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Nickc. I mean controlled rentals full stop not regional or limited. Goes along with other regulation
This used to be the case on the uk. No shortage of good quality rentals available.
Us renters have long since just acknowledged that as far as the government is concerned, we simply don’t exist. The financial interests of buy-to-let landlords however? Thats very, very important.
That's how I feel, no real help whatsoever. Although I am incredibly lucky in that my landlord has never put the tent up in the 10 years I've lived in my current place. Other flats in the block are being advertised for nearly double what I'm paying. The downside to my luck is that I'm trapped where I am, there's just no way I can afford to move to a new place. Social mobility is non-existent now and that's really going to hurt in the future. A broken housing market will hurt the economy massively but there's also no way we can continue with double digit house price increases fuelling out 'growth'.
I fear that a big crash and all the immense pain that will come with it are the only way to reset the system. There's too many vested interests to allow a gradually cooling down. Either way the idea of me ever owning my own place is non-existent with either direction.
We fundamentally need housing costs to come down to a sensible multiple of peoples earnings, something like 3 to 4 times, not 7 or 8 or more.
Our house prices are comparable to Germany as is the average wage, as is the rate of employment, they even have higher taxes.
In France, average wages are lower, but so are house prices, but in both cases, the average house 150m2 is the same 7-10 times a joint income at average wages.
This isn't a UK problem, it's a capitalist world problem - you'll never get the level of change you're seeking. No government will limit banks lending as they're the main driver of the economy. That ship has sadly sailed through continual deregulation.
Our house prices are comparable to Germany as is the average wage, as is the rate of employment, they even have higher taxes.
Its not really relevant as most people in Germany rent at affordable prices, as thats how their economy is set up
+ 0.5% to 5%, is it gonna cut spending, was at the airport on friday it was rammed
A bit off topic but…..Another way to free up housing for renters (and maybe buyers if landlords sell up) is somehow control Air b’Nb. This has taken huge amounts of properties out the market. There was a radio report on this the other day and it mentioned a town that had zero properties to rent but over 50 listed on Air bnb. Lots of landlords are shifting away from private rentals and all the regulation that comes with it into this short term lease model and making more money.
I guess the problem is finding ways to disincentivise property owners from wanting to do Air B'n'B rental. but it's tricky, As it stands they'll either own the place outright or have a buy to let mortgage. but short term lets give them more flexibility in terms of not needing tenant's contracts, notice periods deposit schemes to consider, along with the benefit of still covering costs while the place accrues equity.
TBH if I owned or inherited a spare house, I'd certainly consider putting it on Air B'n'B before flogging it as things stand today, thus holding more housing stock back from the market and helping drive prices up through scarcity of supply. Mine, and most other people's instinct would be to hold on to and exploit such an asset.
I suppose some new form of tax would have to be dreamt up to make short-term rentals a less profitable option, doubt that would be a popular suggestion though.
+ 0.5% to 5%, is it gonna cut spending, was at the airport on friday it was rammed
Not immediately, because
1/ some of this is committed cost - holidays that were booked months ago, leases on cars that we're committed, etc., that folk will continue to pay.
2/ allied to above - culturally we've grown used to buy now pay later, cheap credit, and away from rainy day funds. So even now as rates rise, it knocks the least well off first that are struggling to eat and heat, but those above the line aren't changing their habits particularly quickly until finally they can't actually afford it.
This 13th consecutive month to get to 5% is like boiling a frog. A minor cutback here, another one there, a below inflation payrise but it's a bit more money and i can still just about afford the holiday or night out - are we even really noticing...... If they'd said that this is where we need to get to and shoved 4% on 12 months ago and everyone suddenly felt the heat, it might have been different.
the trouble is AirBnB tends to bring money into a local economy, by bringing visitors in. With a couple of young kids I wouldn't entertain the thought of a long break in a hotel (unless its all-inc I guess, but that's another level of pricing), but airbnb suits us great.
