chem1st Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Why do we have to provide houses for people who can't pay for them and won't work to pay for them - what is wrong with building hostels? That would be cheaper per occupant. There are 5 million on the waiting list for social housing. Unemployment (JSA bean counted) is at 2.5million? I'm not on about building social housing for criminals and the workshy, but for working people whose wages are far below the cost of housing in country with a lack of housing relative to the number of households in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Your response makes it clear that you dont know what these schemes involve, or how they work, yet you have the audacity call people "fools" for wanting to join the scheme. They are designed for people who cannot afford to buy a house, yet can afford to pay something towards the house, and increase payments later as and when the situation arises. They are not designed for people lucky enough to be able to splash out £120k+ on a house, but those on an income of between £20 and £35k per annum, whose only other option is to throw money down the drain renting. At least this way the vast majority of your expenditure (roughly 75% on a 50% share) goes towards paying off your mortgage. Im not sure how your analogy about flats works. Can you explain? Flats do not cost half what houses cost these days, but nearly the same, and even if they did you again miss the point that these schemes are for people who cant afford a fortune. And you are simply wrong about finding it difficult to sell one of these properties on. For a start, you can purchase the freehold at anytime when you up your payments to 100%, and for another thing there is a large waiting list of people wishing to buy one of these houses. These schemes do not suit everyone, but that is the point. Getting on the housing ladder is exceedingly difficult these days, shared ownership is just one way of making it easier for some people. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23529109-our-shared-ownership-dream-home-turned-into-a-disaster.do £20-35k is not poor, those on £35k are RICH in comparison to the majority. £25k is the average salary. Madness! (And an example of how overpriced housing is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23529109-our-shared-ownership-dream-home-turned-into-a-disaster.do £20-35k is not poor, those on £35k are RICH in comparison to the majority. £25k is the average salary. Madness! (And an example of how overpriced housing is) Yes I agree. But whether or not that is the case does not detract from the fact that there are a lot of people in this country who earn between 20 and 35k who cannot afford to get on the housing ladder. I agree, housing is overpriced. But if you can tell me a better way of someone in that income bracket owning a property then im all ears! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Yes I agree. But whether or not that is the case does not detract from the fact that there are a lot of people in this country who earn between 20 and 35k who cannot afford to get on the housing ladder. I agree, housing is overpriced. But if you can tell me a better way of someone in that income bracket owning a property then im all ears! Build a house on cheap land. Get a council house and buy it (even though I'm against this personally). Wait for the market to bottom out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Build a house on cheap land. Get a council house and buy it (even though I'm against this personally). Wait for the market to bottom out. Building a house isn't as easy as you make it out to be. How long are the council house waiting lists? How many years? Waiting for the market to bottom out is fair enough, but you will still require a chunky deposit, something which is tricky when you are paying hundreds of pounds a month in rent out. The article you linked to makes for grim reading, but most of the problems seem to be from dire service from the provider (who doesn't run the scheme in this area) and from the fact that service charges have been increased by a ridiculous amount, something which you only get if you live in a flat and which can happen to anyone, regardless of how you occupy it. The market has fallen flat right now, the missus' parents have been trying to sell their house for months now but they just cant find a buyer, so whilst I sympathise with the person trying to sell their flat in the article, its not just shared ownership occupiers who are having difficulty. I accept that the process may be a little more complicated but that is something which you accept when you buy the property. If you do not accept a slightly more complicated process will be involved then it betrayes a sense of naivety about the situation which I think may be the case here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Building a house isn't as easy as you make it out to be. How long are the council house waiting lists? How many years? Waiting for the market to bottom out is fair enough, but you will still require a chunky deposit, something which is tricky when you are paying hundreds of pounds a month in rent out. The article you linked to makes for grim reading, but most of the problems seem to be from dire service from the provider (who doesn't run the scheme in this area) and from the fact that service charges have been increased by a ridiculous amount, something which you only get if you live in a flat and which can happen to anyone, regardless of how you occupy it. The market has fallen flat right now, the missus' parents have been trying to sell their house for months now but they just cant find a buyer, so whilst I sympathise with the person trying to sell their flat in the article, its not just shared ownership occupiers who are having difficulty. I accept that the process may be a little more complicated but that is something which you accept when you buy the property. If you do not accept a slightly more complicated process will be involved then it betrayes a sense of naivety about the situation which I think may be the case here. In Sheffield, going on for 22 years. Without priority that is. http://localhousingwatch.org.uk/local_authority.php?la=230&w=5270&pc=S1+1AA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left 4 dead Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Or maybe they are saying let's make it fair and have everybody pay the same? Why should a family living in a council house pay half as much rent as a family living in a privately rented house - when both families may have the same income? Private landlords are in it for the money, with council housing its not about profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 If banks continue to give out mortgages to those who cant afford them then that is their problem. A deposit does not give automatic guarantees of repayment! When I got mine last year, the bank demanded three years of payslips and a copy of my work contract, a years worth of bank statements, proof of previous successful payment of rent and a long interview before agreeing to the mortgage. If there was any way I could not afford it then they wouldn't have released the funds. Not to mention the fact that the situation is totally different because since you are only buying 50% of a property which is worth, say, £130k which means that you only need to borrow £65k, making it far more managable for people on lower incomes. the way this country is going mate (a) no one will be able to provide 3 years worth of pays slips the jobs are not going to be there ( except agency work ) and no bank will lend money for a mortgage to anyone working for an agency ie (no job security) (B) at the current rate of cuts happening in this country works contract will probably be only for 12 months at a time (they could be made redundant next year) © you think yourself lucky to be in a position to be able to do this ( the futures not bright for the less fortunate) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 What is the point of having social housing at market value? If all could afford the market value the need for social housing would be obviated by definition would it not? The point is that social housing isn't being built, which is one of the reasons prices are so high & the main reason we have 22 year waiting lists. Market value rents would provide an incentive for councils to build, otherwise they're subsidising it. It'd also help to stimulate the private housing sector. If we were to have a large social building program, that could increase supply in the housing market & bring rents back to a reasonable level. There are people in council houses that could afford to pay market value rent, why should we subsidise them? For those that can't afford it there is housing benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 We do need a combination of them. We need social housing to house people as the private sector does not build enough. We need housing benefit in some shape or form to 'cover the rent' of social housing. We can't be giving housing out for free. Likewise we can't be using housing benefit to house people in ex-council houses bought with a mortgage at the top of a housing boom, when they could be housed nextdoor or nearby in a similar property for half the price (even though the rent has risen above inflation YoY for a decade). A few hours of community work to cover the housing benefit would be an idea for unemployed social tenants. So there's no reason here to charge a reduced rent in social housing. The housing benefit covers the low income problem, and anyone who's situation improves should end up paying the full market rate and ultimately move on to allow someone else in need to use that house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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