To not understand why we need so many new homes

[Pebbledash7]

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?

So, OP, what you are saying is that you took massive advantage of a housing market where prices keep rising faster than any other type of inflation to make enough profit on an affordable house you redecorated yourself (whoopeedoo, so unusual! So clever to learn how to strip wallpaper and retile a bathroom... and so reasonable to expect this to increase the value of your home massively...) to upsize and now want to pull the ladder up behind you.

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.

Yes, all those high rises worked out really well didn't they? Classic unforeseen consequences in terms of them being an ideal hotbed of crime, drugs, vandalism, poverty, etc.

Health permitting i dream of a nice house with land for vegetable growing and dogs and grandchildren to run around for my retirement.

Is this for real?? You think you're entitled to this and yet other people should be living in B and Bs because you don't want your view spoiled?

@MsHopey I lived in a 2nd floor flat with no lift with a small baby. Are you able to keep the pram downstairs? I found it was a question of co ordination, you may need to make 2 trips up and down to get out. I couldn't be bothered to go out some days. Now I live in a 1st floor flat, which is a bit easier.

I am a town planner. When we hold a public consultation about building more homes, 99% of the responses we receive are from people who would agree with the OP.

It is very refreshing to hear from the people on this thread that understand why homes need to be built. PLEASE get involved with the planning process in your local area and make your voices heard. Because the fact that elected councillors only hear from the objectors is a massive reason why it is hard to plan for new housing - especially in the rural south east.

I think OP is winding us up, or my eyes have been opened to a new level of stupid.

@userthenlotsofnumbers
Nothing is allowed in the communal areas as it's a fire hazard, and don't particularly think the other neighbours would like it, they're all a bit weird. (So am I, but in different ways). Just going to take some careful planning and lots of lugging.

@MsHopey sorry to hear that. I reckon having a rucksack rather than classic change bag would help you in this situation.

I've read half the thread and i can't read any more because it's sending my blood pressure through the roof.

Just this: To those who think the OP is on a wind up, i recon not. Sadly there's lots of people proud to be as fucking ignorant short sighted as this.

I live in a village which has signs up all over the place saying ''[VILLAGE NAME] AGAINST [NAME OF PROPOSED DELEVOPMENT]. This development is for affordable housing 3 miles away - but - shock horror - it might be actually visible to all the homeowners here and spoil their view. Makes me so fucking angry i want to go around pulling the damn things down. How dare they speak for me!

We're renting here. DH is on good money but we'd have to move miles away before we can afford anything. God knows where all the grandchildren of these AGAINST lot are going to live. I wonder if they've asked themselves that. And their great grand children ect. Do they think they're ALL going to squeeze into granny's thatched 4 bedder with the fabulous view for the rest of eternity?

Overpopulation
And in some cases, to line the pockets of developers and let rich people "invest" or "leave money there like a bank account because they prefer it to their own country's banking system"

Maybe because as a single woman who earns £18k a year and can only afford to save about £300 of my £1300 pay per month and need a deposit of about 4-5k MINIMUM (not including the cost of admin fees/solicitors ect) to buy a house in a 15 mile radius of my work due to house prices being so high... If I wanted to buy a £120K house I'd need a minimum of AT LEAST 6K for a 5% deposit (TWO YEARS OF SAVING AND PRAYING MY CAR DOESN'T DIE AND NOTHING GOES WRONG!!)
You see the issue?

Don't be such a twat.

Maybe I we increased tax on buy to let and second homes then ploughed that money into social housing stock it would relieve to rent sector by simultaneously hitting the waiting lists while bringing down the value of private rents.thus saving housing benefit paid out and providing employment.

But they wont

As for the op, veg is incredibly cheap in lidl and Asda with a bit of luck the will build one on the new estate for the scummers! Always a silver lining dear

Surely they're not letting the scurry people come live near you OP? Mean, what kind of people live in affordable houses?? No doubt it'll be dull of people working in public services, nurses and teachers and the like.

Whatever you, start a petition now to stop the children of these lazy people coming to your school. You know nurses just sit around drinking tea all shift, teachers have all summer to lounge around and most public service workers don't even work hard enough for a pay rise!!

Imo we should invest in 50 floor flats - enough space for a cooker, fridge, 2 sweater sofa, double bed and 2 cot. That'll make people work hard enough to buy a nice house in the countryside. Although we might have to build on the greenbelt to accomodate all those deserving hard working folk. But that's ok isn't it OP?

Because three people I know live in a first floor flat, one bed flat with a baby and there are no houses around here (especially to rent or council houses) ?!
It's a popular area though.

You are a fucking knob

Despicable.

I also really hope for your sake you're never put in a position where you're suddenly out of work and lose your house so need council help and there's nothing because people like you disagree with it 😂
Also 'why can't people save they're just wasting their money on other things' how much would you be saving if you earned £20k a year with a young family.
Not everybody has access to higher education and who would do the lower paid jobs if they did? If too many people are university educated then there aren't enough higher tier jobs for them (what's happening at the moment) so no, not everyone can save enough to buy a house and I think you know that. Or maybe you're just so middle class you truly could never understand being poor.

Oops sorry for typos. Typing one handed as toddler thinks I'm the best seat, in my rented house because I didn't work hard enough to buy one / had to give up work to care for my complicated baby

Maybe I we increased tax on buy to let

But they have! They're changing the rules so that buy to let mortgage relief is no longer a tax-deductible expense. By around 2020 there'll only be a basic rate tax reducer for mortgage interest so it will no longer reduce gross taxable income like it has in the past. A lot of BTL-ers still don't realise how much it will cost them as it has the potential to push them over tax "cliff edges" such as higher rate threshold, the £50k threshold for child benefit clawback and the £100k threshold for losing personal allowance.

Ooh ooh I have a question. If I own a home but have a minimum wage job does that make me a baddie or a goody? My dsis is a teacher but has poor health and might need to sell her house for an affordable one, is she a wrong'un now?

It depends do you do your own wallpapering?

Gowgirl Yes I do. Hence I demand a patch of land and a pony.

Tell you what, pebbledash, rather than flats, why don't we just stick all those feckless poor people who can't afford a poky quarter of a million pound + home in the workhouse.

A long way from where you live, so you don't have to see them, of course.

I have a son and still live with my parents. I have no chance of getting a mortgage on my income in this area so unless we move (which I don't want to do) I've got to camp out here for years to save up for a larger deposit. Some of that will be negated by house prices going up anyway