Airbnb opposite us. Every group arrives fully loaded up with supplies. As far as the local economy is concerned, they're on holiday in a bubble. Can't blame them, a nice way to get away without spending too much.
Wales is getting tough with homes that aren't occupied enough:
From 1 April 2023, the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums will increase to 300%. The powers given to local authorities are discretionary so whether to charge a premium on long-term empty properties or second homes (or both) is, therefore a decision to be made by each local authority.
https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-empty-and-second-homes-html
the trouble is AirBnB tends to bring money into a local economy, by bringing visitors in. With a couple of young kids I wouldn’t entertain the thought of a long break in a hotel (unless its all-inc I guess, but that’s another level of pricing), but airbnb suits us great.
This is exactly my POV - when we go on holiday we will always go self catering and AirBnB is a brilliant aggregator of self catering accommodation. Once our son goes to bed at 7, we could either share the same room and sit quietly 'till our bed time in a hotel room or get a airbnb cottage / house and we can enjoy the garden / terrace / living room depending on time of year.
No brainer what the preferred option is.
In France, average wages are lower, but so are house prices, but in both cases, the average house 150m2 is the same 7-10 times a joint income at average wages.
7-10…? Are you sure…? I accept that this might be happening in some extreme cases, but there’s lots of people out there like me and my GF that live in a house worth 2.25x our combined wages too (which became 4.5x of course when I was off work sick for a few months last year, and became squeaky bum time all of a sudden!).
5 was my guess. I wonder how much inflation is being driven by commitments to things that were already established before the rates rose. Holidays, solar, cars, building projects, etc and now there's no real way out. It would seem like increase spending, but in reality is just a long tail blip.
The other worry is the more house prices increase, and mortgage rates go up, the longer the terms of those mortgages will be, and so less equity over time for house buyers, we're definitely handing the next generation the framework for long term misery and retirement or home ownership being a dream for the majority.
21% inflation on glastonbury tickets, damn middle classes. ;0)
21% inflation on glastonbury tickets, damn middle classes. ;0)
its actually all my fault for paying £47 on a computer game last month
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/legend-of-zelda-computer-game-driving-inflation/
7-10…? Are you sure…? I accept that this might be happening in some extreme cases, but there’s lots of people out there like me and my GF that live in a house worth 2.25x our combined wages too (which became 4.5x of course when I was off work sick for a few months last year, and became squeaky bum time all of a sudden!).
There was a spate of first time buyers getting longer deals, guarantors, etc, which got them on the ladder, or others into bigger houses, i know a few who did this, or had 'loans' from their parents to make a bigger deposit, it's a double edged sword, they went bigger due to raising a family and increasing their outgoings, so increased mortgages isn't something that's going to sit well with a lot of homeowners.
Still struggling to work out how this interest rate hike will combat inflation if the basis of the increase in inflation is essentials, such as food, heating and fuel, i guess another increase in food banks, heating areas and charities will help in some way, guessing the banks are on for record bonuses this year as well.
21% inflation on glastonbury tickets, damn middle classes. ;0)
Kiss have been advertising 2 for 1 tickets on Facebook for their upcoming shows - so bargains to be had! 🙂
Legislating to control landlords is a tough one and often has unintended consequences. For example landlords now can't offset mortgage payments against income tax paid on rent, this seems like a sensible decision and should control people snapping up cheap houses to rent out.
The reality is a lot of landlords have decided it is no longer worth their while, especially with mortgage rates going up, so are selling up. This means there is less rental stock and therefore prices have shot up.
So is this a good or bad thing for those who don't already own a house? I'd argue it is bad as it's costing people more in rent and if they would like to own at some point then it makes saving for a deposit ever harder. This would be fine if sale prices were dropping due to all the rental properties being up for sale but this doesn't appear to be the case.
Kiss have been advertising 2 for 1 tickets on Facebook for their upcoming shows – so bargains to be had!
Which brings the ticket price down to about what I would have been prepared to pay. I looked at getting tickets when the Ozzy tour was cancelled but I wasn't going to pay £125 to see them, not a chance in Hotter than Hell.
