In feeling annoyed with couples who take up large family homes but have no children

[user1491297286]

Friend of mine and her partner have just bought a really big 5 bedroom family house. They are both mid 20s, no children but claim they intend to start a family soon.... They bought the property on this basis. ABIU in thinking this is ridiculous.There is no guarantee they will even be able to have children let alone multiple. The house is in a fantastic area, nearby to a wonderful school and I know any houses in the area are snapped up as soon as they are on the market. My friend was up against lots of families who all placed offers on the property, however my friend trumped them all with a better offer. I feel this is a total waste of a large family home and can't help but feel it's ridiculous and rather greedy and selfish!

Pluck - I also don't see why they should downsize if they have an empty nest. I don't see what business is it of anyone else if they own the property. additional stamp duty, wanting to have room for friends and family to stay and the sheer upheaval are all reasons why people don't do it

You can have my first ever biscuit too. What a twat. Should single people with no children only be allowed a bike? No cars? A couple with no children only allowed a two seater car? You are an idiot.

We bought a delapidated former manor house 18 years ago before we had children. It has 8 bedrooms and 4 acres of land. We were up against four other families with children and we offered the highest price. Did I feel guilty? Not a jot.

Maybe there should be bedroom tax on all houses, not just council homes. Homes not being used at all, (bought only to make profit) should be double taxed per room.

Wow. What an outrageous attitude. Your poor friend doesn't need enemies when she has friends like you! I find your words about their potential infertility really shocking. Good luck to your friend I hope they have a wonderful family to fill their lovely home - that is how you would also feel if you were a true friend. People can buy and live in whatever size of house they can afford - that's how a free market works! It's not like they've been giving a council house. You don't sound very nice.

The free market is wrong. Just because someone can buy something doesn't mean they should. We all need to make more responsibility for the housing crisis. If you're defending it, you are part of the problem.

*take more responsibility. Sorry, I'm not checking properly as I'm currently on several threads.

name
Why shouldn't people but bigger houses just because they don't have kids her? Why have to keep upgrading every time they have more kids with all the added costs? If you can afford your 'forever' home before you have all the added expense of kids them that's nobody else's business. We are not resoonsibe for other people's choices in life

The free market is wrong. Just because someone can buy something doesn't mean they should. We all need to make more responsibility for the housing crisis. If you're defending it, you are part of the problem.

Good points.
The government should give permission for people to buy houses strictly according to their needs.
I'm thinking no 10 could house a large family and Buckingham Palace could become a hotel.

No more second houses and if you have a spare bedroom and don't want to move you'll have to AirBnB it or house a homeless person.

You know it makes sense.

I think it's wrong that while lots of people have no bedroom some people have several bedrooms or several homes - they have lots of room which isn't being used which could be used. It's greedy and grabby and our dysfunctional system promotes this greed.

Lweji - Definitely no more second homes.

How do you know the rooms aren't being used Name? I use all of my rooms once per day at least.

OP YABVU, none of your business and try to work on your jealousy ishoos, you will be a lot happier for it. Comparison is the death of happiness.

name changer 22. Are you seriously telling me that I can't have an ironing / exercise machine/overflow bookshelf /winter jumper wardrobe room? how very bloody dare you. Next you'll want to me to let out my spare bedroom too.

Lweji - Definitely no more second homes.

Why not if people use them?

And who's going to decide who needs or is worth something?

Considering they've bought the house, I'm going to say YABU. If it was council/HA housing then I would understand... but since it's not, wind your neck in.

In pure socialism there is no private ownesrhip of property at all and the state hands out what you need as you need it - eg state says one child only (China a few years back) and you get that flat which will fit in the one child. Or larger family bigger house, children leave home move you to a small place.

Instead in the UK the Government controls in less obvious ways. I pay over £3000 a year council tax because I have a big house. If | had a smaller one that tax and all the other bills woudl be less (my power bills are £6000 a year, water is £1000), painting outside and inside of the house something like £30k. In other words it is very very expensive to have big house. At one state my interest only mortgage was £90k a year. When I die the state seizes 40% of everything I ever had i.e. the house (my only asset) even though most of that moey has already been taxed at highest rates. So an awful lot of state interference in property there but not confiscation.

I have chosen to buy a house rather than say a car (my car costs £1k and neighbours have £100k cars and £100k of gold at home etc etc). I would not like to have even higher property taxes as I feel they are high enough as they stand. I am from the NE> We have up there loads and loads of empty homes and plenty that cannot sell. go to Halifax, Liverpool, Newcastle etc etc and there are lots and lots of homes so it's quite hard to impose property taxes. Cornwall tried restrictions on second homes at one stage.

£6,000 for gas and electric? Your power bill alone is half my annual income. Aren't you at all worried about how your over consumption is destroying the environment? I wouldn't sleep at night with your situation. Why do so many people want to get trapped in this race to get bigger and better than everyone else?

How about the other way round?

If you can not afford to buy a house big enough to house your child(ren) then don't have said child(ren).

No more second houses and if you have a spare bedroom and don't want to move you'll have to AirBnB it or house a homeless person.
What?! So nobody can have a spare room for friends / family to visit?!

Did the exact same thing as your friend, 18 months later I had my first baby, should I have bought a house paid estate agent, solicitors fees and stamp duty on a smaller house and then moved again whilst on maternity leave when I had less money than ever and paid all of the above again? why wouldn't you buy your forever home if you can?

You know what really destroys the environment? Every child born in the West. The world has more than enough people in it, and every Western child uses up around 4 times the resources of a child born elsewhere.

So, OP, if you were to put your 4-bed on the market and got two offers- a low one from a couple with children or a higher offer from a couple with no children, would you accept the first offer on principle?

Thought not!

Those of us without children must immediately downsize to studio apartments so that you have your pick of the houses. OK then...

A great example of entitlement...

It's ridiculous to suggest that everyone in the West should stop having children. Some people are more responsible than others. Spending £6,000 on gas and electric is not being responsible.

I am hoping it will come right down when the 3 boys leave in the Autumn but we shall see. I think it was £5k this year but my provider has said there are price rises coming up. I am not sure if living together is so bad though - we had 7 of us here at one stage - it's that better than taking up 7 single homes? Isn't one cause of the property shortage which is only by the way in places in big cities, loads of the country does not have shortage of homes, that people are living alone rathern than with others?
My neighbour opposite are 2 grandparents, Indian son and his wife (probably the reason they live with the parents - cultural), 2 children just about adults now or university stage and I think a live in servant. so another 7 people. My children share bed rooms.

There is certianly nothing any of us can do worse for planet earth than have a baby. Everything else pales into insignificance. In fact the best thing we could do for the planet is eradicate all people from it actually.