Discontent #9 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[mummy_3]

Talking about council housing earlier, I'm in a housing association house and have signed up to bid as I'd like to move due to neighbour problems. The trouble is the social housing is run down and very inefficient (I have empty cavity walls but they won't do insulation as that means they would need to do all the houses in the area as can't just do one) and the majority of the housing being built is affordable rent. I pay £460 for a 3 bed terrace, the newer build affordable rents are £900-1000 a month in Wiltshire (private is probably about £1000-£1200 to a month) I couldn't afford double my current rent on a new house and they want a month's rent upfront. So it's either rent a old run down property that they don't maintain properly or pay almost private rates.
Id love another new build like my previous house but can't afford these prices, not with everything else going up in price. I'm grateful for a housing association house but it would be nice if the companies updated to them and made them more energy efficient.

 

[givepeasachance]

Agree with a couple of the previous posts.

Right to Buy didn't help, as well as the councils failure to rebuild the social housing stock.

People view housing as an investment rather than somewhere to live.

Controversial, but I don't think anyone should be allowed to own more than one home. Breaks my heart that there's people paying mental rents just to pay someone else's mortgage/holiday home, and in doing so are trapped in the rental market because all their money is going on rent.

I was listening to someone the other day telling us how they rent out their first property to a family with young kids, the income from which has allowed this person to get another house with a massive garden. And then trying to justify it by saying they are a good landlord. The greed makes me sick.

And also, stop estate agents buying up property and then renting it out. New block of flats gone up near me, local estate agents got first dibs and bought the lot.

 

[Jc456]

Talking about council housing earlier, I'm in a housing association house and have signed up to bid as I'd like to move due to neighbour problems. The trouble is the social housing is run down and very inefficient (I have empty cavity walls but they won't do insulation as that means they would need to do all the houses in the area as can't just do one) and the majority of the housing being built is affordable rent. I pay £460 for a 3 bed terrace, the newer build affordable rents are £900-1000 a month in Wiltshire (private is probably about £1000-£1200 to a month) I couldn't afford double my current rent on a new house and they want a month's rent upfront. So it's either rent a old run down property that they don't maintain properly or pay almost private rates.
Id love another new build like my previous house but can't afford these prices, not with everything else going up in price. I'm grateful for a housing association house but it would be nice if the companies updated to them and made them more energy efficient.

I'm housing association too, £600pm for a 2 bed. My private 3 bed with big front and back gardens was £675

 

[Burrito88]

Has anybody got one of those foot warmer things? They look ridiculous and the last thing I want is more clutter. But I'm using a hot water bottle for my feet when on the sofa and I know I'm going to stand on it and pop it sooner or later

Amazon product

Could you try some of these inside slippers?

 

[Bianca Del Rio]

Agree with a couple of the previous posts.

Right to Buy didn't help, as well as the councils failure to rebuild the social housing stock.

People view housing as an investment rather than somewhere to live.

Controversial, but I don't think anyone should be allowed to own more than one home. Breaks my heart that there's people paying mental rents just to pay someone else's mortgage/holiday home, and in doing so are trapped in the rental market because all their money is going on rent.

I was listening to someone the other day telling us how they rent out their first property to a family with young kids, the income from which has allowed this person to get another house with a massive garden. And then trying to justify it by saying they are a good landlord. The greed makes me sick.

And also, stop estate agents buying up property and then renting it out. New block of flats gone up near me, local estate agents got first dibs and bought the lot.

I was talking to someone about this the other day. I know probably 5 or 6 people who are trying to get on the property ladder at the moment, and none of them are looking for places to call home. They’re all looking for something that they think will set them on the path to becoming a property magnate with a portfolio of Air B&Bs / private rentals in the next 5-10 years. I don’t know when this became a thing.

 

[Romy]

Back to the pet food BS stories like that and the one I have linked to have so many holes all it does IMO is make those who are not suffering from the recession believe that no one is, so the media have to make up stupid stories. as they cannot find anyone really suffering.






A 20-year-old is sharing his daily battles amid the cost of living crisis as he struggles to pay his energy bills and feed himself. Ashley Goudou, from Mancroft, Bristol, lives alone in a one-bedroom flat along with his four dogs and four rescue cats. He works 10-hour shifts seven days a week on £6.81 an hour, and cannot afford a pedal bike to get to work.

The factory worker walks an hour in the dark to get to his night stint and lives off Pot Noodles, as that's the cheapest meal he can make. Ashley told the Mirror : "I shower at the gym because I can't afford the gas to wash at home. I always worry at the end of the month if I have enough money to feed the dogs - but I'd rather feed them than myself."

Much more BS on the link

'I'm 20 and work 7 days a week to survive - I shower at gym and eat Pot Noodles'

Ashley Goudou, 20, from Bristol, is struggling to make ends meet and works 10-hour shifts seven days a week to feed himself and his pets - living off Pot Noodles and showering at the gym

www.mirror.co.uk

but he has money to pay the gym though?

