Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

i have an open mind and seen inside yours too ... sadly there was nothing inside yours except a few discombobulated bats

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44283507

Many Mums and Dads (if it is one sided) are left regreting helping their kids buy property, as often they are gifting 50% to the partner/wife/husband when they part ways. Do they then help a second time around?

depends on how the parents set up the help

I bet the bulk are not cynical, whenhey give money and take the trouble to set the gift up in a way, that says " I do not really trust you", and they think their sons/daughter`s other half will stay with them for life when they gift money towards the purchase of a home.

The problem also is that nobody once they are on the property ladder wants home prices to fall, and the same goes for buy to let, which has caused the huge increase in home prices, as people buy property because the return is far better than in the bank. Many also borrow on the basis that the tenant will buy it for them over a number of years, becoming their pension.

Governments will never tackle the problem, and neither will the rich or those that aspire to be rich, as they cannot face the prospects of lower home prices.

It is all a great big bubble.

trust does not come into the equation
also, when divorce settlements are made, i am sure i am right in saying that the judge (if it gets to court) takes into account how much each partner has put into an asset like a house, as well as the rest of the relationship




buy-to-let is a completely different issue

many bought such properties without decent thought or advice, and yes, of course with a view to it being a growing asset, the rental ideally paying the mortgage costs
what's wrong with that?

in fact, quite a lot of such investors have now caught a cold for all sorts of reasons, whether it is a change in the tax laws, falling property prices and rentals, and having the property left empty between lettings ....... many other costs involved too

do you have an issue with people who "aspire to be rich"?

Far from having an issue with people that aspire to be rich, I have aproblem with the fact that young people are priced out of owning their homes, due in part to the increasing prices of homes, that is caused by some of the factors I have addressed in earler posts.

Nobody in Government would vote for anything that would lower home prices, as they would fear being voted out when they next came uo for election.

Nobody that owns property ever wants to see prices falling.

The Banks - Mortgage providers worry about falling house prices and negative equity.

Low interest rates drive money being put into buy to let, and buying as an investment.

Unless there is a radical change in policy there will always be a huge divide and increase the likelyhood of social unrest.

it is certainly a problem that property prices are now X-times earnings, whereas when i first bought in shepherds bush (pretty nasty at that time) in early 70s, my garden flat (aka basement) was about 3.5/4.5-times .... even so, i still had to work part-time as a 2nd job as a minicab driver

all sorts of reasons why house prices are now as high as they are, but of course, first-time buyers also frequently have unrealistic expectations
thus, instead of being happy to have a small studio flat or similar as a first, far too many want 3 bedrooms, a garage and a garden, and in a really good location


in the long run, it is far from impossible that uk will move away from being house-owners and will generally rent, as is the case in many european countries

Thing is when anyone bought in the 70`s the prices were low the mortgage rates high (by current standards) but you expected iflation to do its job, as you did with your income - you expect both to rise and hence making the property very affordable within a year or two. Today inflation increases all sorts of goods and home prices have reach a level that they are not affordable for most young people, and they have no prospect of wages increasing to make their homes affordable.

You try living couped up in a small pokey one bedroom flat with your partner and maybe a child with little prospect of getting yourself out of the hole you dug for yourself by taking on a mortgage. No wonder you get growning numbers of singles as couples cannot stand the pressure.

Go and live in South Africa or closer to home France and you can have a decent life as a family imo.

live in south africa?????
you must be joking!! ....... if you want to see really nasty and abject poverty, just drive into CT from the airport ..... and of course if you want to live in a razor-wired paradise ghetto with armed guards at the gate and be one of the 23% who pay all the tax in SA, then good luck to you


as for france, there are many things over there that are no fun either, though i'm sure fred would share a house with you if you would be lonely on your own


as for "hole you dug for yourself", quite so ....... put another way, you make the bed you lie in

There are many houses in Cape Town, that are between, say the extremes of the poverty township outside of the airport and the many gated developments. Tons of them, in fact.

Cyners,

"all sorts of reasons why house prices are now as high as they are"

Really? I thought it all boiled down to supply and demand.

And what's not fun about France exactly?

CNG - france - inter alia, a penal tax system, especially relating to property and passing on same


EL - so go and live there!

The French for starters.

Don't get Hilary going again Dil. She will say you are cherry picking.

Cynes is fearful of the big wide world out there - Staying in safe houses, living in fear, is that a life?

Have you ever ventured to the East End of London of a night cynic?

i worked at Number 1 Brick Lane for about 15 years and my fathers parents lived in the area for a long time ..... pratt!

LOL - That sums you up well cynic, thick as a brick and a selfrightous prick.

Cyners,

The French tax system isn't that different to the UK system insofar as your average Jacques Brun pays about the same as the average Jim Brown does in the UK. Their wealth tax is swingeing though, but that only applies to residents, so the key is not to be there for more than 180 days a year.

And their primeval succession/inheritance property laws were changed in 2015.

Dilbert,

By 80907 I presume you mean that you're not used to having people smile and say good morning to you as you walk down the street in Wales?

Iturama,

Only the black ones!

so a tent by Lake Lucerne for the other 180 days? :-)

No Cerise it's just that I find them so dam ignorant , ffs half of them don't even speak English :-)