Just looked on Ticketmaster and there are loads of tickets left too – it doesn't surprise me, the last time I saw them (Sheffield Arena) they curtained off a huge part of the venue to hide all the unsold seats so clearly not the demand.
Nickc. I mean controlled rentals full stop not regional or limited. Goes along with other regulation
As a former Rent Officer, I'm all in favour of rent control - though it doesn’t solve the underlying issue of a shortage of accommodation, which has prompted it each time it's been introduced.
Short term lets destroy local economies. No housing for the service workers needed for a tourist economy little year round spending so local shops cannot survive. Etcetc
Here in France, I think it's fairly standard (if not the only option? I don't know) when you arrange a mortgage you walk out with a list of all the payment dates and amounts for the duration of the mortgage: i.e. the interest rate is fixed for the duration. It's also normally a requirement that your income gets paid into a current account with the same bank as your mortgage.
Wow did they really just do that? I'm genuinely shocked but then Hunt has been making very supportive noises of this approach.
Upside - there will be very very few people left justifying voting Tory now when it all falls apart, completely.
What a system.
Is going to be a bad Winter . Just in time to pass the controls to Labour.
Just received the ..going up to 5% text message.
I think this will mean my mrotgage payment will be over a grand, first time since paying it solo and getting a £20k wage drop after being made redundant. Joys.
I just bought an ebike... YOLO an all that eh.
Still struggling to work out how this interest rate hike will combat inflation if the basis of the increase in inflation is essentials, such as food, heating and fuel, i guess another increase in food banks, heating areas and charities will help in some way, guessing the banks are on for record bonuses this year as well.
All of the recent inflation figures were CPI, not RPI, so food and energy increases were already stripped out. This is predominantly goods and services. But this stupid measure assumes that you're just spending more on goods and services, it doesn't analyse if more goods and services are being bought or if they're just increasing in price. it also doesn't then track WHY those goods and services are changing price. Digital services are a good example. Last year, chips and energy were in short supply, so new equipment (servers, etc) were more expensive and the power to run them was equally more expensive, so now Disney/Netflix etc are charging more. The theory goes that if those goods are more expensive because of fluctuating inputs (energy and chips), they should decrease over time, but in reality, prices rarely go down.
and thisYOLO an all that eh
are inextricably linked.Just received the ..going up to 5% text message
If there are lots of people doing this, this might be why spending on goods is driving inflation.
Its not really relevant as most people in Germany rent at affordable prices, as thats how their economy is set up
That might've been true once, but isn't as true these days. I've got plenty of friends in Munich and Berlin who've had to move around for work and are paying absolutely ludicrous rents. €2300 for a 2 bed place within 3km of the city.
Just received the ..going up to 5% text message.
I've not received one to say my savings rate is going up instantly. Funny that. 🙂
You've got to trawl the various banks and lock yourself in for 2/3 years to get their 'best' rate. And they're doing you a favour mate.
The two should be linked by law - stick one up the other should follow bu default.
Ouch 5%. Didn't expect it. Haven't seen the minutes yet, have they said how many for / against?
Have a horrible feeling its going up again next month. Its really not going to pull down inflation quickly given most of inflation is on essentials people can't really do without
"+ 0.5% to 5%, is it gonna cut spending, was at the airport on friday it was rammed"
Martin Lewis on Twitter earlier explaining how Interest Rates only effect the housing costs of less then 20% of people directly and even then, there's a long lag.
I'm feeling it now because I'm trying to remortgage, my deal, which is currently 1.4% ends at the end of Nov, paying £1200 a month now with a 17 year term, it was going to be £1700 with a 21 year term. The extra term hurt, but I got over it, it's only what we cut last time when rates fell, the money though I don't care who you are, losing £500 of disposable income is going to hurt, assuming it's going to rise another 0.5% when they inevitably pull the deal later today or tomorrow is going to add £70 a month to that, and we’re getting to the point where we’re running out of difficult decisions, the easy ones were all made when food and fuel prices rose.