Plus, what he says about being very helped for his pets (details in the article) otherwise he'd have to take a second job, but then adds that he used to spend 1000 on them and now 3000 (his wages are 2000).

I am not saying he doesn't struggle but he probably could do differently, and start reconsidering his budget and if it's possible find a more lucrative job than 6,81 an hour. He could have more, working in a supermarket or as a cleaner for instance.

 

[rainbowlemon]

Inspired by Tony blair with his 38 properties?

 

[Purrrrrrr]

but he has money to pay the gym though?

Plus, what he says about being very helped for his pets (details in the article) otherwise he'd have to take a second job, but then adds that he used to spend 1000 on them and now 3000 (his wages are 2000).

I am not saying he doesn't struggle but he probably could do differently, and start reconsidering his budget and if it's possible find a more lucrative job than 6,81 an hour. He could have more, working in a supermarket or as a cleaner for instance.

I actually don't believe a word of it

 

[DameKitty]

Not having a credit history affects your ability to buy a home.
You don’t have to have debt

Yes, sorry, my wording was poor on that. If I've got no open credit accounts other than renting I wasn't sure if that would affect anything, seeing as banks don't seem to take into account you can pay 3x more on rent than you would on a mortgage (before all rates changed etc lately) then you should be able to pay less for a monthly mortgage (I know there are other nuances for mortgage agreements and affordability). Experian/Credit Karma etc seem to mark you down if you don't have any credit accounts open, if they're under £4000 as a limit and if you don't utilise any of that limit. I may be getting it wrong on the basis my ex, when we bought our old house, lived with his parents and had no real credit history until his car got written off in a crash mere months before we got our mortgage and he ended up getting a finance agreement for a new car so he then had something on his credit file. Sorry if I caused any confusion!

but he has money to pay the gym though?

Plus, what he says about being very helped for his pets (details in the article) otherwise he'd have to take a second job, but then adds that he used to spend 1000 on them and now 3000 (his wages are 2000).

I am not saying he doesn't struggle but he probably could do differently, and start reconsidering his budget and if it's possible find a more lucrative job than 6,81 an hour. He could have more, working in a supermarket or as a cleaner for instance.

I have a lot of concern about the stories in the press at the moment about the CoL crisis etc. As you say, there's mention of him affording the gym to go and shower, and often these articles include other things that don't seem legit. I've no doubt in the slightest people are really struggling and to extreme amounts sometimes. However some of these articles seem to sensationalise things for clicks/sales (as is the norm in media) and they have holes in the story that just don't overly make sense.

 

[Glaschelle]

I Iive in Glasgow and now work with a couple of young lassies renting privately. One of them can't even get some where to rent. When we were talking about this, I had a nosy at the websites. There's a former 2 bed council flat - masionette - close to me advertised for £1k per month . That's mental. And my colleague and her partner certainly couldn't afford this.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I Iive in Glasgow and now work with a couple of young lassies renting privately. One of them can't even get some where to rent. When we were talking about this, I had a nosy at the websites. There's a former 2 bed council flat - masionette - close to me advertised for £1k per month . That's mental. And my colleague and her partner certainly couldn't afford this.

The housing market in Glasgow and surrounding areas is absolutely hellish at the moment. To rent my home would cost us around £1000+ per month. My mortgage is half of that (bought in 2016) a mortgage on the same home now with 10% deposit is around the £900/£1000 mark. I feel fortunate and lucky we jumped on the ladder when we did. My heart goes out to anyone trying to secure housing at the moment whether renting or buying.

 

[Romy]

Yes, sorry, my wording was poor on that. If I've got no open credit accounts other than renting I wasn't sure if that would affect anything, seeing as banks don't seem to take into account you can pay 3x more on rent than you would on a mortgage (before all rates changed etc lately) then you should be able to pay less for a monthly mortgage (I know there are other nuances for mortgage agreements and affordability). Experian/Credit Karma etc seem to mark you down if you don't have any credit accounts open, if they're under £4000 as a limit and if you don't utilise any of that limit. I may be getting it wrong on the basis my ex, when we bought our old house, lived with his parents and had no real credit history until his car got written off in a crash mere months before we got our mortgage and he ended up getting a finance agreement for a new car so he then had something on his credit file. Sorry if I caused any confusion!



I have a lot of concern about the stories in the press at the moment about the CoL crisis etc. As you say, there's mention of him affording the gym to go and shower, and often these articles include other things that don't seem legit. I've no doubt in the slightest people are really struggling and to extreme amounts sometimes. However some of these articles seem to sensationalise things for clicks/sales (as is the norm in media) and they have holes in the story that just don't overly make sense.

I am not sure I understood well. Banks want to be sure you can be serious paying whatever loan?
Here (France), the less credit you have the better. That means you can afford things without having to borrow money from the bank. When we took the mortgage, one of the first things they asked me is to get rid of a shopping card that allowed me to buy but only pay at the end of the month (without interest).

Totally agree for the "press". Here for the word clickbait, we say "click bleep", so you get the idea...

