Downsizing?

yeah, now's a genius time to sell up, when you own most of a property, because house prices are doing really well at the moment, and houses are selling easily.
 
Ben M said:
yeah, now's a genius time to sell up, when you own most of a property, because house prices are doing really well at the moment, and houses are selling easily.
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i imagine houses in london are still selling nicely. The hardest hit areas will be smaller cities. Could bag a nice bargain in the current climate. If he can sale his house for what he wants. if he can't nothing lost.
 
What's the main drive, a new job or new place to live?

If it's the prior can you not just give up the current job and do PC repairs where you are? Like you say you have hardly any mortgage left so surely you don't need a huge income at first?

Unless you really want a smaller place I'd advise against down sizing as it could be hard to work back up again.
 
I love where we live. I'm in a village just outside Chelmsford which is pretty much all countryside but I hate commuting to London and in IT can be stressful. It's good money don't get me wrong but it's detrimental to my own happiness and my life at home. I just want a less stressfull life, even if it meant moving.
Of course, i don't know anything else than what I do. Hence, using the equity to invest in something else, even if that meant taking a year off work to re-train.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
I love where we live. I'm in a village just outside Chelmsford which is pretty much all countryside but I hate commuting to London and in IT can be stressful. It's good money don't get me wrong but it's detrimental to my own happiness and my life at home. I just want a less stressfull life, even if it meant moving.
Of course, i don't know anything else than what I do. Hence, using the equity to invest in something else, even if that meant taking a year off work to re-train.
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You can't put a price on happiness.

But, I don't see why you need to move. Can't you find a new job?
 
I don't knowanything else than what i do. I need a new skill and therefore need to re-train. Hence the money would pay for me to have a year off. Remembering of course i have a family to support. I don't have the luxury of just quiting.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
I don't knowanything else than what i do. I need a new skill and therefore need to re-train. Hence the money would pay for me to have a year off. Remembering of course i have a family to support. I don't have the luxury of just quiting.
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Ah sorry, I didn't notice the retrain bit. Is training in the evenings/spare time not an option?

What types of things/skills are you thinking of doing? What field are you in now?
 
Kemik said:
You get the award for the most random figure pulled out of your arse. Ever.

I'm guessing you work in banking from what others have said. Do you enjoy finance still? Try one of the big four accounting firms. That's very good pay. There are a few banks with offices outside of London too.
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LOL - i did say i was generalising

im still in banking, and I have done my time with E&Y and similar.

I have done secondments in offices outside of London, and in my opinion the quality is not there. The demographic you get is not one of professional workers from what I have seen.

For example, I have been to one particular office for a QI audit, and the place was filled with soccer mums, who leave the office dead on 5 and literately sit at their desks reading a magazine until the clock hits 9am then they start work.

You will say that’s just the admin staff, but putting larget strategy issues aside most losses and errors are down to admin staff not doing their job properly and cutting corners.

The reason those banks offices are located outside of london is because wages are lower. ask your self why the wages are lower? Higher wages attract better quality staff. You will find most offices outside of london are the admin type roles.

Eg. Mellons Transfer agency in brentwood.
Mellon complains centre in edinburgh
Co-funds in chelmsford
Chase down on the south coast.
 
Depending on what you plan to be doing, it is not the best time. People are cutting back and would be less likely to take your services/give you a job.

Good luck though.
 
mangobreeder said:
You will say that’s just the admin staff, but putting larget strategy issues aside most losses and errors are down to admin staff not doing their job properly and cutting corners.
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So it's the "soccer moms" ( :rolleyes: ) who are to blame for the credit crunch then?
 
scorza said:
So it's the "soccer moms" ( :rolleyes: ) who are to blame for the credit crunch then?
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I said putting larger issues aside.

I have run many projects, in reducing losses, and i can say 90% of errors were due to admin staff, inputting trades incorrectly, not sendnig reclaim forms off to a sub custodian in time. not checking a w-8 correctly, incorrect tax paid, and the resulting panalties and charges

Its not often publicised but banks are suffering deadth from a thousand cuts but losses on unprofessional admin staff.

