The Housing Crisis (UK)

Yeah, the average person gets paid like shit, are expected to not use any of the little they have and live a miserable life just to be able to afford an overpriced home.
Yeah, it's now expected that you'll slave away your best years to afford some shoddy house when you're 50.
 
What's worse is that buying a modern new build is a minefield as there are many cases of them being so badly constructed that once the issues get discovered it makes the house unsellable until they're fixed.

I would never go near a new build, too much risk attached.
 
To get a residential mortgage you need a 5% deposit.

Excluding London, is it really that difficult for people to have saved a bit of money to put down for a deposit?

I live in the north west. You can get a reasonable house for £ 250,000. There's something wrong if people do not have £ 12,500 in savings for a deposit.

The deposit only tells one story. You'd still need an annual/joint income of 60k+ to afford a 250k property in the north.
 
But they're not mutually exclusive. Exploitative -> unfairly or cynically using another person or group for profit or advantage.

Sure, the pay being offered in the grey market of the takeaway would be more than in Iran, but by UK law the employer is not giving workplace protection and is therefor exploiting the worker. What can the worker do in this 'mutually beneficial' agreement if they get hurt at work, or if the owner asks for excessive hours etc? Nothing.

Our economy needs the grey market, like it or not. We should not vilify all of it as exploitative when it serves a purpose for all involved. Focus on the ones that genuinely do exploit, the ones coming here for economic resons, and the rest of the people all need somewhere to live and they're never going to be able to buy.
 
They’ve got high numbers - We now find ourselves in a situation where one in every 21 adults in the UK is a landlord. We have four times as many landlords as teachers

It doesn't sound good until you break it down and remember we have 29,900,000 houses in the UK and only 29,579 schools.

Let's say you're a blind man and accidentally stumble into a random building on your way out to buy a copy of The Morning Star. You're more than 980 times more likely to walk into a house than you are a school.

Therefore 1 in 21 adults being a landlord is kinda small comparatively.

Checkmate comrade.
 
See that's where you're going wrong, you automatically think the reason anybody is doing anything is to exploit something. You see the edge cases in the news so it's understandable but in a great many cases it's simply a transaction both sides are happy to make.

What you're quite obviously missing is the inherent disparity in power. I can be happy to take almost any offer if my situation is sufficiently desperate. This is what makes me exploitable. This is not a transaction between equals.
 
It doesn't sound good until you break it down and remember we have 29,900,000 houses in the UK and only 29,579 schools.

Let's say you're a blind man and accidentally stumble into a random building on your way out to buy a copy of The Morning Star. You're more than 980 times more likely to walk into a house than you are a school.

Therefore 1 in 21 adults being a landlord is kinda small comparatively.

Checkmate comrade.
:lol:
 
What's worse is that buying a modern new build is a minefield as there are many cases of them being so badly constructed that once the issues get discovered it makes the house unsellable until they're fixed.

I would never go near a new build, too much risk attached.
Agreed. Seems like every week there are stories like this on the bbc.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7kgz5dv51o

Have to feel for people in that position. Developers build a shitty house and then can't be bothered to fix it properly. At least with houses that have been standing for 60 years+ there is a decent chance they were built to last.
 
Firstly, whilst you may have a deposit it doesn't mean you can afford the monthly repayment, especially with the interest rates they currently are at.

Secondly, the UK average salary is currently 37,460, most banks lend at 4.5x salary, there is no way a person on an average salary can get a mortgage of 250k unless they a have an 81k deposit. So it's not as easy as you think.

Nothing worth having is every easy.

Officially banks may require 4.5 x salary but my experiences shows they will bend over backwards to offer credit.

A £ 250,000 house was only an example. You can buy a small terraced for between £ 120,000-£ 150,000. For a couple it IS possible.

Renting isn't that cheap either. A tiny one bed apartment will likely set you back at least £ 600 a month round my way
 
Why is it a very British/American thing where adults are encouraged to move out as soon as they are 18/21?

Northern Europe has the UK/US beat in that respect.

And you ask "why"? Independence. Privacy. Freedom. The ability to date someone who's very loud during sex.
 
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Nothing worth having is every easy.

Officially banks may require 4.5 x salary but my experiences shows they will bend over backwards to offer credit.

A £ 250,000 house was only an example. You can buy a small terraced for between £ 120,000-£ 150,000. For a couple it IS possible.

Renting isn't that cheap either. A tiny one bed apartment will likely set you back at least £ 600 a month round my way
Never said it was easy, I'm actually arguing the opposite, you made the original claim downplaying the difficulty and why people can't save 12.5k for a deposit. Using the avg salary as a bench mark for a 250k home, means banks will need to lend at a 6.75 ratio, you will be hard pressed to find a bank that will do this.

