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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not understand why we need so many new homes

265 replies

Pebbledash7 · 04/06/2017 20:52

Just as in the title really. I keep hearing about us building all these new houses but where are all the people currently living? There are tonnes of houses for sale in the property pages of our local paper.

I really dont understand why we can't make better use of what we have?

OP posts:
Booph · 05/06/2017 07:48

I just came here to tell you to fuck off. I can't make any more sensible a contribution I'm afraid.

Gowgirl · 05/06/2017 07:54

Do you have any idea of house prices op? If it wasn't for my council tenancy we couldn't live in London even with dh earning good money (probably more than you). But that's all right we could all buy cheaper homes around you right?
Hows your school, gp and roads going to cope with the influx of commuting families....

Gowgirl · 05/06/2017 08:02

By the way your sort of nimbyism is completely abhorrent and worryingly very familiar in the naice village i moved from, hence the fact i exchanged rather Than buy!

hellokittymania · 05/06/2017 08:06

Someone from the council mentioned that in Camden alone there are 26,000 people on the waiting list for social housing.

UserThenLotsOfNumbers · 05/06/2017 08:14

@Pebbledash7 ohmygosh are you Theresa May?? I just KNEW she'd be on mumsnet somewhere!
Come on don't be shy, you can reveal your true self now.

Gowgirl · 05/06/2017 08:15

Of course maybe the buy to letters have a valid reason to not want the sh stock increased, less people around to buy extortionate private rates...

MsHopey · 05/06/2017 08:16

Me and my husband both work full time in minimum wage jobs, my husband is a cleaner and I work in a supermarket. We were privately renting a house because we didn't like living in flats with no garden and we lived next to drug dealers. We're 25 and have been together for 8 years, we saved a 5% deposit for a house as we was eligible through the governments scheme. We found a modest little council house on the market for £100k, every bank turned us down because we didn't earn enough (though we was paying more monthly rent than the mortgage would have been). So we basically had to throw the idea away of buying our own house, as our wages weren't increasing but house prices are, so it wasn't going to happen. Then I found out I was pregnant, amazing news!!! Except maternity pay is actually only 50% of my wages, so we couldn't afford to privately rent our okay house for the baby, because my wages will be much less on maternity leave. So, while pregnant we had to ask the council for a place again, otherwise down the line we'd end up homeless. We now live in a one bedroom flat, again. Not really any room for a baby and I'm not sure where he's going to learn to walk without any spare floor space and no garden. But here I am, a wait for a 2 bedroom property in my area is estimated at 2 - 4 years. Bearing in mind we have never claimed a penny from anywhere, we have always paid our full rent ourselves and worked full time. Social housing is so important as it helps both the people who can't work, and those on minimum wage who could never realistically afford to buy or even privately rent. And in no way do I feel like I need to justify having a child with my amazing husband, just because some arrogant people think I don't work hard enough to enjoy other aspects of my life.

Fl0ellafunbags · 05/06/2017 08:20

Maybe if I just stop buying so many avocados

Avocados? You're evidently a total splattercash and deserve to live in a hovel. From now on you must make guacamole using mushy peas and jif squirty lemon. You just see how your savings rack up then.

makeourfuture · 05/06/2017 08:24

Not just more homes....better homes. Much of the existing stock needs a great deal of modernising too.

Gowgirl · 05/06/2017 08:25

I blame Starbucks! Less coffee and ill soon save enoughGrin except I don't like Starbucks and i do like wanky, pretentious coffee shops and craft gin....go shoot me....

Fl0ellafunbags · 05/06/2017 08:25

MsHopey Flowers

grasspigeons · 05/06/2017 08:30

Successive governments have followed a very London centric economic policy that has supported London and wound down the regions. Other countries might have several centres of economy. This means people wanting a job need to be near London. I'm not suggesting there are no jobs outside London obviously but there bits of the country with empty housing.

UserThenLotsOfNumbers · 05/06/2017 08:30

@MsHopey you absolutely don't need to justify yourself to anyone. Flowers

sashh · 05/06/2017 08:32

On another note - why dont we return to social housing being in flats. I mean this genuinely. It takes up less land and rent would be lower.

Ever tried taking a pram up and down three flights of stairs?

Children having no place to play?

The problems you get with noise?

Not being able to have heating that is not electric?

The social housing by me that is flats is restricted to over 35s with no children because of all of the above.

Has anyone else noticed how privileged people always stress how hard they work? Or in the case of public school pupils how hard their parents work?

