one way of getting on the property ladder

Hi Everybody!

I found this site through a link on another - ThePropertyMan . This one concentrates on below market value properties - you wouldn't believe how many there are out there!

I've just bought a place that is literally half-price! Granted, it's a reversionary, but half-price is half-price!!

And a house price crash? Who cares? If prices fall, investors will be able to pick up stuff cheaply. Sounds mercenary, but dat's life!

Lighteater

Haven't people been saying that for years and years now but it looks like if you don't get on it now you might never?

This presupposes that house prices will continue to rise indefinitely. But why should they carry on rising? Haven't property prices ever gone down in history? Of course they have.

Everyone wants somewhere to sleep at night - but that's not the only thing you get when you buy a house.

Birds don't consider the local rents or property prices before choosing trees to weave their nests on - so why do we?

When you buy a house, you don't only buy a house. You also buy access to a legal system, to enforce your rights to that house.

Imagine you went away on holiday for a few weeks. You came home, to find that your house is occupied by squatters. If you own the house - or have a legally binding lease or tenancy agreement to occupy it - you can invoke legal procedures to get the squatters evicted, so that you can move back in. You don't have to resort to violence to get them out (in fact you might be prosecuted if you do).

However, if you were only a squatter in that house yourself - there's nothing you can legally do to remove other squatters. Or the owner himself, for that matter. It sounds obvious, but it's worth pointing out.

My point is, rising house prices increases the inequalities between the rich and the poor, and can destabilise society. You can only legally enforce your right to your house as long as the people who work in law enforcement think there's a point in doing their jobs. And they won't think there's any point if they are priced out of the housing market themselves.

Course, that might not be a problem if the only people who work in law enforcement are already wealthy homeowners, who don't actually need their salaries. But as it becomes harder and harder to find a job that pays enough to climb up the property ladder, the number of homeowners will diminish. Some of today's homeowners will be lucky, profit from the market, and trade up to bigger and better houses - and maybe buy second and third homes - but others will lose their life savings and be plunged into negative equity when anti-social behaviour blight, or natural disasters, happen in their area. These people will find it very difficult to get back on the property ladder second time around. In this way, ownership of the property stock will gradually become concentrated into the hands of a decreasing number of people.

When the legal system is understaffed and under-resourced, and when you can no longer enforce your right to your property - you are no better off than a squatter or homeless person. That will certainly bring house prices down.

I'm not saying this will happen any time soon - I'm just saying, I can't see how house prices can keep on rising indefinitely, without the essential public institutions that keep them up collapsing under the strain.

Like lighteater says ...

And a house price crash? Who cares? If prices fall, investors will be able to pick up stuff cheaply. Sounds mercenary, but dat's life!

Can't argue with that. If you're a property owner who actually cares if prices crash, then perhaps you've overstretched yourself already. Perhaps you might consider selling up sooner rather than later.

Woby_Tide wrote:

it's also curious as a couple of weeks ago when he joined all berts posts were about his plans to buy a house, you'd think he was trying to tallk down the market.....

I have since had some genuine, albeit frightening insider info.

+ that original post was by my partner. I have since taken over his account!

how do you get to be an 'insider' on the housing market for a whole country? are you spying on me through my telly? *covers room in tinfoil*

Teehee I love winding people up