Now you are moving the goalposts and adding further conditions to your original claim (you need a partner and have to buy at the cheaper end of the market). This just demonstrates that housing is unaffordable for the average person, it's the same with the rental market.
 
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I am curious how people who want rid of BTL landlords envision their preferred rental market model? The government buying up the c5.5m rental homes and letting them out on a not for profit basis, selling those to people who can afford them? Or more likely BlackRock et al replacing the smaller landlords.
I want the govt to buy some. I want the value of the majority to fall through the floor. I dont want the govt backing deposits for people like me with a decent job, i want the govt backing low income families to be able to buy these sorts of houses.
 
I'm not a child still clinging onto student politics so I don't think either of them were exploited or exploiting anything.

The employees were happy earning multiples more than they ever could have done back homes, and as an Iranian emigrant themselves the employer was happy to provide the work for his countrymen.

That's the likely situation for the vast majority. All sides happy with the deal.

I agree it serves the worker in some instances, however the employer and worker are not the only sides involved. I'm not happy with businesses paying staff cash in hand, at all.

If they are underpaying staff then it means their overheads are reduced, and they can price their products cheaper than law abiding businesses. They are not paying employer NICs contributions, so tax paying businesses and individuals are left with a heavier tax burden. Nor is the worker paying income tax, more strain on tax payers. Plus if they're income is off the books, they are also able to claim benefits in some cases, above what their income would actually entitle them to.

The grey economy is not a good thing at all, and the sooner everything is digitized and cash is a thing of the past, the better. Its the only way everyone will ever pay the correct tax.

The bigger travesty is obviously the wealthiest individuals and biggest business not paying their fair share of tax, but it doesn't excuse low level tax evasion.
 
So you're telling me that not only do I need to try and find an affordable house, I also have to find a fecking partner too!? :(
 
So you're telling me that not only do I need to try and find an affordable house, I also have to find a fecking partner too!? :(
I'm currently in this boat. I actually have a decent deposit saved up but don't really feel all that keen on buying a house with one income in this economy. Although I'm aware even that puts me in a better position than a lot of people right now
 
To get a residential mortgage you need a 5% deposit.

Excluding London, is it really that difficult for people to have saved a bit of money to put down for a deposit?

I live in the north west. You can get a reasonable house for £ 250,000. There's something wrong if people do not have £ 12,500 in savings for a deposit.
What planet do you live on?
 
I want the govt to buy some. I want the value of the majority to fall through the floor. I dont want the govt backing deposits for people like me with a decent job, i want the govt backing low income families to be able to buy these sorts of houses.
People have been wishing for house prices to crash for years now.

Danger with getting low income families on the property ladder with deposit support is how vulnerable they'll be if they lose an income or rates increase.
 
I agree it serves the worker in some instances, however the employer and worker are not the only sides involved. I'm not happy with businesses paying staff cash in hand, at all.

If they are underpaying staff then it means their overheads are reduced, and they can price their products cheaper than law abiding businesses. They are not paying employer NICs contributions, so tax paying businesses and individuals are left with a heavier tax burden. Nor is the worker paying income tax, more strain on tax payers. Plus if they're income is off the books, they are also able to claim benefits in some cases, above what their income would actually entitle them to.

The grey economy is not a good thing at all, and the sooner everything is digitized and cash is a thing of the past, the better. Its the only way everyone will ever pay the correct tax.

The bigger travesty is obviously the wealthiest individuals and biggest business not paying their fair share of tax, but it doesn't excuse low level tax evasion.

I fully agree with you BUT most modern economies rely on it and big sections would cease to function without it. If you eliminate it, what happens when the estimated million or so illegal residents come out of the woodwork?

So, we have to accept their presence, stop new ones arriving, and plan to house the ones that are already here. But anyway, this thread is about housing costs.
 
People have been wishing for house prices to crash for years now.

Danger with getting low income families on the property ladder with deposit support is how vulnerable they'll be if they lose an income or rates increase.
Can't see deposit support happening, some form of shared equity with a path to full equity is possibly one way forward
 
What planet do you live on?

What did I write that was so "out of this world" to you?

1/ You need 5% deposit for a residential mortgage?
2/ It's impossible for people to accumulate savings in the 21st Century?
3/ You can buy a reasonably decent house for £ 250,000 in some/many parts of the north west?
4/ You consider £ 12,500 in savings to be astronimically unrealistic
 
So you're telling me that not only do I need to try and find an affordable house, I also have to find a fecking partner too!? :(

Er......yep.

Preferably one with a decent income otherwise........what's the point. Know what I mean?

