chem1st Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/28/israel-squatting-campaign-housing The protesters, who aim to "inspire a national squatting movement", unveiled Jerusalem's first "People's House" on Saturday night, occupying an abandoned state-owned building close to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's official residence, where several thousand demonstrators called for social justice and better living standards. Discontent with spiralling rents, high house prices, the exorbitant costs of education and raising children, as well as a range of other social issues, has seen a national social justice movement blossom since the first "tent city" protest in Tel Aviv on 14 July. Much like our youth, the Israeli's are being priced out of housing and bringing up/starting families. Tent cities are springing up, just like they are in America. The Israeli housing bubble is an observation that Israeli real estate prices in the late 2000s and 2010 appear to be inflated (when compared to the long-term average, when compared to many other developed economies, when compared to rents and when compared to average income), and that this may constitute a real estate bubble. On the other hand, it is widely viewed to be caused by a general housing shortage, and many economists and investors in Israel do not believe that there is a bubble. In response to the global economic recession in 2008, Israel's central bank governor, Stanley Fischer, lowered interest rates to an all-time low of 0.5%. That resulted in prices rising very fast in 2009, after rising steadily in the last decade. Most mortgages in Israel that were taken in the years 2007–2009 were adjustable-rate mortgages that are pegged to the prime rate which at the low was 1.75%. Many economists claim that the rise in price is an economic bubble and that once interest rates pick up the housing market will crash. Some also blame Stanley Fisher for repeating Alan Greenspan's mistakes during the year preceding the housing bubble in the United States. Ring any bells? Struggling to sell your house? Tied to a mortgage on a property you don't really want? Perhaps your priced out of home ownership? Maybe your unable to rent a council house, private sector ex council house, shared room in what used to be a family home? Living in overcrowded housing? Withdrawn all the equity out of your house and now in negative equity? Men in your city, builders, brickies etc. are signing on the dole due to a lack of work. Yet we have a housing crisis! Urban splash are reluctant to release the prices for the flats at park hill, the empty homes gifted to the private sector. Why? Perhaps because city lofts etc. have all plummeted in value, because unemployed people can't buy houses, people working precariously can't buy housing, people on minimum wage can't buy houses. The majority of people earn less than the average wage of £25k. Less than 70% of people of working age, work. Thinking about buying a property, worried about negative equity? You should be! Interest rates are at there lowest level ever, as soon as they rise, property values are going to plummet, but at least people can then save and invest in housing! Their own housing, not B2L scum seeking rent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCOnoob Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Struggling to sell your house? NO - we just made sure we priced it appropriately Tied to a mortgage on a property you don't really want? NO Perhaps your priced out of home ownership? NO (hard work to save up initially but got there in the end) Maybe your unable to rent a council house, private sector ex council house, shared room in what used to be a family home? No - our family home is still in the family and being used for private rent providing my parents some retirement income. Living in overcrowded housing? NO Withdrawn all the equity out of your house and now in negative equity? NO - Wouldn't ever be that silly. Men in your city, builders, brickies etc. are signing on the dole due to a lack of work. Yet we have a housing crisis! NOT REALLY. Maybe they need to look harder or pehaps be prepared to inconvenience themselves a bit more - mate of mine in construction has just finished one local project but is now having to live in digs on another project. Why? because work has to carry on. My Brother in civil engineering has just become partner of his construction company by adapting his skills to to new projects in the retail sector rather than his previous focus on housing. Urban splash are reluctant to release the prices for the flats at park hill, the empty homes gifted to the private sector. Why? Perhaps because city lofts etc. have all plummeted in value, because unemployed people can't buy houses, people working precariously can't buy housing, people on minimum wage can't buy houses. The majority of people earn less than the average wage of £25k. Less than 70% of people of working age, work. Empty home gifted to the private sector? Really. We are talking about the development that is not even finished yet..... Maybe they have not released the price of the new flats because they are perhaps still building them. Yes City Lofts prices plummeted in value but guess what.... So did the rest of the housing market. That normally happens in a recession. What's new? Why would unemployed people ever be in a position to buy a new house....... that would be a completely stupid thing to do. You need a job and collateral to get a mortgage. Does that less than 70% of people working include students, disabled, full