The grumpy thread

[beko1987]

I feel your pain vulgalour. "just save for a deposit" yea, saving the £23.46 I have left every month before even thinking of working on the car to get me to work will go really well...

 

Its why I've adapted the 'I don't mind renting' personal, cos there's probably nothing else I can do. I'll just keep paying £825 to live in a £248k terraced 2 bed house and keep a roof over my kids heads thx! Again, usually said to someone who bought their house in 1982 and has a company car with fuel card...

[MarvinsMom]

i do feel you pain, there was something on the radio the other day that said the average deposit for a mortgage was £33,000 

 

like, WTF??

 

i bought mine 20-odd years ago it was £2500, and another £100 for the arrangement fee.... and that was hard enough to save up.

 

the young-uns today, unless you have a bank of mam and dad to fall back on then its just not going to happen.

 

i blame that sarah beeny woman for relentlessly push "buy-to-let" and "property development" as a quick buck,"investment" instead of what a house really is, some where to fuggin' live!

[scaryoldcortina]

I agree too, it's completely insane! I'm lucky that I bought when I did - we wanted out of council, didn't like the insecurity of private renting and couldn't get a mortgage (self employed) so I found the cheapest 3 bed house that could be moved into (in the Supermart yellow free ads of all places!) and hit my parents up for a loan. I reckon for my £15k investment in 1995 I've saved almost 100k in rent (based on the 100pw next door rents out at).

 

Downside is both my kids are in their 20s and have no prospect of moving out any time soon. It isn't a big house!

[HillmanImp]

i do feel you pain, there was something on the radio the other day that said the average deposit for a mortgage was £32,000

 

like, WTF?

TBH, now is the time to buy if you can muster a deposit together. Lots of places are doing 95% mortgages. Okay, the rates are not as good as an 80% mortgage but with the banks panicking over Brexit they will be keeping the interest rates low so you don't have to worry about the payments shooting up in the next couple of years. The worry of rates shooting up abd the house becoming unaffordable is low.

 

http://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/95-mortgages.htm

 

I know a 5% mortgage is still a fair bit, with legal fees you are still looking at about £7.5k to get a £125k house but its better than the £26k I had to pay in 2010 as there were no competitive mortgages accepting less than a 20% deposit.

 

The only worry with a small deposit is if the house price falls and remortgaging/selling at the end of the term but that will always be a gamble with housing.

 

p.s. I am 39 until later this month.

 

*just edited this as noticed that ithe Barclays one I posted wanted a 10% deposit from family which would be fully refundable wuth interest after 2 years so was actually 15%. Interesting product though.

[beko1987]

Id be happy with a nice Council house, but because both me and amy work, we don't get a look in, despite only just being able to scrape the bills and living costs together

 

Although leaving amy is a tempting prospect sometimes, then she would get a council house, but it would be a few months of being evicted and hell for her and the kids, and I'd be straight back at mums, so I stick with it...

[Kiltox]

A 125k house costs 225k here - that might skew the average deposit slightly

[cobblers]

Other day at work I was talking to one of the younger lads - He's 22 and got an 8k loan to buy a fuckin Harley Davidson about a year ago. At 20% APR cos he just walked into his bank and they said "that's the best he'd get cos of no credit history" stupid really.

A year later he's got a great credit score and he's been living with his mum in a council house for 15 years, he's paid the rent on his own since he was 18. He loves the house, its massive and he's spent about 3k building himself a workshop down the garden etc. Other than the shitty bike loan he's fantastic with money - Saves £400 a month and probably earns about half of what I do and I can barely put anything away.

I put to him that it's be worth him considering just buying it off the council because the mortgage would be half of what they pay in rent, and since they could buy it for 50k instead of the 100k value he could remortgage and pay off his shitty bike loan and still save a ton every month. He's even got a load of money in savings he could use as a deposit.

 

Anyway, 50 year old bloke at work pipes up "Oh Dave you're always trying to talk people into loans, I've never had a loan! I bought my first house outright!!". A few months ago his parents gave him 150k so he could buy a 380k house in order to get one of his kids into a better school. His parents also paid for his first house.

