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Cost of Living

Sniffer said:
I think that our fellow member @Johnny75 predicted that investment companies would come in and sweep up properties.

Does this mean that it's going to cost all of us as investment companies will charge higher rents and taxpayers will pick up the part of the bill through housing benefit?
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Until rent controls are brought in then that's exactly what will happen.

Starmer has to impose these controls and stop bleating on about building houses.
 
Sniffer said:
I think that our fellow member @Johnny75 predicted that investment companies would come in and sweep up properties.

Does this mean that it's going to cost all of us as investment companies will charge higher rents and taxpayers will pick up the part of the bill through housing benefit?
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The investment companies wouldn’t touch anyone not meeting the affordability criteria initially. I’m assuming they would evict rather than be accepting of someone whose circumstances changed and needed housing benefit, although a) I’m not sure how they would do that without the option of S21, and B) That would very much be an individual company strategy set at Board level.

The massive cost to the taxpayer effectively comes from supporting those not able to rent in the private sector and needing support elsewhere. Every single person no longer able to rent in the private sector is going to need support from either the taxpayer, or family, or friends.

It’s all been very predictable and covered on here to the point of irritation to some no doubt. I’ll not go over too much old ground but my one particular bugbear is, as Johnny has alluded to above, we are not going to build our way out of this problem.
 
Just picking up on the above, I spent the last 36 hours viewing 6 different places. It's a miserable market, especially within the M25. I look at people in my family who brought only in the last 10 years and my budget now would've got two of houses they have, and you wouldn't be as cramped as these places either.

I'm just having a moan, you folk seem to know better than me what the solutions could be. I struggle to fathom is it worth just getting anything (not falling apart) to start to build equity, especially when age is starting to creep up on you with the alternative is to consider paying a mortgage into retirement, and no sign of an improving market? Everyone tells me that getting a step on the housing market however you can is the best thing to do...
 
We're at the point now where even if there was a "crash" and 15% was wiped off it'd still be massively more expensive than it was ten years ago nevermind 30. There's never going to be a big enough correction to what's happened to the salary/house price ratio to make it worth waiting imo. It's absolutely fucking wank.
 
jlo said:
Just picking up on the above, I spent the last 36 hours viewing 6 different places. It's a miserable market, especially within the M25. I look at people in my family who brought only in the last 10 years and my budget now would've got two of houses they have, and you wouldn't be as cramped as these places either.

I'm just having a moan, you folk seem to know better than me what the solutions could be. I struggle to fathom is it worth just getting anything (not falling apart) to start to build equity, especially when age is starting to creep up on you with the alternative is to consider paying a mortgage into retirement, and no sign of an improving market? Everyone tells me that getting a step on the housing market however you can is the best thing to do...
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A few thoughts on this…

Firstly, looking through the prism of historical rises and equity gains that have gone before is going to be very damaging. Things are very different so perhaps try and view this as buying to secure your future, the importance of which should never be underestimated.

Even without factoring in any capital growth, you’ll still be reducing the debt each month and a simple mathematical equation will be able to tell you by how much. That’s a decent slice of the cake banked each month and the interest, well, that’s just a payment that allows you to bank your bit. If the interest gets to you occasionally just remember the whole of your rent went down the toilet and you never got to bank any of it.

Even the daunting mortgage payments slowly get eroded through inflation, pay rises and so on, and before you know it will just become a smaller and smaller cut from your monthly budget. Your monthly shop at Sainsbury’s becomes more than your monthly mortgage so the fear of being trapped til you’re 60/70/whatever is likely to be worse than the reality.

Eventually though you own your asset outright. You could end up with significant equity of your own through capital growth and end up empathising with others in the position you once were. Who knows, there may be other moves to larger places along the line to give options of downsizing, moving to a cheaper area etc which could liberate funds to make facilitate lifestyle changes and make things work for you. With options you at least have some control.

All that of course is the opposite of renting with ever increasing costs and no end game.

One last quite difficult curveball though; think very carefully about where you are with your career and earning potential. If there is strong realistic growth then you can commit with the view of this property being a stepping-stone, and any sacrifices therefore (space/location/etc etc etc) being (relatively) short term. That’s then very easy to manage psychologically and you can enjoy the excitement of being a first time owner knowing the future is even brighter and you can move on from any irritations. If however that is unrealistic then you have to be very sure you will be happy living in your purchase long term. In those circumstances I would consider a relocation to a more affordable area and living in a HOME you were comfortable in and looked forward to coming home to. I’ve 2 kids going through this also in London at the moment with the same dilemma. I don’t know I would want to make those sort of sacrifices to be in London and would put the emphasis on a suitable safe home, but then of course I’m not young or trapped by a London salary. Only the individual can make that decision for themselves and I guess that applies to cities everywhere, but you can’t have your cake and eat it.

