fidelex. I really am truly sorry that you are unable to buy a house and you are very right, properties were indeed cheap 20 years ago. Perhaps you did not know they were far more expensive 7/8 years before that - 30-40% more. (our first house was apparently 75k pre crash and we paid 47k - but it was in need of tlc) In the early 80's as house prices boomed due to the mass sell off of council houses and the relaxing of lending laws. Many young people back then or those up to their early 30's watched pre crash prices soar and believed they would never buy a property. I too thought in the mid 80's that I would never be a home owner. It was equally demoralising and frustrating back then for the nations young adults.
I understand that you may think of me as preventing you from buying a house and that may be partly true but the current housing crisis is far more complex and has been created by many factors including the following:
- Longevity of life - people are living maybe 20 years more on average
- Divorce rates - 2 homes needed instead of one
- Influential and mainly foreign business people and officials buying multimillion pound properties in London to launder money
- Net immigration
- Sudden return to more lax lending by banks, which tightened as a result of the 2008 global recession triggered by the pre prime mortgage disaster
- Lack of local authority housing
- The feel good factor returning to the country - everyone suddenly wants to buy a house
- Recent btl landlords, who see btl as a means of making a fast buck not housing tenants appropriately and for the right reasons
- Large scale btl landlords, who have always existed and the government is not penalising in the same way because the government seems to be fine with them (15 houses or more stamp duty new regulations do not apply)
I am not responsible for these issues. I went into btl because I moved abroad. Had we not moved abroad, perhaps we would not be btl landlords. The law, although it does affect me (on the mortgage tax front) was actually not designed to target me. It was designed to target the recent surge of irresponsible btl landlords, who don't know what they are doing. This is in fact why the government has separate legislation for large scale btl landlords (15+ house ownership with the additional 3% stamp duty exemption). I am outraged at this exemption, they too should have to pay and is a nod and an appeasement to ease the "suffering" to these landlords.
Of course it is extremely frustrating and saddening that a whole generation of people, who should have been buying properties over the past decade did not buy property because of the global economy. I have massive sympathy for you and these other people. I believe house prices will stagnate and probably fall. I do think market forces will drive down prices as the current market price for a property is not sustainable until income catches up with house prices. Perhaps not a great deal in London, where multimillion pound properties have been snapped up through dodgy deals with foreign investors massively inflating house prices. This is in London where my properties are not located has nothing to do with me. And yes, I do think it is a good thing that the government has passed laws to help release some of the btl housing stock as I hope it will benefit others and help to get rid of greedy and irresponsible landlords.
I am sorry that you find my small scale ownership of properties offensive. I do what I have to do for my family and me. It would be fair to assume that I am older than you. Property prices wax and wane in this country and I really have seen this situation before, twice. Perhaps not as dire because the country and demographic has changed.
The only thing I am able to do is what I do do and that is to take as little as I can from the welfare state, I paid for my ivf whilst living abroad even though my dh paid NI in England for the duration, which entitled me to NHS care (and I imagine ivf), I did not claim DLA money, I do not ask for NHS Physio or counselling. If I did not pay for my treatment, I would be a very ill person, probably bed bound and in a wheelchair. So I do what I am able to do to support others. I have to look after me so that I can look after my child to enable her to grow to be a thriving and productive member of society, who pays in to her country and looks after those less fortunate than herself.
I really do hope that the situation changes and I really would be happy to see much more affordable housing and a drop in house prices - although perhaps not too much - not from a selfish perspective but because it will trigger mass negative equity, repossessions and possibly a rise in interest rates, which will benefit no one as even though housing would be more affordable, interest payments on mortgages would not. People were harder hit in the late 80's crash in my view than in the 2008 crash. Perhaps I am wrong as I was very young first time around. I know that a lot is wrong with the country and although house buying was cheaper, I really don't want to go back to the late 80's/early 90's of suffering and despair.
My comment in response to the article was glib without trying to be offensive because I find it unfair that all landlords are being tarred with the same brush and under attack. I really am not trying to cause you or anyone else offence and really do wish you the very best.