[Archived] Bad News Britain

[92er]

The government do practically nothing to help.

I am under the impression this is not quite true. I understand that a new system for a limited number of people, including "special occupations" and those earning a certain salary, which I understand is quite high, has been brought in for shared ownership, periods where you can also take a mortgage break etc.

[Rover down South]

I am under the impression this is not quite true. I understand that a new system for a limited number of people, including "special occupations" and those earning a certain salary, which I understand is quite high, has been brought in for shared ownership, periods where you can also take a mortgage break etc.

Is that like key workers??, i.e Police, nurses etc?

[thenodrog]

Is that like key workers??, i.e Police, nurses etc?

MP's and prob parts of the civil service I shouldn't be suprised. Presumably on the basis that All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others'.

[thenodrog]

You have little respect for the Mail and it's readers, yet you read it each week. Why?

He prob gets it passed on from Paul Mellelieu.

[ABBEY]

I thought about this thread last night .I was thinking how some where saying how great this country is and how we all have a great life,well i was on the prom opp the tower in blackpool last night and theres a block of toilets up from the pier.The block has about 10-15 seperate toilets and there are about 30 people sleeping on the floor of the toilets.One blamed us for letting it rain because we had let the russians mess with the weather station and nother was living there because his wife thru him out and the council cant house him and there was a young lad in fhere about 13 whose mum had booted him out because he hated his stepdad.

I felt so proud to live in GREAT britain...very humbling last night.

[Flopsy]

compared to most other countries and how it was in this country in the past, it's much better than it was. Its still sad, but its improving

[ABBEY]

I will tell the toilet dwellers you said that tonight .

[Flopsy]

yes you should, tell them they've never had it so good.

I was talking about society as a whole, you'll always find the downcast and trodden upon in any society, but as a whole it's still better than it has ever been.

But hey, believe what you will

[yoda]

yes you should, tell them they've never had it so good.

I was talking about society as a whole, you'll always find the downcast and trodden upon in any society, but as a whole it's still better than it has ever been.

But hey, believe what you will

How many knife and gun crimes where there in Brum last week?

[Flopsy]

not many, how many in france?

[yoda]

not many, how many in france?

Where I live non! and I am certain, I can find out how many there where in Brum though and I gaurantee it was not 0,

There used to be 1 a month in Redditch when I lived there.

[Flopsy]

yeah but that was usually the same idiot stabbing himself, knowing people from Redditch

[blue phil]

Oil is going up, food is going up. Live with it, drink a bit less, give up something. There's a lot less traffic on the road so I have the feeling oil prices and road charging might be a real solution to our congestion problems.

Life in modern Britain is good..............stop friggin moaning and get on with it.

You're correct , Paul .

Oil prices and road charging are already forcing businesses to close .....but at least you'll be have less congestion when you drive to work .

Spoken like a true New Labour man ........let those less well off eat cake .

[blue phil]

Rent for the next five years or more because houses are going to get much cheaper.

Encouraging to hear that good old-fashioned saving is back in fashion. I paid £500 for my first house in 1952, which I couldn't really afford at the time and for the first few years sat on wooden boxes until I had saved up enough money to buy furniture !

Ahhh..........another New Labour man - this one advising people to rent (from his own privately owned house , of course .......renting's not for him naturally )

My advice is to take into account we live on a small island which takes in hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year . All will need housing . All will aspire to better housing . Therefore housing will always be worth buying as it will always be in demand in the long run - renting is dead money . Get on the ladder as soon as you can afford to as housing is not going to get "much cheaper" as the old fool believes .

Oh ...and every newcomer coming to this country will be like every other citizen and want cars that they can afford to run . They will vote out any government stupid enough to make motoring unaffordable to them . Congestion is NOT going to get better . It is going to get far worse .

[Rover down South]

Ahhh..........another New Labour man - this one advising people to rent (from his own privately owned house , of course .......renting's not for him naturally )

My advice is to take into account we live on a small island which takes in hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year . All will need housing . All will aspire to better housing . Therefore housing will always be worth buying as it will always be in demand in the long run - renting is dead money . Get on the ladder as soon as you can afford to as housing is not going to get "much cheaper" as the old fool believes .

Oh ...and every newcomer coming to this country will be like every other citizen and want cars that they can afford to run . They will vote out any government stupid enough to make motoring unaffordable to them . Congestion is NOT going to get better . It is going to get far worse .

Totally agree 100% with your comments. Finally someone who shares the same opinion, someone who CAN see the full picture. Of course it is easy to say 'rent' sitting in the luxury of ones four bedroom detached house, who also most likely has a couple of flats nearby, occupied by tenants paying off ones mortgage for them. Renting IS dead money, no way of sugar coating it, money down the drain.

[Ewood Spark]

For anyone out there still doubting that the Daily Express is the 'miserablists' paper of choice surely yesterdays headline must clinch it ..... "SUMMER WILL BE A WASHOUT We face weeks of downpours"

[DP]

Totally agree 100% with your comments. Finally someone who shares the same opinion, someone who CAN see the full picture. Of course it is easy to say 'rent' sitting in the luxury of ones four bedroom detached house, who also most likely has a couple of flats nearby, occupied by tenants paying off ones mortgage for them. Renting IS dead money, no way of sugar coating it, money down the drain.

Money down the drain eh? And paying interest to a bank is what exactly?