How far can you take it? We've got 3 kids, we both work full time. How far do you take it? Cut, and cut until you're working full time to eat, keep the lights on and pay the mortgage? Or go interest only, it's still over a grand a month, over-pay when we can and hope rates fall, or at least wages rise? Which side do I want my shit sandwich buttered on?
Ouch 5%. Didn’t expect it. Haven’t seen the minutes yet, have they said how many for / against?
Vote was 7 to 2 - i think that's been the same way for the last few increases.
This doesn't affect my mortgage because i'm fixed, but it will delay me moving/getting a house with my girlfriend
Sunak just now - "working really hard to get inflation down." Nothing they do can be defined as working hard.
I saw this in the minutes:
"Two members preferred to leave Bank Rate unchanged at 4.5% at this meeting. There were two main factors underlying their votes. First, as the energy price shock and other global cost-push shocks continued to reverse over the course of 2023,"
Well yeah. So why are you doing this again?
I’m with rone, let’s drop interest rates. Inflation will surely fall to match. It worked for the Turks!
Lol they've just lifted them by 6.5% in a reverse decision to 15%. Imagine that in one go.
What's interesting is inflation was on its way down with previous reduction of rates.
It's chaos out there.
The USA have done okay out of rising rates in terms of adding to the economy but like I said before it's not affecting mortgage rates as much due to long term fixes.
Thing is with interest rates the money has to go somewhere so will be adding something to inflation but by how much and what part no one knows.
Probably now with that much of overlapping adjustments going on in the economy and the lagging nature of it all - it's anyone's guess where we are going - but does appear they will keep going until something breaks.
Chase bank did immediately announce 3.8% return on their account. But that's only good for those of us with cash.
Not that many in the UK. And let's face it you'd have to have way more than your mortgage debt for that to even slow the erosion of capital.
When I was renting years ago I did okay under those crazy 7% interest rates for savings (remember those Icelandic banks?) And my rent stayed fixed for 3 years at a time. Do most rental contracts have a clause that they can lift rates month to month these days?
Monzo have just upped their savings amount yesterday afternoon. 3.7% I think the email said.
We fixed last year, 3.8% for 3 years, we have a decent LTV now so our mortgage is fairly low & are fortunate enough to both be higher earners so I think our total outgoings (absolutely everything accounted for) is now about 15% of our take home.
We’re considering a move or extension, so cash is king right now - our savings are earning a decent chunk, way more than the mortgage rise actually, which is a new concept to me 😆
We are in a much better position than 2008, when we lived in a partly finished building site & a house very hungry for cash…
to 15%. Imagine that in one go.
I remember it. 1989 IIRC black friday and all that. although I had a mortgage then my rate was fixed so I was OK but the recent years of low interest rates are the outlier
The reality is a lot of landlords have decided it is no longer worth their while, especially with mortgage rates going up, so are selling up. This means there is less rental stock and therefore prices have shot up.
Landlords selling up doesn't restrict stock, because the people they sell to were renting before, so you have 1 less house for rent and 1 less household renting. Net zero impact
The reality is a lot of landlords have decided it is no longer worth their while, especially with mortgage rates going up, so are selling up. This means there is less rental stock and therefore prices have shot up.
Any actual evidence of this? In Scotland not only do we have the mortgage pressures but also a rent freeze ad much harder eviction process with no discernible effect on the supply of rentals. The cry was that this would cause a collapse in rental but it does not seem to have happened
so you have 1 less house for rent and 1 less household renting
I don't think that's the case.
I sold my buy to let. It's now an Airbnb.
My tenants were refused mortgage even though for two years they had paid £20 more rent monthly than the mortgage.
Thing is with this low interest rate v high interest rate, it's a classic manipulated market.
The financial system needs to cream money; so low interest rates are designed to net the debt in. High interest rates are designed to swill the money back to people with assets. Wages are supressed so you by and large have to borrow to live. So you're stuck with those rates.
Most elements of the current macroeconomic system is designed to take money away from the working to capital.