It could be a partnership of convenience. There doesn't have to be any sex involved though that would be a bonus
 
Very true.

However I don't see how shafting everyone invested in the housing market is going to lead to better housing availability? Britains housing stock is already pretty dire in relation to it's wealth. High rents haven't solved that over the past 30 (?) years either.

Being fecked over for life on mortgages now would fit perfectly though for a generation that graduated into the 2008 economy and is now slowly finding to it's feet after the shit show decade of brexit and covid.

Pushing millions of mortgageholders -those that have had to pay the inflated prices in recent years and haven't made gains- is not an equitable solution.

You can't do that without screwing over the millions of mortgage holders in the country and crashing the economy by undermining the lenders.

The problem is not with the people buying one or two BTLs to provide retirement income because the government took away any other option. What needs addressing is professional landlords buying hundreds or thousands of properties.

I understand the sentiment and obviously the solution should not be that simplistic (as always). I don't have the knowledge on how we could contain this risk and contingency but this is how I see it:

- I believe in distribution of wealth ---> with the current housing system you are creating 2 classes and the divide is getting wider ---> My only understanding when buying a house is to purchase it to stay on it. The only value on selling it is to get enough money to buy another similar elsewhere (i.e. job change) or adding a bit to get it bigger (i.e. family grow). NEVER TO SPECULATE ---> If we limit the number of housing that someone can own, offer will overflow the demand and the prices will get lower ---> people that accounted for a mortgage to live in it should be able to keep paying and live in it as a residence. They will lose value on the house but they need to live in a house for the rest of their lives. The value of the house will be equivalent to another house in the market if they want to change. So if now a house is 1 million and they want to sell it, they will need to buy another 1 million house to live in it. with the change, if they sell the house for 400k, they will need to buy the another house of 400k that will be the same that was valued at 1 million. If there are financial difficulties, the government will need to bale them out with a program

In the end you all three are talking on how the mortgage holders will lose equity and true as I said, I understand the sentiment. But meanwhile we are shafting millions of people that don't have access to mortgage and they spend more than 60-70% in some cases in rent without being able to save their entire lives and PERPETUATING it for generations. with the changes that, as I said, they never should be that simplistic and should be some risk considerations, would circle back to my first point. Distribution of wealth. Between mortgage holders and people without access, I will always try to protect the ones that have less resources and lets not forget. This is only getting worse


Or we can wait for 70 years, that if climate change doesn't kill us, there will be houses for everyone because populations will more than halve and this equity will be lost anyway
 
What did I write that was so "out of this world" to you?

1/ You need 5% deposit for a residential mortgage?
2/ It's impossible for people to accumulate savings in the 21st Century?
3/ You can buy a reasonably decent house for £ 250,000 in some/many parts of the north west?
4/ You consider £ 12,500 in savings to be astronimically unrealistic
The average savings of a person in the north west is way below that. That level of savings doesn't become the norm in the NW until almost 50 years of age.

https://www.raisin.co.uk/newsroom/better-saving-money/
 
To get a residential mortgage you need a 5% deposit.

Excluding London, is it really that difficult for people to have saved a bit of money to put down for a deposit?

I live in the north west. You can get a reasonable house for £ 250,000. There's something wrong if people do not have £ 12,500 in savings for a deposit.

Did you have Sky TV growing up?
 
Firstly, whilst you may have a deposit it doesn't mean you can afford the monthly repayment, especially with the interest rates they currently are at.

Secondly, the UK average salary is currently 37,460, most banks lend at 4.5x salary, there is no way a person on an average salary can get a mortgage of 250k unless they a have an 81k deposit. So it's not as easy as you think.

And also, I don't know why a person that is working in London, would need to have a 4 hour commute with the loss of quality of life. Or someone that has his family and friends somewhere, is forced to leave their life
 
Never said it was easy, I'm actually arguing the opposite, you made the original claim downplaying the difficulty and why people can't save 12.5k for a deposit. Using the avg salary as a bench mark for a 250k home, means banks will need to lend at a 6.75 ratio, you will be hard pressed to find a bank that will do this.

Now you are moving the goalposts and adding further conditions to your original claim (you need a partner and have to buy at the cheaper end of the market). This just demonstrates that housing is unaffordable for the average person, it's the same with the rental market.

Well, let's remove the housing affordability issue out of the equation and focus on savings then?

If someone hasn't yet bought a home or moved out yet then presumably they are working and therefore able to save money? Yes?

Average salary of £ 35,000. (though where I live there are MANY people earning much less than that) equates to around £ 2300 take home pay. It should be possible to raise a deposit after a couple of years even taking into account car payments, phone, etc

If people are going to uni and after studying expect to buy a house then maybe their expectations are just unrealistic
 
What did I write that was so "out of this world" to you?