It's quite simple. If you want to borrow £100k it's going to cost you around £6000 in interest over the next 12 months. That money goes to the fat cats at the bank, and does nothing to pay off your mortgage. If your property investment goes down in value then you've gained nothing.

Don't get me wrong Blue Phil, I agree, buying property is a great long term investment. Unfortunately for the next 1 - 2 years if you're on a tight budget then it's a very dangerous investment too. If prices continue to decline over the next 12 months then renting will save someone not hundreds, but thousands of pounds.

[blue phil]

Over the next couple of years those off the ladder will have trouble getting on no doubt about it - but just look at how much someone could be paying an owner rent over 40 or 50 years if they listened to jim's hare brained advice . And at the end nothing to show for it .

Somebody who bought a house 30 years or so ago down South could now retire to France and live off the interest of the profits of their house should they so desire .

It may not get like that ever again but there'll always be demand for housing on this island .

Unless , of course , it's a property development on an old hospital site in Blackburn we're talking about .....

[Rover down South]

Money down the drain eh? And paying interest to a bank is what exactly?

It's quite simple. If you want to borrow £100k it's going to cost you around £6000 in interest over the next 12 months. That money goes to the fat cats at the bank, and does nothing to pay off your mortgage. If your property investment goes down in value then you've gained nothing.

Don't get me wrong Blue Phil, I agree, buying property is a great long term investment. Unfortunately for the next 1 - 2 years if you're on a tight budget then it's a very dangerous investment too. If prices continue to decline over the next 12 months then renting will save someone not hundreds, but thousands of pounds.

Yeah, the owner!

Or on the other hand if you are a first time buyer, like me, over the next year you watch while the houses become cheaper, try to buy at the right time, get a fixed rate mortgage over two years which is affordable while your new property appreciates. Here's hoping anyway.

[DP]

Yeah, the owner!

Or on the other hand if you are a first time buyer, like me, over the next year you watch while the houses become cheaper, try to buy at the right time, get a fixed rate mortgage over two years which is affordable while your new property appreciates. Here's hoping anyway.

That's the spirit. A bit of optimism. I'm sure it'll work out for you. Sure there's others that got on the gravy train a few years ago but that's life. You could turn out to be in a very favourable position in 12 - 18 months time. Good luck.

[Rover down South]

That's the spirit. A bit of optimism. I'm sure it'll work out for you. Sure there's others that got on the gravy train a few years ago but that's life. You could turn out to be in a very favourable position in 12 - 18 months time. Good luck.

Cheers, appreciate it. Hopefully in 12 - 18 months time, all will look much brighter.

[Paul]

You're correct , Paul .

Oil prices and road charging are already forcing businesses to close .....but at least you'll be have less congestion when you drive to work .

Spoken like a true New Labour man ........let those less well off eat cake .

phil would you please not twist my words. I long ago gave up responding to you because of the manner in which you chose to portray me and I'd appreciate it if you would cease. My comment has everything to do with the congestion issue and nothing to do with my personal journey time, I simply use this to illustrate the point (it's the real world you feel none of us live in). You do seem to have a problem with anyone who uses personal experience to back up a view yet at the same time hector people, accusing them of being out of touch with real life. The two are simply not compatible and represent a flaw in the arguements you put forward. It's a simple statement; in my experience local traffic volumes are down by 25-30%. Purely anecdotal and the only measure I can give is driving a regular route and using the actual journey time. The reason? well I can only think of one and that is fuel cost. The additional cost has the same impact on me as anyone else.

The country has serious issues with congestion, vehicle emissions etc. No one has come up with a workable solution to date but it appears current fuel prices are causing people to question if journeys are necessary, something I've been addressing myself for 15 months by using the train, working from home etc. As current fuel prices are probably here to stay it's going to be interesting to see if traffic volumes remain lower or if this is just a short-term reaction. The point is we don't suddenly have 25-30% fewer people going to work but it seems local traffic has reduced by this volume. The question is are these journeys moved to public transport, car sharing, bicycle, have they just stopped or what? It would be interesting to know.

I'm happy to debate this but I'm not happy if you continue to suggest the observations are simply selfish. I've been consistent in my views on traffic volumes and only observe fuel prices appear to be showing us one way of addressing the issue.

[yoda]

yeah but that was usually the same idiot stabbing himself, knowing people from Redditch

The majority of people in Redditch are overspill from Brum, thats why it had new town status

[jim mk2]

. Therefore housing will always be worth buying as it will always be in demand in the long run - renting is dead money . Get on the ladder as soon as you can afford to as housing is not going to get "much cheaper".

Stupid and wrong.

Renting ain't dead money when your house is decreasing in value, your mortgage payments and going up and you're stuck in negative equity . Ask anyone who suffered in the property recession of the 1970s or between 1989 and 1997. Like the stockmarket timing is the key and now is not the time to buy a house.

Stick to selling spoons and spouting rightwing drivel Enoch, something you know about.

[yoda]

Stupid and wrong.

Renting ain't dead money when your house is decreasing in value, your mortgage payments and going up and you're stuck in negative equity . Ask anyone who suffered in the property recession of the 1970s or between 1989 and 1997. Like the stockmarket timing is the key and now is not the time to buy a house.

Stick to selling spoons and spouting rightwing drivel Enoch, something you know about.

perhaps you can give cost comparison of renting or buying the same house over say a 20 year period to see which is cheaper, remembering that at the end of the period you have an asset to your name in one case, also put an allowance in for some negative equity if it makes you feel better!