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I am not sure I understood well. Banks want to be sure you can be serious paying whatever loan?
Here (France), the less credit you have the better. That means you can afford things without having to borrow money from the bank. When we took the mortgage, one of the first things they asked me is to get rid of a shopping card that allowed me to buy but only pay at the end of the month (without interest).

Totally agree for the "press". Here for the word clickbait, we say "click bleep", so you get the idea...

It’s weird here but they like you to have credit available but not utilised. So having 3 credit cards open with say… £30k total limit but with low/no utilisation is a big tick as it shows you’ve serviced credit well in the past (hypothetically…) but having one £2k credit card at 100% maxed out is seen as undesirable. I always suspect credit ratings are majorly overhyped in the application process and it’s more about affordability, which obviously debts impact but it’s not as per all the ridiculous criteria Experian et al impose to keep you on a paid subscription with them to track your progress with.

I always think how stupid it is because you could wait until you’ve completed them go on a spending spree and be in a very different financial position than what you were on paper 3 months prior? But it’s how it works sadly

 

[theleagueofgentlemen]

I wonder if this trend to make the whole downstairs open plan will come to an end? With heating costs it's much better to have walls and you can heat the lounge without it all wooshing up the the stairs

I personally hated it. I don't like to feel that im cooking in the lounge and I want walls and doors to shut away stuff (and people ).

I know lots don't like south park, but the depth of research they put in to things does often highlight stuff in society so well. "Take out the walls for an open concept"

We’ve got an open plan house. We absolutely love it but yup, it’s a bleeping witch to heat.

 

[Romy]

It’s weird here but they like you to have credit available but not utilised. So having 3 credit cards open with say… £30k total limit but with low/no utilisation is a big tick as it shows you’ve serviced credit well in the past (hypothetically…) but having one £2k credit card at 100% maxed out is seen as undesirable. I always suspect credit ratings are majorly overhyped in the application process and it’s more about affordability, which obviously debts impact but it’s not as per all the ridiculous criteria Experian et al impose to keep you on a paid subscription with them to track your progress with.

I always think how stupid it is because you could wait until you’ve completed them go on a spending spree and be in a very different financial position than what you were on paper 3 months prior? But it’s how it works sadly

Oh yes, that's quite original for me lol
But I shouldn't be surprised. We are originally a country of "savers", whereas financially you are bold.

 

[Millennial Pink]

but he has money to pay the gym though?

Plus, what he says about being very helped for his pets (details in the article) otherwise he'd have to take a second job, but then adds that he used to spend 1000 on them and now 3000 (his wages are 2000).

I am not saying he doesn't struggle but he probably could do differently, and start reconsidering his budget and if it's possible find a more lucrative job than 6,81 an hour. He could have more, working in a supermarket or as a cleaner for instance.

At 6.81 an hour, even if he was working 70 hours per week his take home pay would only be £1,739.88 (just chucked it through a salary calculator. What a load of rubbish.

 

[265]

At 6.81 an hour, even if he was working 70 hours per week his take home pay would only be £1,739.88 (just chucked it through a salary calculator. What a load of rubbish.

The entire article is a load of rubbish.

 

[jackolantern]

Agree with a couple of the previous posts.

Right to Buy didn't help, as well as the councils failure to rebuild the social housing stock.

People view housing as an investment rather than somewhere to live.

Controversial, but I don't think anyone should be allowed to own more than one home. Breaks my heart that there's people paying mental rents just to pay someone else's mortgage/holiday home, and in doing so are trapped in the rental market because all their money is going on rent.

I was listening to someone the other day telling us how they rent out their first property to a family with young kids, the income from which has allowed this person to get another house with a massive garden. And then trying to justify it by saying they are a good landlord. The greed makes me sick.

And also, stop estate agents buying up property and then renting it out. New block of flats gone up near me, local estate agents got first dibs and bought the lot.

My landlord owns around 30 properties, it's a family and they are all loaded. Gets passed from one rich bloke to the next. On my entire street, every property is his. He never ever fixes a thing in any of the properties unless he is absolutely forced and even then it takes months. There are actually things on the property that he legally has to change and he hasn't. All the properties are in a state of absolute disarray, rising damp covering up to 75% of the walls, mould everywhere, peeling paint. You can't even see the bathroom walls/ceiling for mould. One winter our boiler went and we spent the whole of November with no heating or hot water, bearing in mind we live in Cumbria in an old farmhouse so temperatures were under 10 in the house. The sad reality is, we can't say anything, because if we do it'll just antagonise him and he'll do something like raise the rent which we can't afford. Can't afford to stay, can't afford to move. All so these rich cunts can have 'empires'. Bah.

 

[Romy]

At 6.81 an hour, even if he was working 70 hours per week his take home pay would only be £1,739.88 (just chucked it through a salary calculator. What a load of rubbish.

Spot on ! incredible this is in the press.

 

[265]

Spot on ! incredible this is in the press.

Like that pet food story, complete bollocks!