Somewhere along the way we got conned into believing this would work for us (trickle down.)
And of course as the government/BoE is the monopoly creator of £££ (commercial banks make loans) - instead of the money going to you on public services etc it mostly goes to those with capital.
Is it really that shocking it doesn't work?
Then we get the inequality and all the things associated with Neoliberalism.
Good to see the usuals dragging an interesting thread off to another series of fairly dull diatribes on macro-economics, I mean they’ve only two or three other threads debating that at present. Give yourselves a hand-clap.
Ta pisco - I am not sure how to read that tho - is the shortfall because demand has risen or supply has dropped or both? Also what is the effect of short term ( holiday) lets? How much of the decreased supply is down to that?
am not a financial whizz, but had the foresight 12 years ago when we bought this house to do it well within our means.
lol so did i, but i failed to also account for my electricity cost tripling, food increasing by 50%, house insurance up 30%, car insurance up 20%, water up X%, council tax up Y% etc all at the same time.
I honestly don’t get why there’s no protests or disorder, when is enough, enough.
I’ve no skin in this game, but had a mortgage and the luxury of cheap house prices but what they are doing is insane.
I honestly don’t get why there’s no protests or disorder,
IMO two reason - british "stiff upper lip" and its been a slow ramp up ie boiling a frog
tjagain, it doesn't read to me like the shortfall is because demand has risen. I got this from the post letting agent I know who seems very knowledgeable on these things. I'll see if he knows any of the reasoning behind the stats
Ta
Point noted on the same few rehearsing the same fiscal arguments as on other threads, but it does seem relevant here. I'm no economist, although I can do a household budget and consequently when I see people using the same model for a country it kind of makes sense - maybe because I understand it. I should make the effort to find out more about alternatives....
The question - I've see a few (critical) tweets recently about Norway - from what I understand they adopted a different approach and in the end have now had to resort to interest rate rises. I can't find them now but if they pop up again I will link. What did they do differently and why didn't it work (or did it and the tweeter is just critical because it's not their preferred economic model)
norway, extremely low population (less than yorkshire) and heavily subsidised by oil and hydro electric..
great country, not really comparable
tjagain, it doesn’t read to me like the shortfall is because demand has risen. I got this from the post letting agent I know who seems very knowledgeable on these things. I’ll see if he knows any of the reasoning behind the stats
Along with tj, I am not sure what to make of that chart. Demand has increased by a greater % than supply has fallen, what conclusion can you draw from that without knowing whether there was a shortage or excess of rental accommodation?
I honestly don’t get why there’s no protests or disorder, when is enough, enough.
I don’t think people know how to protest. If I wanted to go out now and protest, where would I go and what would I do?
I honestly don’t get why there’s no protests or disorder, when is enough, enough.
Had far worse in the 80s and 90s and I don't recall any interest rate riots back then...
Repossessions are very low right now.
.
I did some working out last night and as it stands we are looking at £4k a year increase.
I do worry about friends though, alot have bought houses with 5% deposits and maximum term lengths just to get on the market. They won't have much wiggle room.
With just over a year left on the fix I'm going to hang on as long as I can. Current rate is under 2%
I don’t think that’s the case.
I sold my buy to let. It’s now an Airbnb.
Airbnb is a separate issue in the same market. I imagine it will take an absolute hammering as one of the first things to be cut when disposable drops is travel.
Landlords selling up doesn’t restrict stock, because the people they sell to were renting before, so you have 1 less house for rent and 1 less household renting. Net zero impact
A large amount of landlord selling up are the one or two property landlord helped in personal names and a high % of those properties are bough by larger landlords running ltd companies. It can equal rental stock if it is landlord to landlord or restrict stock if it is someone just moving home owner, or equal stock if it is rental to home owner ship or restrict stock if its HMO rental to home ownership. There is a chance that the person buying is a ex-renter but by no means given due to the lack of rental properties available there is a back log so to speak. Its not as simple as one in one out.
I remember being a kid and rates being 12% or so, and what impact that had on my parents. Mrs FD remembers this clearly too and the impact it had on her family.
