to think all this nonsense about house prices being too high is just that - Nonsense!

[RazahFluffy]

DH and I have long been in the property game. We actually met whilst working as Estate Agents back in 1999!

I've seen a lot in my time as an agent - 2008/2009 were a bit of a blip, but overall, there's one thing I've always had faith in, and that's bricks and mortar and that prices always go up. They aren't making more land after all 😁

As well as working in property, we've got a few of our own. We started off as accidental landlords after we got together and kept both our homes to rent out when we decided it was time to move in together and find a place of our own. Over time we've added a few more to the portfolio.

We are lovely landlords. We let our tenants have our houses as their homes, and we like to do little things like send them Christmas hampers, and know their birthdays so we can send a card and usually a Pizza Express voucher.

Anyway, there's a lot of rubbish being written recently about interest rates and the economy affecting the market. Nothing could be further from the truth where we are!

It's still buoyant and the buyers registering at the agency are no different to usual - excited to either 'get on the ladder' or move to their next step towards their eventual forever home😊Vendors are still confident. They agree with us that houses are actually a bit too cheap, all things considered because inflation is quite high.

The one thing I'd have to say is if you can't afford a mortgage at the moment - think about your expectations. You might have thought previously that you could afford a 4 bed, but if you can only get a 3 bed for now is that really so bad? First time buyers especially I feel need to be realistic!

Property always goes up and it's no different now. We're really confident and having seen it all in this game, we really think it's time to believe in the market💪

I know we are not suppose to feed them but we have been shovelling pizza express vouchers into this one.

Not if you understand leverage and use it appropriately. Our tenants income covers the mortgage - which it always has and always will, so we just adjust according when needing refinancing and it's fine.

People will always need a roof over there head 🙄 Compromises in living will always be made elsewhere, therefore.

Why do you talk like that @RazahFluffy? It’s so weird and so goady and I am dying to know who you really are. Because you sound stuffed to the gills with shit.

You’re living in cloud cuckoo land. No Chinese investor would be interested in the typical British BTL, even if legislation wasn’t introduced to make it illegal for them to buy those properties.

If it's a 2 bed terrace then you could buy a 1 bed, or a studio - of course there are other options and as I've said before, siblings or friends could buy together and share to get their foot on the ladder.

Are all the house you sell @RazahFluffy bulletproof?

It's a store of wealth - the best one possible. That's why.

Why aren't Chinese investors investing in the Chinese housing market @RazahFluffy ?

Honestly guys, don't feed the troll.

they like new builds. Thats one reason why they keep them empty; they have never been used before and they want to keep it that way. What is the point of leaving a flat that has been used by successive tenants for 10 years empty?

Can I just check you are suggesting I buy a 1 studio flat to share with my three sisters @RazahFluffy ?

I saw that - really lightweight film making and it happened in America, not here.

I don't need Margot Robbie in a bathtub explaining collateralised debt obligations to me.

Sure, why not? 😊If it means you've taking the first step into property investment, that's the most important thing.

www.marxist.com/parasitical-landlordism-and-the-marxist-theory-of-rent.htm

“The capitalist is the direct exploiter of the workers, not only the direct appropriator, but the direct creator of surplus-labour. But since (for the industrial capitalist) this can only take place through and in the process of production, he is himself a functionary of this production, its director.

The landlord, on the other hand, has a claim – through landed property (to absolute rent) and because of the physical differences of the various types of land (differential rent) – which enables him to pocket a part of this surplus-labour or surplus-value, to whose direction and creation he contributes nothing. Where there is a conflict, therefore, the capitalist regards him as a mere superfetation, a Sybarite excrescence, a parasite on capitalist production, the louse that sits upon him.” (Theories of Surplus-Value, vol.2, p.328)

@RazahFluffy could I include by 5 brothers as well?

my dad bought a house with his parents as a fresh graduate in my home country. His parents pushed for it as they could not afford to repair the roof on their house. he met my mum later and she moved in and helped pay off the mortgage. It worked out pretty well as my grandparents cared for me & my sister while my parents were at work; and my dad paid all their bills until the day they died (30 years in all).

I often think that MIL would have an easier life if we clubbed together to buy a big house in north london as she wouldn't need to worry about maintaining her victorian terrace on her low income, but from her perspective and the way divorce law is in this country, i think it would be a risky decision. the house would be considered a marital asset and even if I did not contribute, i would still be entitled to a pretty large share of it. This is why siblings don't tend to buy houses together because you are basically throwing a dice on the success of your siblings' relationships. that is not a smart thing to do when the divorce rate is 50%.

You are not in the real world! So 3 sisters buy a 1 bed studio flat... they clearly can't all live there so where do they find the money to pay their share of the mortgage and pay extortionate rent to live somewhere else as the property they own does not meet their needs? Deluded.

I really don't think you get it. It's about getting onto the ladder, and benefiting from the capital appreciation that's inevitable.

Two could easily share the flat at any one time, maybe get bunk beds or similar. They can then alternate with the other sibling.

In this arrangement, each one could live at home 4 months of the year. 2/3rd's of the time they get to enjoy the independence of living in their own property.

You have to do what you can to get into property.

To clarify, by home I mean their parent's place. This is a really solid arrangement when you think about the benefits and could work long term.

My 2 bed flat in London hasn't really gone up in the three years I have owned it. It's in a good school catchment area in north London and lots of families live here. I can imagine it's worse for studio flats.

I have only really built equity in it because during the pandemic we weren't spending much so I overpaid the mortgage. Did not expect capital appreciation from buying property.

That would be taking things a too far as a living arrangement obviously 🙄

That said, if 8 of you clubbed together to buy a studio, it makes a lot of sense too. It could be considered a bit like a superior method of shared ownership.

There's a chance you could buy it as cash buyers, and then maybe use it as a city crash pad for holidays, and airbnb it the rest of the time.

@RazahFluffy So I should work for 4 months of the year, while I live at home with my parents, in order that I can get on the property ladder?

I may not be very good at maths, but if there are 4 of us, and 2 live in the flat at any one time and 2 live at "home" for 4 months of the year, what happens with the other 4 months, do 4 of us live in the studio flat together?

@RazahFluffy Can I just check some maths with you. If I my 3 sisters and 5 brothers buy a studio flat together, how many of us are there?

I am really very grateful for this suggestion, it is not an option that had occurred to me before, and I am sure that us all living together in a studio flat is going to work excellently. We could each have nearly 3 hours in the only bed each day.