House Prices

[heretoreaditall2019]

It's similar to unemployment benefits, if you've saved up some cash then if you lose your job you get next to nothing. Where as if you have no savings then you can get housing benefit, council tax benefit and all that. I don't know what the answer is.

It’s difficult isn’t it. My MIL was one of the WASPY women who got fucked over with her pension, she also didn’t have the full NI contributions despite working her whole life as her private pension deductions ate into her net pay so NI wasn’t off the gross which would have meant she did the full contribution or something?? It was something bizarre as she’s done really well for herself, bought a big 3 bed outright and extended it twice, kept it lovely inside, always had decent cars, but she only got £300 private pension for years whilst she waited for the partial state to kick in. Her bestie has never worked but had enough credits from marriage (I don’t think this is a thing anymore? I think if you’re eligible for child benefit that counts, but I cba to claim it then repay it so imagine a lot of ineligible women are missing out on their mat leave year potentially, especially if they’re not HRTP themselves so their partial year of pay pre mat wouldn’t have gotten them the stamp) so gets the full state pension.

The only thing you’ve got to think is work does undoubtedly pay & you do get a far higher quality of life out of it? I personally wouldn’t want to be unemployed on UC it looks like an absolute nightmare from an admin perspective and very little to live on. I know no one in this thread is being a weirdo so this comment doesn’t apply to anyone, but the Facebook brigade who say how good they have it are…… completely welcome to go try it themselves! ETA - work doesn’t actually pay for the majority of the country does it, I’m being narrow minded sorry but being in work and getting top ups must be better than 100% unemployed still surely?

It’s difficult tho and tbh the saddest thing is the loss of family spaces and under provision of care for those vulnerable elders

 

[JoeBloggs]

I don't think the money is there and there's no way to just spend it better.

Oh it is there, you just have to look at the wasted spending though this pandemic to see the checks and audits for spending are not there. Worthless PPE, contact tracing, wages for managers who are incompetent.

 

[WeepingCassandra]

It's £950k for a 3 bed semi around here. Just an ordinary semi detached. I've lived here my entire life, and we're having to leave and live elsewhere because house prices are so ridiculous. It just feels, unfair somehow?

I would love to move back to the town I grew up in - or one of the villages nearby - but it’s the same situation there. The town centre is dead; there’s about five shops open in the massive 80s shopping centre that was thriving when I was a kid, the historic buildings are being sold off for retirement properties and the traffic in town is insanely bad (it takes my Mum 55 minutes to commute 3.5 miles across town some days) but yet a 3 bedroom house with a postage stamp garden and one parking space in a dodgy part of town is at least £450k. A four bed in the nice part of town with a decent driveway near the local grammar schools will set you back nearly a million if you’re lucky. It’s absolutely insane.

 

[Yel]

but being in work and getting top ups must be better than 100% unemployed still surely?

I don't have a great deal of experience with it, other than at places I worked where we had to use agency workers because the part timers didn't want to increase their hours during peak periods as they wouldn't be any better off. Which is ludicrous.

It's the uncertainty of top up benefits that are the huge downside I believe. One change to your circumstance and you're shifted onto UC where everything is different.

Oh it is there, you just have to look at the wasted spending though this pandemic to see the checks and audits for spending are not there. Worthless PPE, contact tracing, wages for managers who are incompetent.

There's some savings to be had, but enough to cover the huge social care bill seems very unlikely.

It's a bit like the Amazon argument for me, where people say no more tax contributions are required - just tax Amazon, Facebook and Google to solve everything! A bit to simplistic and I haven't seen anything to actually back it up. But it does make for a compelling bite.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I don't have a great deal of experience with it, other than at places I worked where we had to use agency workers because the part timers didn't want to increase their hours during peak periods as they wouldn't be any better off. Which is ludicrous.

Me either so we probably sound like Jack Monroe’s fabricated dinner party guests. I know the cost of childcare makes it really difficult for women to return to work, I don’t know how the funding works for that but we should look at what Nordic countries do with social childcare as it provides much better outcomes for all kids (not just those who come from homes where they can pay £x per day) & mums too.

Tbh can’t help but feel a huge part of this is salaries just aren’t good enough for the cost of living and moving around the scraps left after the mammoth social care/pensions bill is like playing with shrapnel uno?!

