It's a lifestyle without kids granted, but it's not exploitative. A mortgage requires a significant capital expenditure in the form of a deposit and the risk of property devaluation which we have seen in some areas due to covid recently.
And boomers wonder why millennials are bitter towards them..
- Thread starter Scam
- Start date
It's a lifestyle without kids granted, but it's not exploitative. A mortgage requires a significant capital expenditure in the form of a deposit and the risk of property devaluation which we have seen in some areas due to covid recently.
Not to mention that a mortgage (if you can get one) is normally cheaper than the equivalent rent. Normally rent (down here) is 2-3x what the average mortgage payment would be.
The problems is people can't get mortgages in the first place, and so much of the housing is snapped up for someone's portfolio.
Think I read not so long ago that something like 2/3 of new builds end up in a BTL portfolios within 5 years or something like that.
How is it a boomers fault? most millennials and younger generations are vocally supportive to the point of aggression about the benefits of mass immigration but when you have way more people than houses and short supply sends housing prices to the stratosphere they blame boomers? it's simple supply and demand if you want cheaper houses stop supporting mass immigration.
I don't get annoyed with the boomers so much - but things back then in respect to houses and renting was much more appropriate to how things should be - someone doing my dad's job these days for instance in a similar position to where he was when he first bought a house have like 1/4 the buying power he did at the time which results in people struggling to buy a house that is otherwise commensurate with their position in life and that isn't just like many of that generation who sure struggled but it was a realistic struggle and the things they gave up reaped the rewards in the long term - for many these days even if they do give up the fancy phone and other luxuries aren't actually materially any closer to doing any better when it comes to houses or rent - even though their parents or parent's parents could only dream of some of those luxuries padding out their life back in their day.
TBH driving a fancy car these days, even on minimum wage, is far more attainable via finance, etc. than ever and in many cases giving that up doesn't necessarily make a huge difference to the story of how affordable for that person a mortgage or rent might be. Even some quite fancy stuff you can do like 3K deposit and £200/m on finance and just hand it back after 3-5 years rather than pay the balloon payment, etc. to own it.
Last edited:
All I say about boomers, is that we should acknowledge that they had a much easier time getting on the property ladder. If they stuck with one house tho I can't argue with that.
I reserve my ire (as you can see) for people who buy more and more property, so that they can have "income streams" from them.
Let me paint a picture here.
You work your ass off doing two jobs, 16 hours a day, and you have enough to buy a 5 bedroom really nice house.
I work 9-5 doing a simple fairly low paid job. Maybe I'm a cleaner, or office admin. In doing this, I earn enough to buy a modest 1-bedroom flat.
You decide, however, not to buy your 5-bedroom dream house. Instead, you buy a 2-bedroom place for yourself and then "invest" in two more 1-bedroom flats. Which you then rent.
I can no longer buy a 1-bedroom flat, because it's not available. You took it. Not because you needed it, but because you wanted it as an "income stream". Income from me.
Not for "providing a service" to me, but because you took something I could have bought myself and put it beyond my reach. I can't afford the 2, 3 or 5 bedroom house. The only thing I could have afforded you bought up. To rent back to me.
That's a pretty sad story, isn't it?
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Sep 2009
- Posts
- 30,309
- Location
- Dormanstown.
This is literally the most logical way to look at it, and you understand why people are frustrated.
For sure its the boomer and earlier generations who tied everything up into thier portfolios. It is actually a three pronged attack, Much like Satans fork where it is boomer greed and desire to have wealth. It is allowing foreign investors to buy up our homes as investments to profit off British people and it is also immigration pressure.
I oppose all three, I refuse to vote because the Conservatives and Labour and the DUP and Sinn Fein are all part of the problem theres no single party that seems to hold my views on housing. And when there are peoples whos lives are waiting and depending on these changes as Foxeye said why invest in society when society will not invest in you?
Housing is needed before you eat, Work, Play, Love its the first building block of prosperity.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 5 Jun 2003
- Posts
- 91,561
- Location
- Falling...
I don't know if I'll ever pay off the mortgage of this property, but if I don't, so what, it's like paying rent to a certain degree but I Guess I end up owning a little bit more of the house.
You're right though the rental market in this country is not on the same level as the continent - that's one of the things they do right there. Not sure if it'll ever change in this country and with the dreaded "B" word, who knows if property market will get any less tough?!
