This sounds like a very good idea BUT...

propping up the housing market is a monumentally stupid idea imho. it's a circular argument. if banks have to shoulder more of the debt then interest rates will rise so you end up paying more and if the govt has to shoulder the burden then taxes will rise (or essential services like schools or hospitals will become even worse funded). so whichever way you turn you'll be kebabbed.
housing prices are over inflated, the only solution is a controlled reduction in house prices (rather than a crash). the govt is really scared of this because so many people are supporting a champagne lifestyle with the equity in their house. if that goes then the social benefits system will be stretched to breaking point with the numebr of people being booted out of their houses due to huge debt and bankrupcy.
more houses will help but if there are enough built to matter then the same thing will happen (housing is a supply and demand situation). more houses == less demand == lower prices == stupid people going bankrupt for a porsche.
i say let the market go to hell in it's own handbasket.
cheers


julian.
 
But the problem is at the moment too many people cannot afford houses, even if I was lucky enough to earn £30k (well above the £18k average for Manchester) the cheapest decent houses cost at least £150k so without help from the government I would have no chance.

Buy decent house I am talking about a terrest house not too far from the city centre which is not in area infested with DSS cheats and crack addicts.
 
Ak,
How serious are you about buying your first home?

Maybe that £150k is well above a graduate just started working without substantial saving. Buying your first house is a big step and we have all been there. Unless you have a windfall some way it has always been difficult for first time buyers. After doing some calculation imho houses are indeed above what first time buyers like what we have to pay a few years ago but IMHO still possible if you are really really determined. The secret has always been how much are you willing to sacrifies on your livestyle. Reduce the monthly out going as much as humanly possible. And only dream of buying THAT house that you could affort based on your actual monthly salary. And make sure you keep that job. Thats it.
 
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Yep I know £150,000 is currently wel beyond my means, but the current situation is that you cannot buy a lot for that, it isn't exactly posh where I live and there is a two bed quasi on the market for £180k at the moment.

I would be happy with a 2 bed flat but even thats £120k minimum. With this new scheme it means that if I was earning £30k (it will be a while yet) I could afford to buy a house, where as the at the moment there is no way unless I came into a lot of money.

I am not even going to dream of buying a house until I have got a job which I feel secure in.

This new scheme just looks like it will make it easier for people like me to get onto the property ladder but it seems too good to be true.
 
There may have been a decade when single people thought they should be able to buy a 2 or 3 bedroom house but it was hardly a historic fact. Until the 60s renting was fairly normal for most non affluent families. Even in the easy 70s, it was generally 2 wages that could afford a family sized house..just because some overpaid kids in the 80s could afford bachelor pads, doesn't mean it should be the norm. We are now just back where it was in the 60s. You have to be above average to buy anything comfortable.

More worrying, we have lots of ancient housing stock like single brick terraces. These have been butchered for central heating, modern wiring [joists weakened, holes in walls etc] most are drafty and cold in winter. New houses are hideous and tasteless, but are approved by brainless planners for crafty rip-off builders. What are we going to do when heating is expensive to run in 10 years time?? WE should be building eco friendly houses now. Running out of oil and gas are not even the worst that could happen.. imagine if that gulf stream does change course due to warming...and then take away the gas heating. Then we WILL feel the cold.
 
You might have a point but in Europe 'average' people can afford houses, my dad nearly bought a flat when he was single in the 70's but decided he wanted a garden (yep thats how casual he is) so forgot about the idea.

I think anybody who earns a decent wage should be able to buy modest property, even if its just a flat in area which won't become a ghost town.

My parents house was built in 1906 thats solid, but then it was built as a managers house, it apparantly had a lighting circuit when it was built, although no gas or ring main. Of course some joists have been cut through for modern wiring but only in a few places. The house is probably more solid than modern ones, the front of the house is built with engineering bricks for example, and the external wales are at least two bricks thick, I think this houses will still be here in 100 years time.

I think the answer is possible more localy generated power sources, probably wind or solar powered.

All new windows have to be double glazed now, this won't solve much but it certainly will help protect energy supplies.

Judging by the weather we've had in the last year I think the gulf stream may already be causing a problem although winters are certainly warmer.

With this summer so far I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to feel what its like when the temperature goes above 20c again.
 
The latest house we're renovating will be almost completely energy self-sufficient...
Water is from it's own borehole with the pump powered by wind/solar. Heating is geothermal underfloor, pumped by a wind/solar pump as well... And the roof will be solar panelled, meaning an ability to sell excess back to the grid (at a rate sufficient to pay off the installation cost quite quickly).
Shame it's in the middle of nowhere!
 
I agree entirely with Julian, let all the greedy bastards get stung when it crashes, and I hope it does soon.its their own fault.

atm, house prices are averaging around 7x the average salary, and that's the inflated southern salary, there is a massive n/sth divide in wages and that's partly why the south is filling up. it tends to fluctuate around 3.5-6x annual wages, and its higher thatn its ever been.
far too much money in this country in too few hands, cut ownership to one house is necessary, now.
 