 

[Clickbait]

Oh it is there, you just have to look at the wasted spending though this pandemic to see the checks and audits for spending are not there. Worthless PPE, contact tracing, wages for managers who are incompetent.

I’ve worked for the NHS for a number of years through the years of seeming plenty, and the years of austerity and crippling underinvestment - both have left us with an estates infrastructure that often is not fit for purpose, a divided and worn down staff, and problems for the future in making a service that is sustainable.

There can be money found if the government want to make a political statement, but it’s often IMO not spent in the right places. We have restructures every 2 years and with every change in government, that are expensive and destructive to the workforce and continuity of service. The NHS does a lot that is good, but often the focus is on its faults. Due to massive underfunding of social care and MH services there is much more strain on the system.

I hate the phrase ‘NHS Managers’ as it is often thrown around in a very meaningless way to refer to individuals considered to be wasteful, overpaid and incompetent. It’s a stock phrase for the Daily Mail types who froth at the mouth about these phantom managers who sit in their ivory towers whilst Rome burns. As with all organisations, there is dead wood, there are people who turn up and do the bare minimum, but there are also a vast number of people who would be classified an ‘NHS manager’ - by virtue of the fact they are not a clinical member of staff - who work very hard and regularly do many hours over their paid amount.

The people who may be held up as examples of poor performance are often without an NHS background and given a job by one of their Tory mates (e.g. Dido Harding). The exorbitant contracts awarded to companies profiteering from the Covid crisis are done so by the Health Secretary not NHS managers.

 

[Anne1448]

Tbh can’t help but feel a huge part of this is salaries just aren’t good enough for the cost of living and moving around the scraps left after the mammoth social care/pensions bill is like playing with shrapnel uno?!

Salaries stagnated for so long that most people are desperate to buy a home to not be homeless in their retirement years.

I have seen people working like crazy their whole lives from 15 to 62 and ended up with less than 1200€ in pension. How are you supposed to live on that if you don't own your own property. Rent in my city is 1200€ alone. I can't fathom the idea of sharing a house in my 60s or 70s.

 

[JoeBloggs]

I’ve worked for the NHS for a number of years through the years of seeming plenty, and the years of austerity and crippling underinvestment - both have left us with an estates infrastructure that often is not fit for purpose, a divided and worn down staff, and problems for the future in making a service that is sustainable.

There can be money found if the government want to make a political statement, but it’s often IMO not spent in the right places. We have restructures every 2 years and with every change in government, that are expensive and destructive to the workforce and continuity of service. The NHS does a lot that is good, but often the focus is on its faults. Due to massive underfunding of social care and MH services there is much more strain on the system.

I hate the phrase ‘NHS Managers’ as it is often thrown around in a very meaningless way to refer to individuals considered to be wasteful, overpaid and incompetent. It’s a stock phrase for the Daily Mail types who froth at the mouth about these phantom managers who sit in their ivory towers whilst Rome burns. As with all organisations, there is dead wood, there are people who turn up and do the bare minimum, but there are also a vast number of people who would be classified an ‘NHS manager’ - by virtue of the fact they are not a clinical member of staff - who work very hard and regularly do many hours over their paid amount.

The people who may be held up as examples of poor performance are often without an NHS background and given a job by one of their Tory mates (e.g. Dido Harding). The exorbitant contracts awarded to companies profiteering from the Covid crisis are done so by the Health Secretary not NHS managers.

I did not use the phrase NHS managers.

I was referring to much higher levels than that of the NHS. I’m also talking government level and the firms who are used by the government to fulfil contracts at a vastly over charge the NHS for day to day items.

Part of my job works with NHS and it’s partners for training within universities and colleges, and I can tell you the amazing of wasted NHS funding in that sector is criminal. They are also told to adapt the spreadsheets to ensure every penny is ‘spent’.

 

[Clickbait]

I did not use the phrase NHS managers.

I was referring to much higher levels than that of the NHS. I’m also talking government level and the firms who are used by the government to fulfil contracts at a vastly over charge the NHS for day to day items.

Part of my job works with NHS and it’s partners for training within universities and colleges, and I can tell you the amazing of wasted NHS funding in that sector is criminal. They are also told to adapt the spreadsheets to ensure every penny is ‘spent’.