I think this is what a lot of people aren't understanding.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Sep 2009
- Posts
- 30,309
- Location
- Dormanstown.
At a lower rate with the money basically coming back to you in equity/house price increase. In the 4 years we've lived here, given our current equity, we've paid £13K but if we sold we'd end up with £15K.
Even if the house prices dropped, we'd still be in a better position than a renter unless it absolutely crashed, but all that would mean is we're stuck here until such a time we're back in black.
Our mortgage is a pittance, people are charging double for rent on the houses I see come up (I live on a new build estate) on our estate.
I dislike the idea of wealth securing wealth when it disadvantages others. I know it’s inevitable in this global ‘free for all’ but it just feels a bit cruel when it decreases the quality of life for others.
I know someone who buys properties and ‘does them up’ with his tradesmen skills. He got a small portfolio now and is wealthy as a result. I don’t particularly resent this because he had added value, per se.
But people who don’t add any value... meh.
I say this as someone who had considerable help from my family in buying my house (as the sole mortgagee). So I appreciate it’s a bit hypocritical since my family’s wealth has helped secure my own. But I’m quite happy to draw the distinction when it comes to owning a whopping property empire.
I know someone who buys properties and ‘does them up’ with his tradesmen skills. He got a small portfolio now and is wealthy as a result. I don’t particularly resent this because he had added value, per se.
But people who don’t add any value... meh.
I say this as someone who had considerable help from my family in buying my house (as the sole mortgagee). So I appreciate it’s a bit hypocritical since my family’s wealth has helped secure my own. But I’m quite happy to draw the distinction when it comes to owning a whopping property empire.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Sep 2009
- Posts
- 30,309
- Location
- Dormanstown.
It's easier to take on debt than it is to pay the liquid to do up a house.
In this country you can have two identical houses that have about 50 years difference between them in terms of what's inside the house, for first time buyers these types of properties are basically unviable because of the living standard.
I wish more people would do up houses to quality standards so there's a higher standard of housing available.
Flexibility is a massive benefit in the current environment with insecure work. There is also the benefit of the landlord being responsible for all repairs.
Don’t forget government “help” like Help to Buy, “affordable homes” schemes, etc. that prop up values to their current levels. This will never change, the Chancellor recently referred to helping to support people by keeping prices up, which it absolutely does not.
It’s not ‘boomers’ fault, it’s a combination of government policy and bank lending practices that keep prices high.
There are only two ways that something like property can become overpriced (overpriced meaning not affordable to people that it should be affordable to, e.g. small flats and houses affordable for young people):
- Too many people for the available housing.
- Allowing people to borrow too easily.
The problem isn't mass immigration, the problem is people hoarding wealth and resources to the point where the average working family can't afford a house to live in. The crown estate, the church and 5 massive old companies own £22bn of central London and then rent it out for huge profits. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...s-playground-handful-families-central-london/
Of course the rich people are quite clever at keeping their wealth and have done a fantastic job of convincing most people that the issue is a few immigrants rather than wealth hoarding dinosaurs who have normal people in a chokehold.
Associate
- Joined
- 31 Aug 2017
- Posts
- 2,209
Here we go again....
I bought my house for 40k 20yrs ago, 2 bed detached with a 30m walk to the station.
I had to do thousands to it to bring it up to snuff but its now worth 160k plus...
If folk are finding it hard to find houses in an area then i can only offer one thing.. flipping move.
No its not great but houses up here in Scotland are much much cheaper than some dump in London.
If you have the skills you will find work.
I bought my house for 40k 20yrs ago, 2 bed detached with a 30m walk to the station.
I had to do thousands to it to bring it up to snuff but its now worth 160k plus...
If folk are finding it hard to find houses in an area then i can only offer one thing.. flipping move.
No its not great but houses up here in Scotland are much much cheaper than some dump in London.
If you have the skills you will find work.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 37,804
- Location
- block 16, cell 12
Same in the northwest, you can easily buy a house for £100k-£120k.
People just want to live in london and can't understand why they can't buy a £800k house on minimum wage...
Associate
- Joined
- 31 Aug 2017
- Posts
- 2,209
Aye there are some decent properties in the absolute north of England - Carlisle way which i go regularly has plenty of potential - er apart from the sinking bit... which we wont talk about.