The grumpy thread

[bub2006]

Don't want an x box scotch egg,or even a twix ken! I'll even take monthly payments though! As for the zx, no thanks chap

[beko1987]

Monthly payments you say... Where's your nearest train station?

[oldcars]

Weekends were the worst for me, it was entirely normal that I'd just slob around and not even get dressed for the entire day, until it was night time when I'd go down the same old local pub with the same old local people drinking the same old crappy lager.  It was a routine, that's just what I did, I didn't have anywhere else to be or anything else to do, so whats the point of getting up early and being 'up and about'?

 

So now I try and find something to do at weekends, no matter how mundane, to break that routine.  I'm still not exactly a social butterfly, but, for example..

 

Sunday, my mate and I went to one of the local car boots, something I've never had any interest in, and Sunday mostly confirmed my suspicions that they're full of old tut and I wouldn't give you a fiver for the lot.  But, it was something to do, we went for breakfast at Mcdonalds (something always worth getting out of bed for) took a drive up there, walked round for a couple of hours in the sunshine, quietly sniggering at some of the absolute crap people try and sell, joking that I've loaded the car up with more valuable items to take down the tip...

 

Then I stumbled across a pair of awesome ratcheting axle stands which I didn't need, but bought them anyway because they were a tenner.  Then on the way out found an old car aerofoil thing which everyone had in the 80s and 90's for towing caravans, £4 - So I thought that will look most awesomely retro next time I take the caravan to a show somewhere, I'm having it!  Now I have something else to do, find some period decals to adorn it, find\make a roof bar to attach it on with...So in actual fact going somewhere which I'd previously dismissed out of hand has led onto something else to do and focus my mind on

 

Its pretty trivial stuff, I mean, car boot sales aren't going to turn your life around, but what else would I have done that day?  Festered in my pit getting down about the fact its back to work tomorrow.  Not only that, but it gives you something to talk about too when people ask you what you did at the weekend.

 

I don't know if you've ever seen a film called Yes Man, but the premise of the story is to not refuse any opportunity that comes your way, even if its something that is your idea of absolute hell, because you never know what it may lead onto.  Obviously its taken to comedy extremes, but I think to a certain extent it has a valid message.  The online dating thing for example, look at it like this, you tried it, it didn't (or hasn't yet) worked out, but that's better than not doing it and forever wondering if you missed out on Mrs Perfect because you didn't take the leap of faith.

 winner, you got a windslammer, been looking for one for years. Well bought. I'm going down the boot sales every weekend now until i get one.

[mercrocker]

Chris Amon's dead.

 

Another unsung hero slips away, then....

 

RIP

[eddyramrod]

Dan: PM sent.

[vulgalour]

While I don't deny that getting on the housing ladder isn't easy, it also isn't the impossible Herculean mountain climb that many folk make out.

 

The problem, as it often is, is the misplaced sense of entitlement displayed by many of the younger generation

 

Where is the misplaced sense of entitlement in wanting somewhere nice to live that you've invested a fucktonne of money in?  I'm not talking subterranean grottos and olympic sized swimming pools here, I'm talking a modest little property with a parking space and a patch of green big enough for a couple of chairs.  I'm talking somewhere that you can feel safe and secure.  I'm talking a property that hasn't seen decades of neglect and needs thousands spent on it to make it weather tight.

 

Of course young people want to live in the kind of houses their parents do, why wouldn't they?  Fact is, most of the young first time buyers are getting SHIT properties and making the best of it even after moving their entire lives around to accommodate getting on that first rung of the housing ladder.  If you believe it's as simple as putting a few bob away and putting up with a house that's a bit down on its luck then you're out of touch with how it really is.

 

Would you want to buy a two bedroom flat over a takeaway on a busy high street, not as a stepping stone to somewhere better, but as your home for the next 15 years?  There's no offroad parking, it's noisy all the time, you can't regulate the temperature in the house and you have no private outdoor space to enjoy.

 

How about a Victorian terrace house that is in a rough area, it's cheap and it's a fixer upper, the roof leaks, all the windows are rotten and it's in an area blighted by petty crime.  Car insurance is astronomical, there's no off-road parking but at least your outdoor space is a small concrete yard.  Did I mention the last time it looked and was anything like halfway decent was 1945?  Oh, and you'll never be able to sell it so you're going to be stuck there forever, but it's in your price range.

