To think no one has a right to make money off their house

[Laughingstock1991]

The general consensus among financial commentators this week has been that the housing market has turned. Interest rates are still going up and are unlikely to come down for a few years. The low interest rate financial experiment that has been in place since 2008 has ended and it’s unwinding is going to be painful. The housing boom was based on cheap credit.

My mortgage is likely to go up about 400 a month. Lots of commentators reckon we are in for a big fall in house prices. Good thread here:
https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1668987423643119623

What pisses me off is the absolute assumption made by some people (like my friend today) that the government should use public money to bail out mortgage holders. Most people were stress tested on their mortgage- I was- and yes it’s going to be tough but do I think public Money (renters money) should be used to bail out mortgage holders- fuck no! The Lib Dems have raised this also today.

House equity is unearned wealth. There are no guarantees. We have been through a boom and now it’s going bust. Hopefully sanity will return & housing will be seen as a home again- not an investment. Its not a ‘market’.

And I say all of this as a homeowner who is going to have to pay a lot more. I want everyone to be able to afford a decent home- not just those with money.

I don’t think that’s unreasonable!

I agree. Where do you draw the line.

Obviously I don’t want to see people lose their homes. But plenty did in the late 80’s - my parents nearly did- you can’t keep using public money to bail out people though.

You’re so right

Agree. i desperately want house prices to come down so that my adults kids are able to buy in the next few years. Do I care that out mortgage free home will lose value - not at all. I do feel bad for anyone struggling to pay their mortgage, but many have stupidly overstretched.

And given the state of the NHS etc- there are greater priorities than bailing out mortgage holders.

You may have bought a house for a lot of money , but you pay a lot of interest on that borrowed money. You are right the government should bail people out but saying that the house equity is ‘unearned wealth’ is ridiculous!

@Throwncrumbs why is saying house equity ‘unearned wealth’ ridiculous? It’s based on someone getting lucky over someone else buying later not getting so lucky. No one has a right to house equity.

@Throwncrumbs and I am saying the government should absolutely not bail anyone out.

Housing equity is often at least partly unearned wealth as much of the value growth is through absolutely nothing the asset owner does.

House equity is purely based on luck and timing. People might think they are very clever because their house has ‘earned’ them X amount in a year but what has anyone done to deserve that? It’s partly why the U.K. is in such a state- people aspire to be landlords over nurses and doctors.

@ContinuousProcrastination exactly!

The vast majority of people buy a house, live in it, pay it off and then handed down to their children when they die. That’s the deal. The people struck the social contract for want of a better description. If you remove that why the fuck would I bother going to work? I’d just stay on the dole for the rest of my life. So yes, given that these interest rate rises are caused by external factors, the government, they better bail me out if need be.

Most of the people who ‘overstretched’ did so because it was the only way to buy a house. We had to overstretch to buy a small starter home, as housing prices are so high compared to wages. It was necessity, not stupidity.
However overall I agree, no one has the right to make money from their property. I do think everyone has the right to live in a secure home though. I think I have more empathy for those who are likely to lose their homes over the next few years than others on this thread.

Yanbu
Although the government was very quick to bail the banks out and make sure bankers didn't suffer and continued to profit from reckless behaviour.

If my house was mortgage free I’d probably be less worried though I guess.

@3BSHKATS why should tax payers money be used to bail you out? Why should someone who is renting have their taxes used to bail out a mortgage holder because they can’t pay their mortgage? Most renters don’t get any benefits at all as they work.

I would like them to come down a lot so DS can buy one at a reasonable price, ours is paid off, we paid about £65k for it so I doubt they will go lower than that.

@Kendodd yes quite. It’s partly what caused this mess

"Unearned wealth?!"

What about those of us who have waited for years to afford a house.

Have finally been able to buy after years of renting.

Could lose tens of thousands of prices fall.

That's "undeserved loss of wealth" by your sake logic. As was genuine cash put into the deposit.

Not very homeowner just got lucky with the market. Some of us had to wait fucking ages because of the crazy housing market.

Maybe we should've stayed renting!

I don't think anyone should lose their home, whether they're mortgage holders or renters. If it takes a bit of government support, so be it.

Tax payers money pays rent as well. One way or the other tax payers money will be used, so you’d be far better off, bailing me out in the short-term and keeping me in my house than have me move into a corporation like black horses rental properties where you will pay my rent until I drop dead.

At which point, there will be nothing to give to my children to make sure that they don’t end up in rental properties and again another burden on the tax payer. I’ve got four by the way it could be expensive.

@DanceMonster i definitely don’t want to see people suffering. But the madness also has to come to an end- we need same homes for everyone

*sane homes

What about people who saved for years to recently buy a house and the onyl equity they have is money they saved?

No one has the right to house equity? But without the equity from rising prices, nobody would be able to afford to move!