1/ You need 5% deposit for a residential mortgage?
2/ It's impossible for people to accumulate savings in the 21st Century?
3/ You can buy a reasonably decent house for £ 250,000 in some/many parts of the north west?
4/ You consider £ 12,500 in savings to be astronimically unrealistic
4/ The average wage in the NW of England is less than 30K - and that includes all the highly paid footballers, how many people do you think would qualify for a mortgage to buy a 250K house?
 
I live in the north west. You can get a reasonable house for £ 250,000. There's something wrong if people do not have £ 12,500 in savings for a deposit.

Are there any good jobs though? Preferably not occupied by some middle-aged cnut who will stay until they die and then the position is removed entirely because it turns out that they didn't do any actual work for 40 years.
 
- I believe in distribution of wealth ---> with the current housing system you are creating 2 classes and the divide is getting wider ---> My only understanding when buying a house is to purchase it to stay on it. The only value on selling it is to get enough money to buy another similar elsewhere (i.e. job change) or adding a bit to get it bigger (i.e. family grow). NEVER TO SPECULATE ---> If we limit the number of housing that someone can own, offer will overflow the demand and the prices will get lower ---> people that accounted for a mortgage to live in it should be able to keep paying and live in it as a residence. They will lose value on the house but they need to live in a house for the rest of their lives. The value of the house will be equivalent to another house in the market if they want to change. So if now a house is 1 million and they want to sell it, they will need to buy another 1 million house to live in it. with the change, if they sell the house for 400k, they will need to buy the another house of 400k that will be the same that was valued at 1 million. If there are financial difficulties, the government will need to bale them out with a program

In the end you all three are talking on how the mortgage holders will lose equity and true as I said, I understand the sentiment. But meanwhile we are shafting millions of people that don't have access to mortgage and they spend more than 60-70% in some cases in rent without being able to save their entire lives and PERPETUATING it for generations. with the changes that, as I said, they never should be that simplistic and should be some risk considerations, would circle back to my first point. Distribution of wealth. Between mortgage holders and people without access, I will always try to protect the ones that have less resources and lets not forget. This is only getting worse
You're conflating different things here. Sure ban or punitively tax second homes, whether bought for holidays or for speculation.

Most people do buy a home to just live in though and punishing millions who've just got on the ladder is patently unfair. If they get into deep negative equity- you're talking about prices falling 60%- they won't be able to afford to move anywhere most likely. They can't swap their £1m home that's now worth £400 k for another one in the same boat cos they might still owe £800k on their mortgage.

Actually build more houses, ban overseas buyers, restore derelict ones etc...there are multiple steps that can be taken before wrecking the lives of millions.
 
You're conflating different things here. Sure ban or punitively tax second homes, whether bought for holidays or for speculation.

Most people do buy a home to just live in though and punishing millions who've just got on the ladder is patently unfair. If they get into deep negative equity- you're talking about prices falling 60%- they won't be able to afford to move anywhere most likely. They can't swap their £1m home that's now worth £400 k for another one in the same boat cos they might still owe £800k on their mortgage.

Actually build more houses, ban overseas buyers, restore derelict ones etc...there are multiple steps that can be taken before wrecking the lives of millions.

I agree with your post, but the idea of negative equity as a crisis you can't ride out is also tied in to a property 'ladder' and house as commodity?
 
Love how people here act like the NorthWest is some absolute hellhole :lol:

Parts of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, are really nice and affluent. The whole gap between Liverpool and Manchester has some of the wealthiest areas in the country.
 
Love how people here act like the NorthWest is some absolute hellhole :lol:

Parts of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, are really nice and affluent. The whole gap between Liverpool and Manchester has some of the wealthiest areas in the country.
Yeah I don't think most of us are going to be living there.
 
Well, let's remove the housing affordability issue out of the equation and focus on savings then?

If someone hasn't yet bought a home or moved out yet then presumably they are working and therefore able to save money? Yes?

Average salary of £ 35,000. (though where I live there are MANY people earning much less than that) equates to around £ 2300 take home pay. It should be possible to raise a deposit after a couple of years even taking into account car payments, phone, etc

If people are going to uni and after studying expect to buy a house then maybe their expectations are just unrealistic
The thread is about housing not savings

The average monthly rent in the North West of England is between £1,063 and £1,127

How much of the £1,300 or so left should be saved?
 
Love how people here act like the NorthWest is some absolute hellhole :lol:

Parts of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, are really nice and affluent. The whole gap between Liverpool and Manchester has some of the wealthiest areas in the country.

The key word is average.

What's worse is equating low income sections of society to a hellhole.