 

No?  Well there's always this posh new flat.  The development has strict rules about what you can and can't have on the tiny balcony, your only outdoor space, and while you do have a parking space you have to apply for a maximum of 2 parking permits for family and friends visiting. There is no local parking for them to make use of either.  The neighbours are intolerably noisy on two sides of you and the sound of traffic on the main road never goes away, even with the windows closed.  It's expensive but it's new so it's a good investment, even though you'll hate every minute of living there and nobody will want to visit you.

 

Great, I went and made myself angry about this again.

[danthecapriman]

The property problem pisses me off immensely too.

I'm not really a youngster anymore but at the age of nearly 32 would love to buy a nice place to call my own. My plan has been to keep living at home with my parents (they're cool with this) and save up as much as possible that way. Yes, it can be a real drag at times but it'll be worth it in the end. Or so I thought.

 

About two years ago I went for mortgage advice having seen a perfect house locally. It had 3 beds, semi detached, big front and rear gardens with a drive and enough space to build a big double garage. It was liveable but did need a lot of work, which I was happy to do.

Anyway I told the mortgage people what I wanted and that I had a £35k deposit (all my own savings). The house was about £190k which is sod all in the south east, especially now. They all basically said fuck off! No chance.

 

I don't really know what to do now and since then have given up on the idea, although my biggest problem with this has always been trying to do it alone. I'm single still and you really do need that second income to make it work.

[Captain Furious]

No?  Well there's always this posh new flat.  The development has strict rules about what you can and can't have on the tiny balcony, your only outdoor space, and while you do have a parking space you have to apply for a maximum of 2 parking permits for family and friends visiting. There is no local parking for them to make use of either.  The neighbours are intolerably noisy on two sides of you and the sound of traffic on the main road never goes away, even with the windows closed.  It's expensive but it's new so it's a good investment, even though you'll hate every minute of living there and nobody will want to visit you.

 

Great, I went and made myself angry about this again.

 

Since that is pretty much what I had to do (albeit, without the traffic noise and intolerable neighbours) then yeah, why not, why do you think all of these solutions are beneath you?

 

I had to buy what I could afford, something cheap enough that I'd still be able to pay for it and do the things I wanted to do, rather than be saddled with an enormous mortgage and only being able to afford to 'exist' there.  But still be on 'the ladder', so I was still putting equity into an asset that I can later sell and upgrade to something I do actually want.

 

So, yeah, I'm not really out of touch here, I'm living it..

[mrbenn]

Come and live over the road from me. 3 bedroom grade 2 listed house. £65k. Get a 95% mortgage and move in if you can scrape 5K cash.

 

Where do you live? I'm out the door as we speak.

[Captain Furious]

Maybe you live in a horrifically expensive part of the country, I'm aware they exist and things may well be different there.

 

Round here £150k would buy you a reasonable 2 bed house in a safe area with grass for your two chairs and disposable bbq.  I settled for a flat on a new build estate, because there is only me, so I don't need an enormous mansion, and obviously that also means there was\is only me paying the deposit, mortgage, bills etc.  It is basically a house that's been divided into two flats, so its not too bad and has a garage.  Interestingly (re your comment above about all houses being bought up by buy-to-let and council houses not being replaced) I couldn't get one of the smaller houses on the development because they were all immediately allocated to the housing association, so it was this, or £230k for a 3-bed semi. 

 

It also meant I would have a lower LTV so I could get a better interest rate, pay the mortgage off over a shorter period to build equity faster, still have enough money to go out, buy cars, go on holiday or whatever else I want to do.

 

Is it where I'd really like to live, no of course not, but since I bought it I've got a decent amount of equity in it, a better job, more borrowing potential so in a couple of years time i'll be able to move to an enormous palace befitting of my generation.

[Sheefag]

I can't say what Vulgalour's situation is but I've got very low standards. These standards do stretch to "property has roof and floor" though.

 

I'd be all over this in Dewsbury for £40,000.

 

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/40831406?search_identifier=920b18a4126e224a35a482abfd7d978e#9cEH7EgE7cEzJZwD.97

 

Or this in Pontefract for £47,000, you'd see a better return on your money with two beds once you'd made it nice.

 

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/photos/39004435

 

Also in Pontefract;-

 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54422476.html

[garbaldy]

I have never posted a grump in this thread ever but today I log in with a pic to post and I can't do it yet again 😞

 

My first ever grump and it's a shit one.