 

His mum never worked and his dad was a manager in a concrete factory.

Things just aren't what they used to be and it's never going to go back to that, sadly.

 

Same goes for my missus grandad. Mid 70s now, retired at 50, was a manager in the coal board. Nice bloke but not especially skilled or talented in any way. - Had 2 kids, wife never worked. Lives in an 800k house, mortgage free and earns more from his pension than I do as an electronic engineer who the company charges £120PH for.

[Jon]

One draw for emigration was the notion that we were being priced out of the property market, back in 2006-ish, or whenever it was that we considered a move to NZ. This may or may not have been the case, as it was probably just as much the life situation at the time and my own feeling of unease of borrowing so much money. 

 

We bought our house five years ago in NZ and although the primary motive was for a place to live in, it seems that it's become an unwittingly shrewd investment. House prices are now on the up locally; previously unsellable places are now sold and were we trying to buy this place now, we'd probably not be able to afford it. However, whereas some are quite happy about all this, it's irrelevant to me, as I won't sell; like I say, it's a home. Plus, the next house we'd buy would have inflated in price by a similar amount, too.

 

It seems therefore that first time buyers are being shat upon and the only people benefiting from high house prices are multiple property owners and those downsizing. i.e. baby boomers, once again. Thing is, our place was our first home, so who could now afford to buy it from us? I'm no economist by any stretch of the imagination but, short of people relying on some historic pot of inheritance cash to hand down to generations through trust schemes, I don't see how effectively removing first time buyers from the housing chain through high house prices is sustainable. Even buy to let investors will have to throw the towel in at some point, since tenants won't be able to pay the rent required to cover costs. 

[Cavcraft]

A really minor grump, but when someone is daft enough to list an '05 mini convertible with a blown engine for 350 quid buy it now. Why does some penniless twat decide to bid on it hoping to get it cheaper. It's been listed for 45 mins and is already over 350 I was hoping for a bargain there !!!! will probably make over a grand even with the buggered engine.

.

 

They're 'spoilers' that's why. There are people out there sad enough to spot stuff they can't afford, then place a bid on it knowing it'll wipe the 'buy it now' price off and wreck it for others. Have a look st the bidding when the listing is finished and you'll often spot this behaviour. Sad wankers.

[Cavcraft]

The recent stupid trend of people saying 'only selling because I've bought another car'

 

And you've only bought another car because...this ones fucked?

[beko1987]

The only place I see the "selling because I've bought another car" line and don't mind is here, usually because the vendor put up a nice collection thread the day/week before!

[Cavcraft]

By the way, all that 'my house only cost me £2,000 in 1963 and is now worth £225,000' stuff would be fine if every other property except yours stayed at 1963 prices.

[bub2006]

Trying to sell xantia. Its a great car with mot till end of year,I've replaced tyre and hopefully sorted leak out. Advertised it on various platforms and no joy bar folk messing about. Not even a Xbox offered from Gumtree.

[purplebargeken]

Swap you a Mars Bar, Twix and a Scotch egg for it.

 

I have a cold. I feel shit

[chaseracer]

The only way Musical Offspring is going to own a house is when he inherits Chaseracer Towers following the departure of self and Domestic Management in six-foot boxes.

 

Re. the other discussion: I sometimes find it incredibly difficult to talk to people in social situations.  This is very odd, considering that I talk for a living, but that seems to be very different.  So - RichardK and others: I apologise - I really wasn't ignoring you at FOTU a couple of weeks ago!

[Captain Furious]

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.

[cobblers]

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.

[beko1987]

Trying to sell xantia. Its a great car with mot till end of year,I've replaced tyre and hopefully sorted leak out. Advertised it on various platforms and no joy bar folk messing about. Not even a Xbox offered from Gumtree.

Ill offer you an xbox, broken laptop and £50 a month? Or swap for my zx, you liked* it when you drove it...

[M'coli]

Chris Amon's dead.

[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