So there’s a bit of a mixed bag in there. It can all be very daunting and hopefully there’s something that might be useful to take forward. I know there’s intense pressure to ‘grab’ something to get started, but unfortunately the purchase just isn’t a stand-alone thing, it has to be considered within the framework of all of the above and I really don’t envy you working it through.

Finally though, give yourself a huge pat on the back for getting to this point, it’s a tremendous achievement. Don’t worry about what others have done in the past or ‘might-have-been’s’, it’s your journey and your future.

Very best of luck.
 
EpsomWolf said:
A few thoughts on this…

Firstly, looking through the prism of historical rises and equity gains that have gone before is going to be very damaging. Things are very different so perhaps try and view this as buying to secure your future, the importance of which should never be underestimated.

Even without factoring in any capital growth, you’ll still be reducing the debt each month and a simple mathematical equation will be able to tell you by how much. That’s a decent slice of the cake banked each month and the interest, well, that’s just a payment that allows you to bank your bit. If the interest gets to you occasionally just remember the whole of your rent went down the toilet and you never got to bank any of it.

Even the daunting mortgage payments slowly get eroded through inflation, pay rises and so on, and before you know it will just become a smaller and smaller cut from your monthly budget. Your monthly shop at Sainsbury’s becomes more than your monthly mortgage so the fear of being trapped til you’re 60/70/whatever is likely to be worse than the reality.

Eventually though you own your asset outright. You could end up with significant equity of your own through capital growth and end up empathising with others in the position you once were. Who knows, there may be other moves to larger places along the line to give options of downsizing, moving to a cheaper area etc which could liberate funds to make facilitate lifestyle changes and make things work for you. With options you at least have some control.

All that of course is the opposite of renting with ever increasing costs and no end game.

One last quite difficult curveball though; think very carefully about where you are with your career and earning potential. If there is strong realistic growth then you can commit with the view of this property being a stepping-stone, and any sacrifices therefore (space/location/etc etc etc) being (relatively) short term. That’s then very easy to manage psychologically and you can enjoy the excitement of being a first time owner knowing the future is even brighter and you can move on from any irritations. If however that is unrealistic then you have to be very sure you will be happy living in your purchase long term. In those circumstances I would consider a relocation to a more affordable area and living in a HOME you were comfortable in and looked forward to coming home to. I’ve 2 kids going through this also in London at the moment with the same dilemma. I don’t know I would want to make those sort of sacrifices to be in London and would put the emphasis on a suitable safe home, but then of course I’m not young or trapped by a London salary. Only the individual can make that decision for themselves and I guess that applies to cities everywhere, but you can’t have your cake and eat it.

So there’s a bit of a mixed bag in there. It can all be very daunting and hopefully there’s something that might be useful to take forward. I know there’s intense pressure to ‘grab’ something to get started, but unfortunately the purchase just isn’t a stand-alone thing, it has to be considered within the framework of all of the above and I really don’t envy you working it through.

Finally though, give yourself a huge pat on the back for getting to this point, it’s a tremendous achievement. Don’t worry about what others have done in the past or ‘might-have-been’s’, it’s your journey and your future.

Very best of luck.
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You've given me better advice than my own parents 😅 thanks buddy, I'll come back to this later, but much appreciated pep talk in the meantime 🙂
 
lemonjelly said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce55vp78n40o

Southern Water wanting to increase bills by 91%. Severn trent 50%. South staffs 24%.

Privatisation of water companies has been brilliant for consumers obvs.
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Just like the privatisation of the energy companies, the railways, the post office, NHS services, academies in education... all fucking brilliant and working exactly as privatisation intended.
 
EpsomWolf said:
A few thoughts on this…

Firstly, looking through the prism of historical rises and equity gains that have gone before is going to be very damaging. Things are very different so perhaps try and view this as buying to secure your future, the importance of which should never be underestimated.

Even without factoring in any capital growth, you’ll still be reducing the debt each month and a simple mathematical equation will be able to tell you by how much. That’s a decent slice of the cake banked each month and the interest, well, that’s just a payment that allows you to bank your bit. If the interest gets to you occasionally just remember the whole of your rent went down the toilet and you never got to bank any of it.

Even the daunting mortgage payments slowly get eroded through inflation, pay rises and so on, and before you know it will just become a smaller and smaller cut from your monthly budget. Your monthly shop at Sainsbury’s becomes more than your monthly mortgage so the fear of being trapped til you’re 60/70/whatever is likely to be worse than the reality.

Eventually though you own your asset outright. You could end up with significant equity of your own through capital growth and end up empathising with others in the position you once were. Who knows, there may be other moves to larger places along the line to give options of downsizing, moving to a cheaper area etc which could liberate funds to make facilitate lifestyle changes and make things work for you. With options you at least have some control.

All that of course is the opposite of renting with ever increasing costs and no end game.