If you want to work hard go down a mine, in to a factory or clean toilets 12 hours a day.

msgrinch · 05/06/2017 08:34

I'd rather be skint and live in an alley than have your personality issue or whatever else is wrong with you to make you behave/think like this. I suspect the reason you don't have many friends who don't own houses is because people don't want to be friends with stuck up snobs. Remove head from anus dear, the sun doesn't come out of it.

GloriaV · 05/06/2017 08:37

I think the problem is also the building companies who do up houses or build them who need to make a good profit. There are loads of run down former business areas and premises which could be converted (at a lot of cost) to housing, there are run down houses that are allowed to remain barely livable in, there are rambling old houses which could be converted to flats. But unless they make the builder a decent profit nothing gets done. I don't see why the gov cannot offer grants to incentivise this to be done.
All that the building firms want to do is build huge estates of 400,000 family homes - biggest profit producer.
I really can't see why the Council (via Planning dept) or the Gov don't step in surely it's cheaper long term to house the homeless (or those like the OP).

GloriaV · 05/06/2017 08:39

Not the OP, the poster above MsHopey

MsHopey · 05/06/2017 08:39

Thanks guys.
Just genuinely can't believe some of the views and opinions I've read on this thread. Mind bogling.
I wish doing a few extra hours or being given a promotion would happen, but there's no real promotion opportunities in my husbands company and I don't think anyone is dying to give an 8 months pregnant lady a promotion or extra hours. I'm not even on a ground flook flat, I too am going to have to struggle up the stairs with the push chair and travel seat, I haven't got central heating, and if anyone has ever has storage heaters you will know they are crap, and you're supposed to know the temperature the day before. Flats aren't the best places for a little one to grow up in. But there's a massive shortage in homes. They are building all the time, but like everyone said, a new build is £200k for a 2 bedroom, not really helping the people who really need it.

MacarenaFerreiro · 05/06/2017 08:40

Totally agree that planning is an issue. There is a church near me which has sat empty and unused for 10 years or more because of planning constraints. It's on some listed schedule which means the council will not approve any changes to its exterior - so no adding extra doors or windows. They've approved it for restaurant or retail use - nobody wants it. Approve minor changes to the exterior and it would be snapped up for residential development and could be 8 or 10 amazing flats.

There are empty shop units all over Britain - the way we're shopping has changed forever and with a wee bot of creative thought and planning some of those units could be converted too.

allthecheese · 05/06/2017 08:41

OP you are beyond stupid.

A couple of examples. My parent's house was 3x my dad's salary when they bought it in the 80's. If you look at the value now, and what his salary would be in current money, it is 6x his salary. This is a relatively conservative growth as it is in a midlands suburb. House price growth has outstripped wage growth a vast amount.

Secondly, you say people should 'save more and go without'. 2 bed houses where I am looking have grown in value by £100k over the past two years. How many avocado toasts and coffees would I need to go without to save that amount? House price growth outstrips anything that the majority can save for.

As others have said, you're a dickhead.

SuperFlyHigh · 05/06/2017 08:42

Countryside needs to be built on so people can afford to rent, buy etc.

What's interesting is where I live (SE London borders) is that in the past few years housing has been built on a derelict church/churchyard site and more planned on a strip of grass in front of local authority properties. The church area only has private housing behind or to the dude of it. I've got a friend who's upset that flats or houses are being built on the grass abutting the local authority area and yes it's a shame the grass is being built on but people need homes! On the other side of the street to her there are private houses and grass/bus stop in front of them but presumably as they're private and there's the bus stop there won't be properties built there for years.

What can we do?

WizardOfToss · 05/06/2017 08:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Starlight2345 · 05/06/2017 08:45

Wow I have just come back off holiday yesterday ( you will be disgusted to know I live in Social housing and spent the money I earned giving my son a nice time not investing it in a mortgage) Your thread reminds me why I need to spend less time on Mumsnet..

I agree dickhead.

squishysquirmy · 05/06/2017 08:50

How old is your house?
Do you not think it absolutely awful for the nearest neighbours, having to put up with your house spoiling their view?
Or is it an old famhouse/barn that's been converted? In which case don't you worry that it is spoiling the rural atmosphere with its prettied up, fake-farmy vibes? (maybe a huge glass wall?)

LoisWilkersonsLastNerve · 05/06/2017 08:52

We bought a nice house in a nice rural spot and ive just heard that affordable housing will go up on the fields around us. Our lifestyle will be compromised, our hard earned house worth less money & our little village school will go downhill

Oh do fuck off dear. You do know people who need affordable housing don't bite or have two heads? Biscuit