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💪

Great! I don't think that's changed at all. There are plenty of people who work in supermarkets who can still afford a home! Tesco's even have a discounted share scheme I hear and that might be a good place to save some of their deposit in - it's really good to see that employees can also be owners.

I do take your point, they might need to move into a supervisory position these days if they really want to stretch themselves to their dream home rather than working on the shop floor but that's just how life is. There's also ways to earn extra money, like taking on a part time Just eat job or something when you're not at your main job. It's all about creative thinking to get on the ladder.

When we started at the agency, DH and I worked loads of hours and that's how we got to the position we are in today. I'm really proud of us!

Not past Friday they ain’t

DH and I bought a 2 bed flat in north London at ages 27 and 29 in 2019. My MIL bought a 1 bed flat with her partner in 1989 in north London also at the age of 27. So for our family, we afforded the same type of property at the same age. However our income multiples are very different. In MIL's time, her property was 3 x income. Our property was 4.5 x income. This is due to low interest rates.

When the interest rate is 7% when our mortgage deal expires in 2024, it would double our mortgage payment to £2000. The only reason why it would not increase as much is because we have no DC yet and have been making overpayments. If we had TTC straight after buying like many people would have, we would be so screwed....now at least we can TTC with 8% interest rates in mind and buy any future property with that factored in...

Seriously is your head so far up your own arse that you don't realise that ppl can't afford a mortgage over half my wage goes on rent I cant save anything due to the rising costs of houses and landlords greed the government needs to rent cap all private rents inline with local council housing to even make it affordable then move ppl could hopefully by and greedy landlord would probably sell

What does that mean?

Oh dear OP.
My first house was in a very run down area. 2 bed terrace. One of the cheapest houses/areas in the country.
it wasn’t a 5 bed detached!

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/11/imf-tax-cuts-criticism-adds-to-pressure-on-liz-truss-uk-government @RazahFluffy

I wouldn’t get a mortgage for that 2 bed terrace nowadays! I would need to earn over 100K!

@RazahFluffy - still waiting!

Well there you go! If the pound drops then there are plenty of wealthy overseas buyers for whom UK property will be cheaper for. It's the go to asset class for the Uber rich and always will be.

Well, it's easy to be smug when you've been on the ladder for years, pass cost increases onto tenants and it's not a problem for YOU. I'm in Australia, where families are sleeping in tents because of lack of affordable housing, adult kids are moving back home or people are going to have to sell because the Reserve Bank mislead everyone on rate rises. My friend has two of her four children back in her tiny home. One comes with a partner and they're having a baby next month. She's not happy about it.

It's not a problem for us because we bought this house 15 years ago and it's almost paid off. I looked up it's value the other day & we couldn't afford to buy it now. We will never be able to afford to move to the coast to retire, like we planned. We're in a mid-lower socio economic area of a rural city, so 'move out further, buy smaller'! isn't a viable option.

Prices are beginning to retract so people will be trapped in high rate mortgages because their house has dropped in value.

I feel lucky that we're in this position, but certainly are not telling people they need to readjust their expectations, because I'm not in their shoes.

I will concede that the ones complaining the loudest are those with plenty of money who have been living the high life on low rates and are now having to cut back.

Unless you are in a position, don't tell others to suck it up.

Obviously not keeping an eye on the news.

To answer why I'm posting late? It's not really very relevant. If you must know I'm having problems sleeping lately.

I knew perfectly well what was happening at the Bank of England, thank you very much. I don't think what is currently happening will actually stop them printing more money. They always find a way!

Was more interested in why you decided on this thread as your first post.

So let me get this straight- the Uber rich are going to pick up terraced houses in Sunderland or 3 bed semi detached houses in West Ruislip.

It may make a difference for Prime Central London but the Uber rich are not stupid. The Chinese would be more cautious now that they have seen what the UK government did with russian oligarch property.

🍕

Pizza

Because I'm seriously angry about people trying to talk the market down. It's really irresponsible. Property is always going to be the best place to park your money.

You met in 1999. Therein lies a clue.

Try late 80s where there was a housing price bubble. Prices fell by 20-30 percent.

Big issues for remortgages that valued property and had high interest rates. Big issues for those who had to sell. Repossessions everywhere.

We bought in 1991 after a 20% drop and thinking we were in the clear. We moved 3 years later and lost 10%. We had to find that negative equity to just move...then another deposit and costs for the new house.

We lived on a food budget of £20 a week - obviously cheaper back then. Tomato vegetable pasta and bean curries were a staple. Just to save to move which we had to for work.

Moving in 1994 was distressing. Repossessed homes were a good majority. One had cut a lovely carpet in half .... no doubt through the sadness of the situation.

I don't know what triggered those falls - unemployment perhaps, as it was quite high. But it happened snd I've never forgotten it. Nor, I'm sure have those who experienced it.

I cannot predict the future but its scary because extreme things are happening and there are always big winners and big losers at times like this. I'm seeing saving rates of 4% - when my Mum passed away in May we had been deliberating over her choosing between 0.8 and 1.2. The question is, where will it end given we have a government who don't seem to worry about throwing stones into glasshouses.

Yes my estate agent told me how he was going to persuade potential buyers to buy property by telling them that interest rates would go down after two years. I am the seller and I am not even convinced.

Estate agents would have to try harder

That's really disparaging to the people of Sunderland and West Ruislip.

Anyway, as far as your second point goes, the Chinese will always want UK property. Always have, always will. I've sold to Chinese investors in the past and they absolutely love the UK.

That was caused by the withdrawal of MIRAS and the subsequent fallout from leaving the ERM. That's my point - they could always re-introduce MIRAS!

That agent sounds like they know what they are talking about.

OP is a wind up merchant.