We have only ever bought houses on the basis that rates could rise to similar levels, and could we afford to keep paying. Obviously many people do not apply any such logic and max out their mortgage and house size based on what they can afford there and then. Which would explain why house prices keep rising and rising
We are currently on a fixed rate 5 yr deal with 3 yrs left to run at something like 2.6%. The mortgage itself is something like £950pm but since we took out this fixed rate we have been over paying each month to make it £1,500pm. If rates remain high we wont see an increase per month, just I guess our mortgage in theory will take longer to pay off.
It does seem we are looking at a relatively small proportion of people affected, but the impact/rise in mortgage cost is really significant for that small proportion.
Less than 40% of UK homes are owner with mortgage.
Of that number, less than 20% of them are coming off fixed rate deals in the next two years or already on tracker mortgage.
A proportion of those facing this change are either: a) reduce expenditure and keep paying the increase cost b) be able to extend terms of the mortgage or similar to reduce monthly costs, c) be wealthy enough to crack on as normal.
It seems to me that the increase in Buy to Let mortgage costs will be as big a story over a similar period - because landlords will just pass that increase on to renters.
And a really significant proportion of homeowners (like me) will sit smugly and say "we do not have a mortgage / we are locked into a deal for the next 3-10 years".
So yes, this has big standard of living impacts for a few people - but how many will be forced to sell or default on a mortgage?
matt_outandabout
Full MemberIt does seem we are looking at a relatively small proportion of people affected, but the impact/rise in mortgage cost is really significant for that small proportion.
Yes this is what makes this method seem pretty harsh.
Feels like it's not cutting everybody's discretionary spending by 5%, it's cutting 10% of the population's discretionary spending by 50%.
(obviously made up numbers to illustrate)
I remember being a kid and rates being 12% or so, and what impact that had on my parents. Mrs FD remembers this clearly too and the impact it had on her family.
Me too – I almost bought a house in 1991. The repayments were £500 a month on a £50,000 house (which was about the average house price at the time) – with a small deposit and 25 year term. Fast forward to today and an average price of £220,000 and that same rate would mean a monthly repayment of £2,200. Ouch.
It seems to me that the increase in Buy to Let mortgage costs will be as big a story over a similar period – because landlords will just pass that increase on to renters.
Only in England ( maybe wales?) This can only be done in exceptional circumstances in Scotland
Yes this is what makes this method seem pretty harsh.
It’s not cutting everybody’s discretionary spending by 5%, it’s cutting 10% of the population’s discretionary spending by 50%.
(obviously made up numbers to illustrate)
It does seem if we need to 'move' where money is flowing in the economy, then tax changes and targeted support for the poorest and increasing resources into councils would achieve more and faster.
Good to see the usuals dragging an interesting thread off
Good to see the usual whingebags trying to cancel and silence people they may not agree with. It's not fair mum! Someone on the internet said something I don't like! 🙄
Here's an idea, instead of whining and trying to shut people up, why not engage with the subject matter and explain why you might disagree?
I honestly don’t get why there’s no protests or disorder, when is enough, enough.
Simple explanation for this, most of the people affected are middle class professionals who are not particularly partial to throwing bricks at riot police. What they will do however is vote accordingly when they get the chance, and that opportunity is fast approaching. If the tories sit back and shrug their shoulders while swathes of the propertied middle class see their savings and disposable incomes evaporate then we could see a total wipeout. Rishi is toast and he knows it. And I doubt he's too bothered, he can retire to the Californian sun secure in the knowledge that he'll get invited to all the great state occasions.