One last quite difficult curveball though; think very carefully about where you are with your career and earning potential. If there is strong realistic growth then you can commit with the view of this property being a stepping-stone, and any sacrifices therefore (space/location/etc etc etc) being (relatively) short term. That’s then very easy to manage psychologically and you can enjoy the excitement of being a first time owner knowing the future is even brighter and you can move on from any irritations. If however that is unrealistic then you have to be very sure you will be happy living in your purchase long term. In those circumstances I would consider a relocation to a more affordable area and living in a HOME you were comfortable in and looked forward to coming home to. I’ve 2 kids going through this also in London at the moment with the same dilemma. I don’t know I would want to make those sort of sacrifices to be in London and would put the emphasis on a suitable safe home, but then of course I’m not young or trapped by a London salary. Only the individual can make that decision for themselves and I guess that applies to cities everywhere, but you can’t have your cake and eat it.

So there’s a bit of a mixed bag in there. It can all be very daunting and hopefully there’s something that might be useful to take forward. I know there’s intense pressure to ‘grab’ something to get started, but unfortunately the purchase just isn’t a stand-alone thing, it has to be considered within the framework of all of the above and I really don’t envy you working it through.

Finally though, give yourself a huge pat on the back for getting to this point, it’s a tremendous achievement. Don’t worry about what others have done in the past or ‘might-have-been’s’, it’s your journey and your future.

Very best of luck.
Click to expand...
Agree with a lot of this but it must be remembered there is a cost to ownership in terms of maintenance, insurance and taxes that you don't usually have to worry about with renting.

All of this comes down to your own personal situation whether it is better to buy or rent. Most folks think buying is the right move but sometimes it isn't.
 
Squeak said:
Agree with a lot of this but it must be remembered there is a cost to ownership in terms of maintenance, insurance and taxes that you don't usually have to worry about with renting.

All of this comes down to your own personal situation whether it is better to buy or rent. Most folks think buying is the right move but sometimes it isn't.
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The landlord makes you cover those costs through your rent so you are going to paying for them either way. You’ll also be giving him/her a nice little margin on top.

The only time renting could make sense is in the short term, whereby the initial ‘set-up’ costs wouldn’t be recovered in the event of a relatively quick purchase and sale.

It’s why I referenced purchasing “to secure your future”. There’s no situation I can see where it can ever be financially advantageous to be paying increasing rent forever against owning a property outright with huge equity and zero mortgage.

More damaging though, is the risk of being older with reduced income (through inability to work (at all, or as hard)), and still faced with large increasing rent and no asset to use to your advantage. That would be a real worry to me and I don’t know how people faced with that situation make plans for the future or deal with the increasing vulnerability at all.
 
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EpsomWolf said:
More damaging though, is the risk of being older with reduced income (through inability to work (at all, or as hard)), and still faced with large increasing rent and no asset to use to your advantage. That would be a real worry to me and I don’t know how people faced with that situation make plans for the future or deal with the increasing vulnerability at all.
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Exactly what has happened to my in-laws.

They are in their mid-70s and had rented their lovely cottage in Bridgnorth for over 20 years. The landlord looked after them as they were good, reliable, long term tenants. They spent their own money improving the property ready for their old age.

A couple of years ago the landlord passed on all his affairs to his son who had no interest in the past and he bumped their rent up £100 per month then last year told them he was sticking another £200 p/m on it which as pensioners they could not afford.

They have now moved to Leominster which is 30 miles from us but remain under the control of landlords. They suspect now the new landlord is using them for some income until they sell the property meaning they have to uproot again.

I rented for 10 years but in the current climate I'm so pleased that I'm no longer on the rent ladder
 
Market Drayton Town centre is a business killer.

Wine bar recently moved from their canal side base to the town centre....already announced they are closing down.
 
Kenny said:
Kenny is killing Market Drayton Town centre.

Wine bar recently moved from their canal side base to the town centre....already announced they are closing down, because you won't find the likes Kenny in there when he can feck off to Belgium and get some quality ale down his neck.
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Sainsbury's is ridiculously expensive for most things these days.
 
Paying more for lower quality too.

Don't know how widely known it is but Sainsbury's are doing phased redundancies of all bakery colleagues so there will no longer be any fresh made bread in stores, it's all going to frozen 'bake off' shite.
 
Derby Wolf said:
Paying more for lower quality too.

Don't know how widely known it is but Sainsbury's are doing phased redundancies of all bakery colleagues so there will no longer be any fresh made bread in stores, it's all going to frozen 'bake off' shite.
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Yep. Can only speak for Tesco Ireland but their vegetables are tasteless, full of water and often damaged. Gone off after a day or two as well. They do a trick of putting one price on the shelf, say 2.19 and when you scan it its 2.69. This happened with three consecutive items to us the other week. So I just nicked the one and didn't pay for it. It never happens the other way round funnily enough.
 
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