Owning your own home

You can see it flex and hear it creak just in the picture.

Although the surrounding areas may be, Wood Green itself is firmly resisting any attempts at gentrification.

(Saying that, the other weekend I was up there drinking craft beer whilst on a double decker bus that has been converted into a bar before heading across the road to the Japanese restaurant in the arts hotel)

My garden’s been rewilded recently too, I haven’t been able to find the time to look after it….

I will be a little more circumspect about making professional recommendations online in future.

One member on here (who has seemingly flounced) was having considerable difficulty in finding a solicitor to accept instructions. I recommended my solicitor who I know has the highest professional and ethical standards. She has carried out several transactions for me, for my friends and family, and I would not use anyone else. She is a professional of the highest standing and I have an immense amount of respect for her.

For whatever reason this individual's social media pops up on mine (to whom I made the recommendation on here)- no idea how it all works really, I didn't even know their full name, and I am very, very disappointed with what I see.

My friend would have gone the extra mile with this person, and I am sure things have happened during the transaction whereby things might have not gone entirely to plan or there have been delays, or whatever.

But I certainly don't want to see almost daily character assassinations on my friends character, professionalism, and intelligence- it's very disappointing to see.

Particularly when this individual had difficulties in engaging a lawyer in the first place.

Still, you live and learn.

Is this @ExTra? Always thought she seemed like an absolute nightmare. What happened with the house in the end?

Indeed. I don't intend to tell my friend because I think she'd probably find it very upsetting reading the stuff that's been said about her.

I think extra has managed to buy her house,or is about to, probably at considerable cost to the mental health of everyone involved in the transaction.

That was such a mad time in here, loads of people giving decent advice and then out the blue everything was deleted and such.

Mad

Oh yeah. I remember that.

They got frustrated that no solicitor would take on the straight forward task of AMLing money inherited 5yrs ago with no audit trail from an outpost of a sketchy country, where all the documents probably use a character-based language.

The vendors are not into gardening, I see.

0.5% rise in rates again. Ouch.

5% base rate, there not going to be happy until all disposable income is being spent on mortgages or rent.

un-ignores the watch thread

5% is pretty healthy tbh - it’s only in contrast with the last ten years or so that it looks bad

That said it should be 8%! All this pissing around with .5 increments is sending the wrong message.

5% is pretty healthy tbh

It's healthy if the housing market wasn't so over inflated and if the banks were passing on the rates to savers which they're not.

8% is great if you want loads of people to lose thier houses so they can be bought up by the wealthy creating an even worse problem.

Exactly, this is boom time for wealthy cash buyers.

Well, to a degree, in a previous life I was paying over 6% on a mortgage but the house was only x2 my salary.

Its a different world now.

Raising interest rates isn't going to fix this inflation problem. Its not like people can just stop buying food and power, but its the only tool the bank have when the government are doing nothing.

It's healthy if... the banks were passing on the rates to savers which they're not.

You need to lock some money into an ISA for a year or so.

That's not an excuse for why other long term saving options are so low.

I know. You can either complain about long term options being low, or take the opportunities...

What are you taking about, an isa is one method of saving that isn't right for everyone's situation. And even for those that use an isa you're likely to want a few saving options.

Saying don't complain when there's one option for a decent savings return when the banks are benefiting from the higher rates for their reserves is ridiculous, are you in the 'young people should stop moaning about not affording houses and just stop buying coffee and avocado' camp as well?

Instant access savings rates have been shit for as long as I remember.

Savings rates only become attractive when a bank is desperate. Anyone remember the Icelandic banks?

the house was only x2 my salary.

True. The period of low interest rates and all the stupid schemes to get folks to buy houses is mostly to blame for where we’ve got to on house prices.

Personally I think it’s the long period of free money that has, ironically, impoverished us.

Unless you spent the entire period borrowing and buying houses and Rolex on cheap credit, in which case you’ve made a fucking killing.

We need a reset.

It's all well and good needing a reset but the current trajectory isn't going to do it, the only way to fix the housing market would be a massive decades long construction plan to sort out the supply issue, a massive shock to the system will just price the average person out consolidating assets in the hands of the wealthy even more than they already are.

Or worse, the current tory fix of wanting to extend mortgage terms to 30/40/50 years so you're just renting from the bank until you die, but on the plus side the word 'mortgage' will be back to its original meaning.

Yes, I think if young people stopped going out for breakfast then they'd have enough money to charter submarines to world-renowned ship wrecks.

I just don't see what complaining achieves; I prefer to look for options to make the best of a bad situation.

if the banks were passing on the rates to savers which they're not.

I just got a notification that my saving rate is going up. By 0.25%. Thanks guyz.