city centre flats and now the Olympics. Wages have also been kept in check to some extent by the importation of east european labour.

And please don't respond with pretend anecdotes about plumbers earning more that consultant doctors.

WTF?_2

It's the children I feel sorry for. They're the real victims in all of this.

pickles110564

kennyboy66 wrote: »

Its bad enough people gloating over the troubles of those people who have foolishly over stretched themselves, but the sanctimonious, patronising 'advice' to people who may be made redundant is sickening.

Many people who work in the building trade have had to spend most of the week working away from home on mega projects like T5, city centre flats and now the Olympics. Wages have also been kept in check to some extent by the importation of east european labour.

And please don't respond with pretend anecdotes about plumbers earning more that consultant doctors.

I agree totally with what you have said, but certain people in your industry give you ALL a very bad name.
Only the other day I was quoted £900 to replace and repair a large area of decking at one of my rentals.
After visiting the site myself I realised he was taking the P*ss, it only took me the morning and £20 to fix it myself.
If he had quoted me £250 I would not have even bothered ckecking for myself.

pickles110564

!!!!!!? wrote: »

It's the children I feel sorry for. They're the real victims in all of this.

Yes mate, not their fault that their parents have spent what they aint got.
!!!!!!? I have read somewhere that certain credit card companies had been handing out cards without doing any checks, no wonder the country is going down the pan.

dopester

No one asked for "advice" in this thread kennyboy.

My response might have been harsh but at least it's realistic for what has always been coming due to policies and the mad lending frenzy of recent years pushing property to insane price levels compared to wages.

What would you rather me say? "Yes it's sad about the innocents but I'm sure the construction sector will pick up soon?"

That would be a lie because I don't see that at all. Even the OP has been concerned in recent weeks about the downturn, wondering how bad it might get. And it will be bad. Jobs will be lost. Standards of living will fall for people in a lot of sectors. Mervyn King has been saying it as well you realise... does that make him the big-bad?

Also maybe the solution is hidden in your own response. You think the Eastern Europeans construction workers came over here just for the weather? Maybe our own workforce will have to travel abroad to Russia, Saudi, and the like.

It happens.. in 1997 the English guy next to me on the plane was continuing on the plane to Russia to paint a school at £600 a week - although I could hardly believe it - and either could he but was going anyway, and that was in a bleak period for Russia.