Well funnily enough according to the latest statistics more people are moving from London to Manchester, than Manchester to London, which is the first time since the industrial revolution, this is pushing up houses to stupid amounts in parts of South Manchester, its still cheaper than the decent parts of London though.

I've always been against buying to let, letting out a house you own is one thing, buying with the prime purpose to rent should incure massive tax rates. It would be fine is there was plenty of houses but the fact houses are so expensive shows there must be a shortage.

I am not sure what the exact salery differences are but I think its about £18k for Manchester, £24k for London so there is quite a difference.
 
we're all faced in life with things we can't afford.

I was 28 before I got my first home.

The market will set the prices.

you could buy with a friend.

you could buy a house and convert it into 2 flats, and sell one.

you could buy a really small place,

a really cheap place and do it up,

you could spend 5-10 years saving a substantial deposit.

you could wait until your in a firm relationship and buy as a couple.

or you could say sod it and rent.
 
When I started looking to buy a car, I wanted something with at least 6 cylinders and RWD or 4WD. I ended up with a 4 cylinder FWD.

When I started looking for houses I wanted a detached place with a garage. I ended up with a terraced house with on-street parking.

We have our dreams and aspirations, but then we have to try to make do with what we can actually afford. I'm not unhappy with either my house or my car because I simply could not have bought what I thought I wanted (or if I had, I might not have been able to run it).
 
I know, I am not saying I want a nice flash house or anything, but I would at least to be bale to afford a 1 bed flat, at the moment I won't be able to afford that if I am earning £20k.

However this new shceme will give me a chance.
 
With £20k that £120-130k home is yours with careful planning. Even that £150-180k dream home is possible but in steps. Just as long you are willing to make some hard choices.

Not long ago I bought my first miserable flat after staying in shitholes and friend's tiny cupbroad for a total of 2 years so that I could save enough for that 5% deposit and legal fees. Life was actually ok since I could still get to go around in a £800 rust bucket. It got me to Wales and back safely in Scotland one summer. Got stopped by the police as he didn't understand why I was still driving round and round late in the evening. I was just trying to look for the cheapest pub with B&B.

Maybe that is why I do not believe in fairy dust and so hard on WM.
 
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Well it won't too for a year few yet, at the moment I cannot even afford to replace my dead Project Debut! But in a couple of years I should be in a position to at least start looking, provided property has not risen another 50%.
 
leonard, you just described my dream home - as long as it has a hi-fi friendly living room and enough land to grow veggies, chickens and a pig or three. one day maybe.
cheers


julian
 
Are you looking in the right place then AT?

I was looking in saddleworth, but a small, poorly-built (paper walls) modern 1 bed apartment ran around £110k there. So, looking elsewhere, I got my terrace for a damn sight less than that, in an area that's every bit as nice as saddleworth (and most estate agents regard marsden as part of saddleworth now), cheaper car insurance (out of OL postcode area), etc. From here I can equally well commute to oldham, manchester (30 mins on train), huddersfield (12 mins on train), Leeds (45 mins on train), etc.

Maybe it's just me, but you'd have to pay me to live in one of those places when I could live here and commute.
 
I am just too used to living where I am. I can't drive and I hate driving so I want to try and live without a car as much as possible. Where I am now the buses are every few seconds and they take me right into Manchester city centre, I can so easily get into Manchester for clubbing etc without having to pay for taxis.

I also have friends here etc and like all the local bars and the culture. It is one of the most expensive places to live in Manchester though, but it was where I was born and raised so its hard for me to accept that outsiders are pricing me out. Even my dads a Londoner.

The only places in the central/south Manchester area you can get property for less than £100k are rough areas like central Salford.

There are millions of paper thin flats going up near me so in a few years time if I still want to move in the same area this may push prices down. My mate wants to move here as well which is complicating things.

I am assuming that my job will be in the city centre, of course it may not be, in which case I would move nearer the job.

Certainly when I have enough money I probably will look further afield, I am certainly not going to pay £150k for a cheap poorly built flat in the area I am living in now its just not worth it.

I have almost been considering buying a £40k house in Salford as I have friends who are sitll living there from university and they say its not as rough as it seems, but I am not convinced that the house won't go down in value. I would also miss the little countryside I currently have.
 
Im not sure about this ides. Chorley borough has a similar scheme running but its so small its abit pointless. The problem round here has been that the houses are utter crap, very small and built on very cheap land, usually in the roughest part of town. One decent area did get the scheme on a 60/40 basis, but you pay a monthly rent at around £200 on top of your mortgage.

Im very similar to Isaac, in my case I paid 70K for my first house, that got me a half-renovated terrace with difficult parking (due to an arse who dumps cars outside his house). Far from ideal but its what you have to do to get going, fact of life. Whats starting to piss me off is this 'I want' attitude thats spreading through the twenty-somethings, Ive even heard friends claiming that parents and grandparents should be stumping up large deposits. I have one friend who is fighting other family members over a granddads money, claiming she should get more! poor blokes still alive and kicking!
 

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