When the credit crunch goes, those losses will still be there but no one ever hears of them.

The credit crunch reluting recession is a long time coming, in my opnion it should have arrived in 2001.
 
mangobreeder said:
I said putting larger issues aside.

I have run many projects, in reducing losses, and i can say 90% of errors were due to admin staff, inputting trades incorrectly, not sendnig reclaim forms off to a sub custodian in time. not checking a w-8 correctly, incorrect tax paid, and the resulting panalties and charges

Its not often publicised but banks are suffering deadth from a thousand cuts but losses on unprofessional admin staff.

When the credit crunch goes, those losses will still be there but no one ever hears of them.

The credit crunch reluting recession is a long time coming, in my opnion it should have arrived in 2001.
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Sounds to me like a typical city banker attitude of complete denial of their own shortcomings. Let me spell it out for you - your banking losses are as a result of the so-called professional staff inventing a business model that's so complicated it's impossible to tell exactly what assets are owned by whom, exacerbated by short-term greed for profit and putting prudent financial sense on the back burner.
 
scorza said:
Sounds to me like a typical city banker attitude of complete denial of their own shortcomings. Let me spell it out for you - your banking losses are as a result of the so-called professional staff inventing a business model that's so complicated it's impossible to tell exactly what assets are owned by whom, exacerbated by short-term greed for profit and putting prudent financial sense on the back burner.
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In my opnion, the forthcomming recession is due to 9/11. immediately after 9/11 the US cut interest rates to such a level that it staved off the recession which was due. The upcomming recession has been due for a long time.

The credit crunch is due to this, poorer people taking the mortages back in 2001, when the rates were so low, and now they cant afford them now interest rates are/were at a more reasonable level.

i agree some of those mortages were probally missold.

But you cant really blame the selling on of the mortages as the cause.

the casue was due to folks defaulting, they would ahve defaulted on the mortgage regardless of whether they were sold on or not.
 
mangobreeder said:
In my opnion, the forthcomming recession is due to 9/11. immediately after 9/11 the US cut interest rates to such a level that it staved off the recession which was due. The upcomming recession has been due for a long time.

The credit crunch is due to this, poorer people taking the mortages back in 2001, when the rates were so low, and now they cant afford them now interest rates are/were at a more reasonable level.

i agree some of those mortages were probally missold.

But you cant really blame the selling on of the mortages as the cause.

the casue was due to folks defaulting, they would ahve defaulted on the mortgage regardless of whether they were sold on or not.
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And whose fault is it that they were able to borrow so much money in the first place? Just because someone asks for a loan doesn't mean the banks have to give them one.
 
scorza said:
And whose fault is it that they were able to borrow so much money in the first place? Just because someone asks for a loan doesn't mean the banks have to give them one.
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Please read my post properly

Ill quote my self

i agree some of those mortages were probally missold.

at the time they could afford those mortages, in hindsight it was a bad decision. but hindsight is always 20/20 isnt it.

At time, no one could have forseen the required rising of interest rates to cool the US economy, thats why they lent the money.
 
The rates were historically very low, they are still reasonably low right now. They fact people were foolish to assume rates would not rise in the near future was poor planning on their part!

120% mortgages were never a good idea and thus I would say as a product should never have been sold.
 
Anyway, we are going off topic now. Now, back on topic.

As someone who has downsized and moved out of a very good job in the City to do something more relaxing I would recommend it.

If you are able to sell your current property, pay off the remaining mortgage and then move to a new area, live mortgage free and use the remainder of your equity to train in something new then it would be a good move.

However, you need to decide if there is something else you would rather do. As for the comment made earlier on by mangobreeder about moving away from the City and earning a lot less. This is rubbish, but I dont want to get in an argument about it and derail the thread once more.

If you are able to live mortgage free then this negates the need for earning vast sums of cash, as the large burden that comes with a mortgage is no longer resting on your shoulders.
 
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