A large amount of landlord selling up are the one or two property landlord helped in personal names and a high % of those properties are bough by larger landlords running ltd companies. It can equal rental stock if it is landlord to landlord or restrict stock if it is someone just moving home owner, or equal stock if it is rental to home owner ship or restrict stock if its HMO rental to home ownership. There is a chance that the person buying is a ex-renter but by no means given due to the lack of rental properties available there is a back log so to speak. Its not as simple as one in one out.
don't disagree - but "accidental" landlord selling to an institutional investor doesn't reduce the housing stock, and the "accidental" landlord selling to an existing homeowner doesn't because they're selling their house. Basically landlords being force to flog their houses isn't an issue for the housing stock until you get down to a very small number of rented homes existing (we're a long way from that)
t does seem we are looking at a relatively small proportion of people affected, but the impact/rise in mortgage cost is really significant for that small proportion.
Less than 40% of UK homes are owner with mortgage.
Of that number, less than 20% of them are coming off fixed rate deals in the next two years or already on tracker mortgage.
significantly impacted people is a lot smaller than the 40% too - if you're in the later stages of your mortgage the proportion of your monthly payment spent on interest is much much smaller than early on (on day 1 its over 90% on interest, on the last day its less than 1%), which in turn means the amount your payment goes up.
the jump from a 2% interest rate to 6% on a 35 year mortgage doubles your monthly payments, if you've only got 5 years remaining your monthly payment only goes up by 10%
I believe it’s been said already, but I don’t understand why they’re putting up interest rates to curb spending, then supposedly speaking to the Banks & building societies to get them to reduce the impact.
Are they:
A) ****ing clueless?
B) putting up a smokescreen, whilst implementing a policy that will line their own pockets? Trying to look like they care, whilst not giving a shit?
C) doing something smart, that is too clever for me to comprehend?
D) fiddling whilst the country burns?
E) something else I’ve not considered?
Good to see the usual whingebags trying to cancel and silence people they may not agree with. It’s not fair mum! Someone on the internet said something I don’t like! 🙄
Here’s an idea, blah, blah, blah
Normally I really wouldn’t bother but it’s quiet at work today so why not.
Quite weirdly hypocritical to complain about something someone has said on a forum by using the rejoinder “It’s not fair mum. Someone on the internet said something I don’t like! ”
The OP was quite a clear question “So, Interest Rates and Mortgages – how’s everyone looking?”; a look at how people are coping in trying circumstances and possibly a chance for people to discuss situations they may not have the opportunity to talk about elsewhere - the sort of thing stw does well, nothing to indicate an for invitation big hitters let’s talk macroeconomics again ( a subject I’ve not put forward any opinions on so not sure how you’ve got me in the disagreement camp on macroeconomic policy espoused on STW) and thus smother the original intention.
As alluded to macroeconomics seems to be regularly and extensively covered in the Sunak and Starmer threads, to name but two, so there seems little point reposting the same arguments here, ymmv.
I had already posted about how the interest rate rises were likely to adversely effect my mother’s care finances - i.e engaged with the subject matter.
“cancel and silence people they may not agree with…” yes that’s exactly it, well spotted. If people want to go on about economic policy that’s their prerogative, much as it’s mine to say I find it misplaced in this thread.
But thanks anyway you for your valuable input I shall treasure it always.
Namaste.
The OP was quite a clear question “So, Interest Rates and Mortgages – how’s everyone looking?”; a look at how people are coping in trying circumstances and possibly a chance for people to discuss situations they may not have the opportunity to talk about elsewhere – the sort of thing stw does well, nothing to indicate an invitation big hitters let’s talk macroeconomics again ( a subject I’ve not put forward any opinions on so not sure how you’ve got me in the disagreement camp on macroeconomic policy espoused on STW) and thus smother the original intention.
100%.
I believe it’s been said already, but I don’t understand why they’re putting up interest rates to curb spending, then supposedly speaking to the Banks & building societies to get them to reduce the impact.
When you say they you do mean The Bank of England are putting rates up, and then the Government are independently of that speaking to lenders. Yes it doesnt sound that well joined up.
I guess what it does do is stop people buying luxury goods on credit.
Someone on the internet said something I don’t like!
