To just be so upset about house prices

[spuddy56]

We started looking in December after scrimping and saving for years and its got more and more out of reach with every passing week since then. We've had two sales fall through due to downvaluations, so not only did we need the huge deposit we had saved up for years, we needed 10k on top of that which is impossible for us. We are paying rent and have no family help. We viewed a tiny house that we love and has been on the market since beginning of April with no offers but the seller won't budge on the price. Based on one year of sold prices in the area its about 40k too much, even taking into account the 10% rises over the last 12 months. Theres just no way a mortgage company would lend that much. Been to view another one and it's tiny, has had no offers and is worth a lot less but agents don't think they will go lower. We've had to adjust our expectations down and down despite being what we thought were healthy earners. How are first time buyers managing to buy right now without help?! I'm so so upset at not having somewhere to settle and call a permanent home.

Currently on benefits or will be on benefits in the future, entirely different conversation.

I’m wondering whether you are being deliberately obtuse. How many working people who have borrowed eg £300k on a mortgage are likely to be on benefits ‘in the future’? Very few. Nor will you be able to chick in your job and ‘go on benefits’ if the mortgage gets a bit expensive. As if.

If you lose your job, you won’t get benefits for long. You have to find another job quickly or you’ll be sanctioned. That’s your time limit.

The point being for somebody like myself with 200 K left on a mortgage, if I fell and broke my back tomorrow it would be more cost-effective for the government to pay the 800 odd pounds to the mortgage company to house me and for me to be able to adapt it with loans and grants that it would be to attempt to find me rental accommodation anywhere else.

Yes, because you would be disabled. The same approach wouldn’t apply if you couldn’t afford your monthly repayments.

How many people who have over-borrowed and can’t afford the mortgage when interest rates rise are likely to break their backs or suffer another injury that leaves them disabled, such that Boris will pay their mortgage for them? Very few. So it’s foolish to pretend that there’s a solid safety net in place. There isn’t.

Well back in 2012 when I was affected by unemployment there was a solid safety net it worked out really well and actually we could’ve taken the piss and used it for quite a lot longer than we did. But like most people we literally did use it as a safety net and then normal service was resumed and in theory we had overborrowed because we couldn’t remortgage on paper we couldn’t afford the house that we bought in 2008 by 2012.

it looks as though Boris is about to put back in a similar plan to the one that was available in 2012 to stop people losing their homes.

this is a good thing for tax payers.

it looks as though Boris is about to put back in a similar plan to the one that was available in 2012 to stop people losing their homes.

this is a good thing for tax payers

@Nothappyatwork

Given you don't think there are any problems with the economy and a recession isn't on the cards, why do you think Boris might be doing this?

Erm because he announced it today 🤦‍♀️

@Nothappyatwork

Maybe I should have asked my question more clearly 🤣.

Let's try again...

What reason does Boris have for announcing these plans?

You don’t need to rephrase your question I completely understand it thank you …. lots can change in 12 hours in politics as we’ve seen.

i’m still confident that I will be absolutely fine though, one way or another those data lakes wont build themselves

And anybody who took out a mortgage from 2018 which has been stress tested for affordability up to 10%. I know I was.

I don't know anyone stress tested to 10%

@Nothappyatwork

But you're choosing not to answer my question?

I was less than three months ago.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best I guess surely that’s the role of a prime minister.

but I do know if a shit storm is coming over the horizon it will take a number of years before it hits Tech for example and any major civil engineering project typically the money has already been spent.
and actually if the government wants to keep the wheels turning, other countries will typically invest heavily in infrastructure to keep the population working not sure whether Boris will catch onto that but will see.

@Nothappyatwork

Another poster tried to help you out earlier but it seems that you haven't yet taken your fingers out of your ears.

"I can't see anyone running around like a chicken shouting that the sky is going to fall. I can see someone sticking their fingers in their ears and singing la, la la very loudly while ignoring all the facts.

It's not just Elon Musk who, love him or loathe him, clearly has something about him to be so financially successful.
Here are a range of articles from the mainstream media. Even the BOE is warning about recessionary risks as are various other bodies.

www.ft.com/content/5001ffb8-96d6-4e1a-a9dc-5ad4470930c7

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/06/08/britain-brink-recession-covid-recovery-grinds-halt/

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/12/a-uk-recession-seems-certain-the-only-question-is-how-deep

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sterling-s-fall-reflects-harsh-reality-that-outlook-for-uk-is-deteriorating-n5b862593

Unfortunately, all discretionary sectors, which includes tech (note some of the massive stock market falls in the tech sector) are at risk."

@TwinklingFairyLights and I can only comment on what I see is tangible workflows in front of my eyes and that is that it would take at least 2 to 3 years for the machine to stop if the plug was pulled tomorrow.

And given that we are hiring not firing the plug isn’t getting pulled any time soon.

there are so many major implementations and upgrades I can think of off the top of my head that need to be performed over the next five years these aren’t nice to have these are essential projects that must happen. Unless you think the likes of Heinz, tarmac, Astrazeneca are going to disrupt their supply chains.

they are too deep in for it to fail much like the banks inflammable.

@Nothappyatwork you may have been but that's not the norm.

"The Bank of England has announced a consultation on its mortgage affordability stress testing rules.
Currently, these rules mean borrowers must prove they can still afford their mortgage repayments if interest rates went up by 3 per cent. The Bank of England has now announced that it will consult on scrapping this rule.
Even without this rule in place, lenders would still stress test borrowers, but they would instead apply the Financial Conduct Authority’s looser, more flexible rule.
Lenders will still have to check borrowers can afford their repayments based on where markets expect interest rates to move during the first five years of their loan or at a rate one per cent higher than today’s, whichever is higher."

