Liz Jones - I do feel a tiny bit sorry for her but she still has no self awareness

[QuebecBagnet]

Article in the DM today about how she's getting evicted from her rental cottage as the landlady wants to sell. Focus of the article is renters with no security - which I agree is an issue.

So she talks about how when she was made bankrupt she struggled to find somewhere to rent. Had to put all her nice furniture in storage. She has spent 59k "decorating" this cottage - new kitchen, underfloor heating, etc and has now lost all that.

I'm sorry but 59k would be a 50% on a 2 bed terrace in many cities in the UK. I don't know maybe she couldn't get a mortgage for the rest. Though surely she didn't spend all her savings on this cottage. And how did she have 59k if she was made bankrupt a few years ago?

Anyway the thing which really bugged me is she says women of her age have had it harder than "generation rent". Really? Had it harder when she had the opportunity to buy property (and did so) when it was a quarter of the price it is now. She spent years writing about her luxury lifestyle, her horses, trips to Paris, expensive skincare, expensive yoga classes.

I have limited sympathy for someone who has spunked a very good income on frivolous shit and moans about being skint especially when they continue to make shit financial decisions.

Still wish I knew who the Rock Star was. Was Jim Kerr the most likely suspect?

I went school with a woman who is now this sort of lifestyle writer. She writes about how awful things are for her all the time, and about her spending etc. But she is an alcoholic and has been for 20 years, this is why her life is a mess, the drinking! She never ever mentions it. It is all just a load of crap.

If she had a £59K deposit, she'd be pushed to get a mortgage in her late 60s to cover the rest- roughly £200K.

She's freelance. The fee for that feature could be anywhere from £1k-£2K, but she needs to write an awful lot to be able to pay a mortgage.

Make that £300K- typo.

And nicely redecorated too 😂Heating's done, flooring's done, bathtub there etc. Thanks Liz Jones.

On the Market since June..
It looks a very reasonable price to me- But maybe it’s expensive for the area it’s in?
Looks a beautiful location.
But maybe it rains a lot or there isn’t much work in the area?

I have a friend like this. Financially incontinent. It's hard to fix. Though Liz Jones would have nothing to write about if she fixed it.

This is why so many properties are for sale in Easby

A gross development !
No wonder people are not buying.

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/life-beautiful-yorkshire-village-residents-23499985.amp

Oh that's quite nice.

"Please note: The fitted kitchen and bathroom fittings are owned by the current tenant. They may be available for purchase separately or an agreement may be reached with the landlord and tenant to make them available (if required)".

I am finding it hard to believe that she spent £59k on a refurb.

I thought she was bankrupted 5 or 6 years ago. I should start writing for the Daily Mail!

🙄Ok, so nobody is going to buy it anyway and she has already resolved the sunk costs issue - I can see what was being said about her twisting the truth. A kitchen like that has a life of five years before it is old and valueless so it was a bit OTT to rant about it.

I always thought it’s cheap for the area. Or am I wrong? It would be quite expensive in Yorkshire.

She's freelance. The fee for that feature could be anywhere from £1k-£2K, but she needs to write an awful lot to be able to pay a mortgage.

Freelance with a regular weekly gig as a columnist for the last 25 years. Plus additional features and podcasts throughout. So surely a chance to build some savings or a mortgage earlier on.

It’s twelve log cabins. The claim that this will destroy the quality of life is batshit.

I know one fellow parent who writes for the Daily Mail on a freelance basis. He is a really oily character. I could not even bear to say hello on the school run. They don't half pick 'em.

I've found Liz Jones self-centredly irritating for several decades. I don't feel sorry for her. Most of her woes seem to be self-inflicted and her attention-seeking seems to know no bounds.

I prefer number 5 on offer for the same price. They would be nice holiday lets (though I expect that locals might disagree with me).

Of all the things that could be developed, 12 log cabins seems probably the least offensive.

It's not as if it's a retail park, 24 hour tesco, car factory or industrial incinerator

I don’t really know much about Liz Jones beyond that she writes columns. I think the financial and life impact of insecure accommodation on renters is a massive and life changing issue. She is perhaps not a typical case and has possibly made bad decisions but still I feel a bit of sympathy.

The money she spent was crazy though. Sometimes you do have to spend money improving a rental for the sake of your physical or mental health. It’s different if you’re young and renting for a year or so before buying but when you are middle aged with no end to renting in sight you really tire of living in a dump. But a basic clean ikea kitchen could have made it pleasant, not Neptune.

But who would want that hassle? Is it going to be the purchase price then another £20k for the kitchen and bathroom fittings? Can you imagine paying all that money for a teeny tiny cottage and then stumping up for the basics. Madness!

This is the way sales and rentals work in many European countries but definitely not in rural Yorkshire.

With attendant screeching and noise of tourists... Plus the blight on the view.

I don't live there, but hope for the sake of the people who do that such a noisy horrible development won't get planning permission.

I'm sure pp have said but LJ has owned several houses over the years, from an Islington town house to a large country house.

Are you serious? Screeching? Noisy?

As I said, batshit.

I imagine she's got a big work and private pension, not just the part she 'cashed in'. I hope so anyway.

Jones was insane to let them go! Who would do that?
Property {Until now at least} has been a very good investment.

Even if she was travelling, she should have rented it /them out.

Renting is dead money.

And from the article itself the last one sold for 400k less than she paid which suggests it was probably worth millions!! (You surely wouldn't reduce a 600k house by 400k)