Or... someone on the internet is saying something I do like (and in the main agree with)... but repeating it over and over and over in any thread they can shoe horn it into until everyone else gives up on that thread, and perhaps even the forum. The thread stuffing is tiresome and crowding out the interesting chat, more and more. Whether you agree with the themes is neither here or there. I've found myself doing it quite a few times, and asked for temporary forum bans to stop me endlessly repeating the same points, and make room for others... some other posters could do with doing the same occasionally. Take a break.
The lack of empathy from people who got lucky/financial geniuses is heart warming
The Forums usual CJ’s ‘I didn’t get where I am today…’ brigade are as predictable and graceless as ever.
Summed up by the Mash a few years ago…
Man whose house has gone up in value thinks he's a brilliant businessman
Reflecting on the personal ask (which is what this thread was about, and I am one of the folk guilty of moving onto wider economics) - how many are going to find this *painful* and how many will have to sell / mortgage on interest only until they are 70 / seriously drastic and life changing issues?
I really don't know what we would have done if this had happened 8 years ago when we had just bought on a 2-year fix, and needed to re-mortgage but also were just about surviving on what we had.
The last time I appealed to my lender help they offered to send an advisor round to show me which DDs I could cancel to ensure they got their money. I'm not expecting the "help" to be any different this time.
When you say they you do mean The Bank of England are putting rates up, and then the Government are independently of that speaking to lenders. Yes it doesnt sound that well joined up.
I guess what it does do is stop people buying luxury goods on credit.
Fair point, ta. It does slip my mind at times that the BoE is ‘independent’, also that people would buy things on credit, I really do live in a bubble 😀
how many are going to find this *painful* and how many will have to sell / mortgage on interest only until they are 70 / seriously drastic and life changing issues?
Not painful to me short term. My mortgage was £800 a month a year ago. I had agreed a £1000 a month DD with bank and then I overpay by £550. My monthly payment has now gone over £1000 so I am technically £50 worse off a month but I could just drop my overpayment by £50.
Longer term it means my mortgage is not being as overpaid as the £200 surplus has gone.
My situation happens for those people who were extremely lucky enough to have been buying houses 20/30 years ago so I would guess a fair few people are not really noticing these rate increases.
The OP was quite a clear question “So, Interest Rates and Mortgages – how’s everyone looking?”;
And the vast majority of the thread is exactly that, with the odd interjection or discussion about wider macro stuff. That in no way constitutes 'derailing the thread', it's simple discussion about related subjects. I really don't understand why some on here continually seek to police and control what people say on any subject. It's extremely tiresome.
Back on topic, the BoE/govt could take any number of measures to control inflation which wouldn't crucify working people and mortgage holders. Instead though they've chosen the one course of action which further enriches those at the top, and loads more costs on to people who are already being squeezed by stratospheric energy bills and higher prices for daily essentials. Got any views on that or is it a banned subject?
Are they:
A) **** clueless?
B) putting up a smokescreen, whilst implementing a policy that will line their own pockets? Trying to look like they care, whilst not giving a shit?
C) doing something smart, that is too clever for me to comprehend?
D) fiddling whilst the country burns?
E) something else I’ve not considered?
or
F) all of the above
When you say they you do mean The Bank of England are putting rates up, and then the Government are independently of that speaking to lenders. Yes it doesnt sound that well joined up.
Their problem is, there isn't a pain free way of reducing inflation, especially if interest rates are the only tool available.
Although, as mentioned about, raising income tax would probably be more effective as it wouldn't have any lag and apply much more evenly to everyone (eg people without mortgages).
I suspect what the government want, is spending reduced, but lenders not repossessing or letting people get too far into debt - best of a bad set of choices.
Their problem is, there isn’t a pain free way of reducing inflation, especially if interest rates are the only tool available.
The problem is where the pain is concentrated. It's certainly not those who can afford it. There are plenty of other ways of controlling supply side inflation. Price caps on energy or goods for hiking tax for higher earners etc. If interest rates are the only tool, then that shows a complete failure of imagination and lack of will to create new tools. And besides, as rone has I'm sure posted, there's significant evidence that hiking interest rates themselves is a major contributor to inflation. Handing more money to asset owners who don't need it isn't going to lower prices is it?