Well back in 2012 when I was affected by unemployment there was a solid safety net it worked out really well and actually we could’ve taken the piss and used it for quite a lot longer than we did

Yeah, for six months. That’s how long you could be on contributions-based jobseekers’ allowance. After that your husband would have had to apply for jobs, anything, not just jobs that would pay your mortgage. If he didn’t take one he’d have been sanctioned. No more benefits, no more £600 a month.

I’m curious about your ‘not taking the piss’ statement when you informed us upthread that you ‘pocketed the difference’ between the actual cost of the mortgage and the £600 per month you got for six months.

it looks as though Boris is about to put back in a similar plan to the one that was available in 2012 to stop people losing their homes.

Hahahaha. It ‘looks as if’ the government are going to be doling out free money to anyone who wants it? Yeah, that’ll happen. I suppose that anyone anticipating this free money who discovers that they’ll get help for six months max, which is likely to be capped anyway (I’m with @TwinklingFairyLights on this one) could always follow your suggestion and break their back, or something.

Wake up! The country is in massive debt. Deluding yourself that the government will pay people’s huge mortgages on a long term basis “to save housing benefit” is foolish.

There wasn’t an option to pay back the difference between the mortgage payment and the allowance so I actually spent it on a mulberry handbag. Little treat to say well done me for surviving.
As for the contributions allowance jobseeker is only lasting six months wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong he could’ve been on income support for nearly 5 years possibly longer actually with our baby being so young.

Fingers crossed they are going to implement something very similar, just to wind you up if nothing else.

and I can only comment on what I see is tangible workflows in front of my eyes

You certainly have a turn of phrase but your problem is that you cherry pick your own experiences, or those of your friends, and assume that your own experiences are truths universally acknowledged.

Widespread expert predictions of a slowdown in tech? Impossible. Your little project is hiring so that can’t be the case.

Richest tech tycoon in the world implements a hiring freeze? He’s wrong because you’re hiring for two new roles.

Mortgage too expensive? No worries. Your disabled mate had their mortgage paid by the government so everyone else will too.

Been made redundant? Worry not. Boris will pay everyone’s mortgage with pocket money on top , into perpetuity, because you got help for six months in 2012 and definitely (you think) could have gone on longer if you hadn’t nobly refrained from ‘taking the piss’.

You do get that income support and JSA were two entirely separate benefits, right.? With separate criteria. I’m glad to see that you are as sure of your husband definitely qualifying for five years of income support to stay at home as you are of everything else, eg the rude health of the tech industry.

You’re getting quite wound up, aren’t you? Using the word ‘wrong’ five times on the bounce. I get that it must be hard, being confronted by logical arguments.

@Iamthewombat and @TwinklingFairyLights - I gave up trying to discuss things with a certain poster because they don't seem to grasp reality at all. Apparently we can cause a recession by being negative! 🙄

I doubt Johnson's latest wheeze will come to fruition. From his political perspective, it seems utterly foolish anyway as it will upset his usual voting base. Perhaps it's just a distraction tactic.

Do you get that you could move from JSA onto income support If need be ?
were talking about historical rules that I had an extremely comprehensive grip on, I made it my job to understand in order to guarantee my family survival at the time.

As I say I completely understand it’s been quite different now and that things have been really quite awful for those on universal credits hopefully the new implementation will make their lives a little bit easier and stop shafting people who have worked all their lives should they find themselves in difficulty and that will save the tax payers £20 million against data produced to model housing benefit payments in 2025

It also makes me laugh that to you are providing links for studies that base past performance as an indicator of future performance and yet you don’t think that same methodology applies to government policies.

You are not being unreasonable to expect to own your own home. We were fortunate enough to buy last year but we got lucky - gifted some money from family and combined with our savings and a government first time buyers scheme, it was enough for a deposit, but circumstances also played a part as the previous owners wanted a very quick sale due to moving abroad so therefore didn't demand we cough up ridiculous amounts. I agree that you should make it very clear to the estate agent your desirability with being chain free etc. House prices are ridiculous in anywhere remotely desirable/well connected. We worked with an excellent mortgage advisor who told us about the first time buyers scheme, so try and get some good advice. It won't help with greedy sellers though. Sending solidarity.

Maybe banks need to start making sure people have proper insurance so if lose job /die etx that house gets paid off or least mortgage paid

im a widow and in way . It’s amZing and scary how many people whose partners died and they didn’t have life insurance and lost their home or had to move somewhere mush cheaper

I’m not saying buy a house for a million but if banks are wary that a person may not pay their mortgage due to salary. But have been paying £1300 a month rent for 5yrs but mortgage would be £1200 it’s not taking a risk

Sounds like the perfect scam to ensure we're all paying for a service not many of us will need, straight into the pockets of banking and insurance companies.

It’s bloody impossible! In 2015 my parents bought a flat for me to live in and ‘rent’. They gave me back the rent two years later to then buy the flat…but I couldn’t…cause I could no longer mortgage the value! 30K increase, my salary not up a penny (nurse).

Obviously my parents made some money on it and I’m grateful they helped me (I actually then bought a house with my now Husband instead).

…but at the time I was so upset that I couldn’t buy my own lovely flat because the price had hiked but my wages hadn’t [parents weren’t allowed to sell it to me for that much of a discount, something that do with tax].

With the down valuations it should then be down to the vendor to reduce as they’ll come up against that same issue whoever their buyer is. Unless they end up with a cash buyer who isn’t having a proper surveyor. Their agent should be advising them. Just know they won’t be selling to anyone anytime soon!! Hopefully they’ll realise that and come crawling back!