[purplebargeken]

I still have a cold and it is making me grumpy. I hate colds!

[captain_70s]

Ordered a birthday present for my sister a while back, she wanted something obscure from the States, grand.

 

So it finally shows up, or it doesn't because I got a Customs charge so Royal Mail won't deliver it until I pay up. Actually of the £12 charge £8 is a handling fee from Royal Mail themselves. This is irritating enough but as I'm out everyday from 7-5 because I have this thing called a "job" and will probably miss the delivery if I pay online or whatever I figure I'll go down to the parcel collection place myself and pay for/collect it. I arrive at the place at 3:30pm, it's closed, I look at the opening times.

 

Mon to Fri - 7:30am - 1:00pm

Sat - 8:30am - 12:30pm

 

What the fuck use is that to anybody who isn't pensioned or unemployed?

[daveb47]

I have never posted a grump in this thread ever but today I log in with a pic to post and I can't do it yet again

 

My first ever grump and it's a shit one.

Cant see why not,all is working fine......?

[garbaldy]

Cant see why not,all is working fine......?

It's back to the same way as before the upgrade,

Swapping from Mobile to full site and back again is a right faf,

It's also splitting words at the end of sentences again although that's only Mildly miffing

[loserone]

I'd be all over this in Dewsbury for £40,000.

 

I'm totally with you on this, and with patience to find the right property you can buy something in this budget.  The downside is usually that any mortgage you can get on the property won't allow you enough cash to improve it.  

 

We found the mortgage being so much less than what we were paying in rent meant we could spare a bit each month to do it up - in our case, rewire and fit some heating so we could move in, then move the kitchen, and start decorating (by which I don't mean £50 of paint, I mean having something on the bare concrete floors and making good the plaster, which still isn't done.)

 

Living in pretty much the cheapest place for housing in the country certainly helps, and I don't mind a 40 minute each-way drive through pit villages and the best kept secret open countryside to get to work in the slightest.

 

Sorry, this was meant to be a grump wasn't it?  

[daveb47]

It's back to the same way as before the upgrade,

Swapping from Mobile to full site and back again is a right faf,

It's also splitting words at the end of sentences again although that's only Mildly miffing

Thats because it is before the upgrade,we  are back on older version of Ipb again with its splitting words problem that they cant or cant be arsed to fix.and mobile version is back to crap.

Nothing i can do unfortunately.

[cobblers]

Where do you live? I'm out the door as we speak.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54731572.html

 

 

I lied, it's only 50k. But there's only two bedrooms in this, soz!

In the next year or so all the houses on the estate are getting £20-30k each of lottery money spent on them - New hardwood sash triple glazed windows, all stonework restored, roof refurbished and new cast iron guttering etc etc. It's one of the first model villages built and since it's of historical importance, they're chucking a tonne of money at it to renovate the place

 

The area isn't too bad, most people are quite pleasant. There's maybe 10 houses of real scrotes in the 250 or so total. That said it's probably the place Vulgalour was talking about when he was moaning about victorian terraces cos he used to live over the way.

 

If we had off road parking and a bigger garden we'd probably stay here for years.

[garbaldy]

Thats because it is before the upgrade,we are back on older version of Ipb again with its splitting words problem that they cant or cant be arsed to fix.and mobile version is back to crap.

Nothing i can do unfortunately.

In That case I would like to withdraw my previous grump.

I quite liked the new one as made life easier on the mobile,

[Sheefag]

I'm totally with you on this, and with patience to find the right property you can buy something in this budget.  The downside is usually that any mortgage you can get on the property won't allow you enough cash to improve it.  

 

We found the mortgage being so much less than what we were paying in rent meant we could spare a bit each month to do it up - in our case, rewire and fit some heating so we could move in, then move the kitchen, and start decorating (by which I don't mean £50 of paint, I mean having something on the bare concrete floors and making good the plaster, which still isn't done.)

 

Living in pretty much the cheapest place for housing in the country certainly helps, and I don't mind a 40 minute each-way drive through pit villages and the best kept secret open countryside to get to work in the slightest.

 

Sorry, this was meant to be a grump wasn't it?  

 

I remember when my Wife and I were starting out, the fun was in making do and mend and picking up odd bits from car boots and out of skips.

