Tiscali Community Discussion

As a retired property lawyer I would suggest that in point of fact, other trhan the speculators, the builders of new houses and the people who are moving down market(and there aren't all that many of them) the only people who gain from house price increases are1. The Banks and Building societies who fight for a bigger and bigger share of the market and do not consider basic eccanmics, i.e. can the borrower afford to pay? We have seen the result of that.The government who get larger and larger slices of Stamp duty, Capital Gains Tax and, in the case of deceased property owners at the higher end of the market, In heritance Tax. And of course the Estate Agents who base their fees on a percentage of value whether or not the sale is an easy one or a hard one. Solicitors have been the traditional whipping boy because of fees. These days fees are based on time spent and difficulty of work and the average estate agent who, in a buoyant market does very little for his fee usuyally obtains three to four times more than the solicitor who does at least four or five times more work. Your average seller says"such and such an agent sold my house for me" Wake up the agent does not sell the house, the lawyer does and tthere is nothing that an agent does in a resonable market that the lawyer or his client could not do. You cant say the same in reverse.

I spent 2006-2009 in Moscow Russia and throughout this time kept A keen eye on the British economy and house prices. The majority of so called experts were talking it up all the time they never saw a down turn, I sent many responses to these statements and voiced my opinion,at least a 30 % drop in prices and I got it right ! I used to be a banker in the city earning 6 figures and that was in the early 80's through to late 90's and I have seen this all before the city was run on greed and to ****** with the guy on the street we did not care about the economy all we wanted was the currencies to be unstable the more the better because that made us more money in our pockets. Yuppies ruled and when we were drinking £100 bottles of Bollinger during lunch, the working class were worrying about unemployment and losing there homes , We didnt give a monkeys, And do you really believe that the Banking industry cares now ? ........ of course not ! This society has been built on greed and now comes the suffering and this time its going to be the worst that any of us has seen. Just Remember all those who lose there jobs through being to old or through racism or because the company wants to protect its profit, and then you are unable to pay the bills and the bank or finance house wants to repo your home. Take time to think you are now in the same position as the banks you need help to save your home and family security,will you get what you need ! no chance not a hope in ****** you will be thrown on the street.
The russians look at us and cannot believe how we live our lives IN DEBT they are shocked that we all have mortages and we are living off debt for our homes our cars our holidays.We look at the russian people (I dont mean Abrovovich)the families that are the same as us working to keep a home and feed there family they own there homes they dont have mortgages communism give them homes free of charge and these homes sre not sold for greed and profit they keep them for the children and there childrens children. Why should we pay back 3 times the amount of the original loan its robbery and this society has signed up to it. Get this goverment now to bring in a law that all outstanding debt will not have interest it will only have a admin fee attached and for all mortgages that fee can be no more than £500 per year so you pay back only the capital and at the end of the term its all paid. This will explode our economy and we will all be better off and we will be able to save for a pension because what the government and all the experts dont understand is that the majority can not save for a pension bacause they dont have any money left at the end of the month after paying all the bills that we have to pay ( We pay most and get less ) this country kids itself that we are great well wake up smell the coffee because its only the very few at the top of the pile that feel great for you and me its crap

Gents. The thing with being old (like me) is that nothing is new and, if you look back in time, there are solutions looking you in the face.

The issue with housing is that the available cash we all have to fund any purchase is limited. There ARE mortgages available IF you have enough funds for deposits or can prove that you can actually afford them.

Let's remember a scheme called MIRAS where, back in the late 70's you were allowed tax relief on mortgages.

Here in the UK the mortgage revival has to start from the bottom upwards so 1st time buyers need to be supported. Therefore, how about (are you reading Mr Darling?).....

Mortgages repayments for a property up to £120,000 have a 50% tax allowance.
Mortgages repayments for a property between £120,000 and £250,000 have a 25% tax allowance.
Mortgages repayments for a property between £250,000 and £500,000 have a 10% tax allowance.
Over £500,000 nothing.

So, 1st time buyers can afford a mortgage; they buy at the lower end of the market and those selling move upwards etc etc.

Disposable income circulates throughout the economy; what happens when income is circulating..???... it HAS to circulate through the banking system and from there to the general economy.

Obviously, such tax relief could not be held for ever (or thinking about it - why not?). But lets say a 5 year period. Taper it out gradually over the period.

And, whilst I am in the mood, lets talk about other things:
Land Rover - Jaguar
DON'T GIVE THEM A CASH BAIL-OUT!
Why?
Well they are nothing more than a manufacturer (just like Washing Machines, Plant Pots or Pencils); in the whole economy of the world, every single manufacturer takes a calculated risk by making a product that they HOPE to be able to sell at some time in the future.

Its not their fault that the world has changed but it is in THEIR hands to reach a solution.

If a manufacturer has made too much product which isn't selling then they make a strategic decision to offer the product at a 'sale' price. Every manufacturer has that exact position sometime in their life, but they don't go running to the government for help.

So why change just because its a so-called 'Premium Brand Car'. They have stock for which the full cost of production has already been borne and they need to get funds back into the business.

OK guys, show us your commitment and start selling your product at 50% discount. I reckon there are thousands of people that would love an new X-type for £12,500. Loans at the moment are cheap (5%). So, a new British made car on a 3 year HP deal..... just watch them fly out of the showroom.

Everyone wins; cash to the manufacturer, immedate PDI work for the dealers and with definite servicing for the next 3 years and with loans again helping to circulate money via banks.

Then how about Mr Darling also adding his bit? At the moment government is getting £0.00 income on a car VAT level of 15%. So, as part of the special scheme, government says "on British-made cars the VAT level is reduced to 10%". Yes the income they get is reduced but at least its 10% of something as opposed to 15% of nothing.

THEN, (and only then) IF Land Rover - Jaguar take this action, UK government commit to a funding helpline. BUT, it is solely to help the manufacturer develop new eco-friendly "green" motoring vehicles. Funds to retrain staff and subcontractors to match the future needs and not to subsidise the existing and limited-life methods.

Lets see a British company and British staff lead a global recover of their market and not leave it to those in the far East.

Let me say here that I am NOT a green eco-warrior - but does anyone truly needs a Range Rover Vogue with a 4.4 litre pertol engine doing 9 to the gallon?

Anyway, enough from me as my Volvo estate needs to be de-iced.

Richard Baker has got it right. Too many greedy people see a house as a way of making a big profit, not as a place to live. The grossly over inflated housing market needs to drop to allow 1st time buyers onto the market - without these at the bottom end of the chain, the whole process comes to a grinding halt. If irresponsible banks had stuck to the rules of limiting mortgages to what people could realistically afford we would not be having these discussions.
Whats this "releasing equity" rubbish - it is merely increasing debt using your home as collateral, if you cant afford the payments, dont borrow the money, or even worse, get upset when your house is repossessed because you default on these payments. Nobody forced you to release these phantom funds - its greed (driven by the financial institutions) in this capitalist world. The shortage of councill houses has added to the problems - thats down to you Maggie!
Why do my wife and myself keep getting offers of guaranteed loans,particularly when neither of us earn much? GREEDY BANKS!

There is no solution,no matter what direction you go in,to improve the housing market.To stimulate the market means at least returnig to something that was previous which created the problems we have today anything less will not get us out of this mess.It will happen again and again