I wasn’t suggesting you’d used it. It’s just a pet peeve of mine linked to but not related directly to your post. Sorry if you felt under attack, that was not my intention.

 

[Babysnark]

I've spent the last 6 months trying to help my mum sell her house and move closer to me (she's on her own in a 3 bed house now me and my sister have left and she wanted to downsize, she still has a fairly large mortgage). Honestly been utter hell, had to ring up within the first couple of hours of the listing posted to even get a viewing, been to 50+ viewings, lots of horrible properties heavily overpriced. Had about 5 she wanted to buy and tried but was outbid by 10k over the asking price consistently.. She's now given up and staying put for a couple of years and I'm moving back in from renting to save up for my own deposit. Glad I can stop refreshing rightmove ngl...

Do we think the market will be easier then? I've tried researching myself but it's not clear - there might be a slight dip in price inflation in 2022?

 

[rainbowlemon]

I think if you’re eligible for child benefit that counts, but I cba to claim it then repay it

Read on that other site it would be better if you did actually do this even if it was a faff.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Read on that other site it would be better if you did actually do this even if it was a faff.

Thankfully even working a few months of each tax year prior & post mat leave I’ve made my contribution so it’s not worth it. It’s not really fair on mums earning below that tho as it’s a lot of stress for literally nothing

 

[hollowcrown]

House prices fall for first time this year

Average prices dropped by 0.3% in August, says Rightmove, as demand for bigger houses shrinks.

www.bbc.co.uk

Little fall in house prices

 

[Pixipoppy]

We’ve pretty much given up again for now, 3 years ago we were finding some quite nice 2 bed houses in our budget. Now we’d be lucky to get a 1 bed flat for that price. I don’t really know if we will ever be able to buy in this area - and at the moment I value my life in this city higher than house ownership. I know I’d be miserable living further away.

 

[hollowcrown]

I think it's worth just waiting it out for now. If you're in a bubble and a buying frenzy and you know you're in one then why would you rush to contribute to the market?

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

House prices fall for first time this year

Average prices dropped by 0.3% in August, says Rightmove, as demand for bigger houses shrinks.

www.bbc.co.uk

Little fall in house prices

0.3%??? Quick everyone there are bargains to be had!

 

[Yel]

Doesn't this happen every year at this time with asking prices?

Good news for homeowners as prices up 15%!

Good news home buyers as prices fall 0.3%!

 

[navybluewolf]

Urgh the drama this morning. We viewed a house on Saturday, that wasn't even on the market yet. Phoned this morning, and it was already gone for well over the asking price. We didn't expect to get it, but it's still a disappointment. Phoned about another that was listed three days ago-already gone! Couldn't get through about two more (tried ringing multiple times)! Finally, was laughed at by another estate agent, when I phoned about another property-that was already gone. I asked if there was anything else similar, and he snorted and rather condescendingly told me no all sold out, like he was selling bananas or something and not houses for people to live in. I won't lie I ended up crying after I hung up.

 

[Yel]

I'm giving up for the moment, a couple of times in the last year something decent has come up. You call to view and they say it's already had 50 requests to view in the hour since it's come up and it's going for sealed bids. Then they make you jump through hoops to have a few minutes to view.

We're still in madness times at the moment and I won't overpay during a frenzy where I feel rushed.

Stock levels are so slow, I expect many people are waiting as they keep seeing prices rise. Once things become more stable it will be better for everyone.

 

[Universal]

I think Estate Agents are whipping both buyers and sellers up into a frenzy. I rang an estate agent out of curiosity as a house in my mums road had gone on sale at a very high price and I pretended to be interested to find out if it would sell at that price and they were like 'Oh yes we have had twenty million viewings* and offers over the asking price so act quick'. The house came off the market and I rang again and they were all 'oh for GDPR purposes we cant tell you ANYTHING'.

Landlords are ending tenancies and selling properties while the prices are at a premium. This is leaving less properties in the private rented sector causing rent levels to rise (its like a bidding war just to rent a 3 bed where I live because of the schools catchment are). Landlords who are keeping their properties to rent out are seeing the increased rent levels and are putting up rents for their own tenants or asking them to leave and advertising at a higher rate. It put so much pressure on people who are currently renting and trying to buy from all angles - higher rents, higher house prices = home ownership is unattainable for many even though it was within their grasp not so long ago.

*approximate figure