 

I'd always go for a house rather than a flat if I could No nasty leases, management companies or restrictive covenants and go for 2 bed or above - you can always let a room to help with the finances.

[cort1977]

UK property prices have gone crazy in the last few years and I can't see how anyone in the southeast can afford a reasonable house without help from parents etc.   House prices have increased far faster than wages making even the bottom of the market unattainable for most.

 

As an example, my father was a primary school head for my entire childhood, we weren't rich but never had any money issues, lived in a 3 bed semi in London (Chingford).   That house is now worth 500000 and I can't see how whoever is running my Dad's old school could afford to live there never mind those with less well paid jobs.  

 

People are being divided in to those 'on the ladder' and those left behind and there is justified anger about this.   I know a lot of people won't agree with me but I think selling off the council housing stock was a big mistake fuelling the rise in prices.

[richardmorris]

While I don't deny that getting on the housing ladder isn't easy, it also isn't the impossible Herculean mountain climb that many folk make out.

The problem, as it often is, is the misplaced sense of entitlement displayed by many of the younger generation, "I can't afford a house because they're all 10 million pounds and you need an 8 million deposit" the problem actually is that they can't afford a house which they think they are worthy of, Ie one like they currently live in with their parents, therefore everything is OMGSOUNFAIR and us 'oldies' (anyone over 35) just don't understand the struggle because we all got our houses for 2 grand when times were easier...blah blah blah.

£150k house, 10% deposit, , call it £20k all in by the time you've covered legal fees and moving in, if there is two of you its £10k each. Not an impossible ask.

 

 

It is round here. 1 bed starter homes are £300k. That's a 10x average income mortgage.

[richardmorris]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54731572.html

 

 

I lied, it's only 50k. But there's only two bedrooms in this, soz!

In the next year or so all the houses on the estate are getting £20-30k each of lottery money spent on them - New hardwood sash triple glazed windows, all stonework restored, roof refurbished and new cast iron guttering etc etc. It's one of the first model villages built and since it's of historical importance, they're chucking a tonne of money at it to renovate the place

 

The area isn't too bad, most people are quite pleasant. There's maybe 10 houses of real scrotes in the 250 or so total. That said it's probably the place Vulgalour was talking about when he was moaning about victorian terraces cos he used to live over the way.

 

If we had off road parking and a bigger garden we'd probably stay here for years.

 

Will they take cash?! If not my works credit card has a similar limit!

[Sheefag]

Whereabouts are you Richard?

[mrbenn]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54731572.html

 

 

I lied, it's only 50k. But there's only two bedrooms in this, soz!

In the next year or so all the houses on the estate are getting £20-30k each of lottery money spent on them - New hardwood sash triple glazed windows, all stonework restored, roof refurbished and new cast iron guttering etc etc. It's one of the first model villages built and since it's of historical importance, they're chucking a tonne of money at it to renovate the place

 

The area isn't too bad, most people are quite pleasant. There's maybe 10 houses of real scrotes in the 250 or so total. That said it's probably the place Vulgalour was talking about when he was moaning about victorian terraces cos he used to live over the way.

 K

If we had off road parking and a bigger garden we'd probably stay here for years.

'Kinell. I'd live in that very happily indeed! Same house here would be well over 200k....

[Timewaster]

The property problem pisses me off

 

Anyway I told the mortgage people what I wanted and that I had a £35k deposit (all my own savings). The house was about £190k which is sod all in the south east, especially now. They all basically said fuck off! No chance.

 

Was it just one mortgage advisor?

 

Like any profession there are good and bad ones and it sounds like you found a bad one.

 

The loans and rates available change on a daily basis.

 

Find a decent INDEPENDENT mortgage broker and they can sort a loan for most situations. Some companies target specific types of customers such as those with lower loan to value or bye to let and if you aren't in their target group then they won't be interested.

[richardmorris]

Whereabouts are you Richard?

Surrey/ Berks borders

[purplebargeken]

Sad: my Daf owning friends rent a couple of buildings on a farm. That isn't the sad grump. Sadly Farmer George who has been on that farm for many, many years passed away on Sunday. He was a lovely old boy. He will be sadly missed. 

[cort16]

There's some really nice home converted large motorhomes on eBay if you bought some land and lived on it in the motorhome are you likely to get moved on by the council? I know the static caravan my Dad has limits to the no of months you can live in it but I'm not sure how this would apply if you're living in a bus on land you own.