time mothers? The average wage is always nonsense becuase it normally include london wages which are massively different compared to the rest of the country. Thinking about buying a property, worried about negative equity? You should be! upgrading to a bigger one YES and NO not really. I would make sure I have securities in place and insurances in place before taking on such a huge amount of debt and responsibility. I would also work damn hard to ensure I could gather up as much deposit as possible. Even if that means doing two jobs to help speed up the process. Interest rates are at there lowest level ever, as soon as they rise, property values are going to plummet, but at least people can then save and invest in housing! Their own housing, not B2L scum seeking rent. Why do you have this obsession with B2L "scum". Are you saying that the entire rental system should be owned and controlled by the local authorities. Run for the people by the people in a cooperative and fairly priced world. Jesus, have you any idea how bad that would make renting a property. How poor the properties would be. How bad the rental charges and costs would be - why? Because there would be no competition. You do make yourself out to be totally clueless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perplexed Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Chem1st. B2L scum? Do you think that's going to help your cause? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupid head Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Squatters are no more than thieves by another name, send in the SAS to flush them out i say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCOnoob Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Totally agree with that. They are nothing more than a bunch of morons who think they have a "right" to live somewhere for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Their own housing, not B2L scum seeking rent. Hiya. I'm one of those B2L scum you like to bang on about. Are you man enough to detail why? In a reasoned manner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigger tree Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Why do you have this obsession with B2L "scum". Are you saying that the entire rental system should be owned and controlled by the local authorities. Run for the people by the people in a cooperative and fairly priced world. Jesus, have you any idea how bad that would make renting a property. How poor the properties would be. How bad the rental charges and costs would be - why? Because there would be no competition. You do make yourself out to be totally clueless. Aaah yes, private renting in general is quite cheep isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigger tree Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Hiya. I'm one of those B2L scum you like to bang on about. Are you man enough to detail why? In a reasoned manner? Houses are way over priced these days thanks in no small part to all the B2L investors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 In fairness the b2l thing came about not just because the rise the housing Market but just as likely because pensions are/were so unreliable. Think of the millions lost in pensions in the last recession. That same amount of money put into a house with tenants wouldn't be losing as much. Ps I'm not a landlord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCOnoob Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Aaah yes, private renting in general is quite cheep isn't it? Depends on the housing market. Prices go up as well as down because that's how the market works. When did the council rents go down last? I admit that a private rental wil never be able to match the low maximum rent amount set by the council but I would rather have a choice of living somewhere else other than a council estate with all their restrictions about the type of property I can have, waiting lists, priority points and little choice in the area I wish to live. That's the advantage of private rental. That's what you pay for. But, like I keep saying, If you want something better you have to EARN it. i.e. get of your a*se, get a job and work for something. The point still remains that if we got rid of all private rental there would be a complete decline. Anything that is wholly owned, maintained, repaired and regenerated by the state is generally done to a lesser standard that something privately owned, simply because of the sheer size and numbers of the project. Just take a look at the amount of people complaining about the standard of work/delays/waiting lists for Kier/Sheffield Homes to come and do things. Take a look at all the threads complaining about the standards of some council properties and the way people look after them. Private landlords - because of their competition and open market - have to up their game in terms of maintainence and standards. This also gives the the opposite i.e. power to kick people out who are not keeping their properties in a reasonable condition. After all they dont want the rest of their tennants in a block of move away. I doubt the council would have or use such power unless it was extreme circumstances. Why? Because they are forced to provide a roof over the head of everyone - no matter their circumstances or standards. They simply have to put them somewhere. Private rental doesn't. Simply whenever someone's own money is invested they demand better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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