Fed up of owning a house?!
Discussion
Mortgage, council tax (30k in the next ten years) life insurance tax, house insurance tax, repairs, maintenance/cleaning painting, electric rates with daily minimum charge tax, waters rates tax (although my rain water collection has basically killed my water bill), gas tax.
is life really supposed to be like this?
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
is life really supposed to be like this?
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
jezhumphrey75 said:
Mortgage, council tax (30k in the next ten years) life insurance tax, house insurance tax, repairs, maintenance/cleaning painting, electric rates with daily minimum charge tax, waters rates tax (although my rain water collection has basically killed my water bill), gas tax.
is life really supposed to be like this?
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
Well yes, but don't forget that what is normally the most expensive thing, the mortgage, is you buying the place.is life really supposed to be like this?
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
jezhumphrey75 said:
Mortgage
Well you are buying something on the never never, I suppose you could buy it outright but at the end of the day it will be yours until they take it off you to pay for your care home fees.jezhumphrey75 said:
council tax (30k in the next ten years)
The beauty is if you want to pay less get a smaller house which also helps with your first point. I agree though that council tax is insane with most of it going on pensions and looking after the kids of the feckless.jezhumphrey75 said:
life insurance tax, house insurance tax, repairs, maintenance/cleaning painting, electric rates with daily minimum charge tax, waters rates tax (although my rain water collection has basically killed my water bill), gas tax.
Not forgetting VAT on toilet rolls, they actually tax you for having a s
t.jezhumphrey75 said:
is life really supposed to be like this?
Twas ever thus.jezhumphrey75 said:
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
Van dwellers in Bristol might disagree.The lifestyle sounds idyllic, but does come with costs. You could easily spend a day a week collecting and chopping wood for heating, for example. That's assuming that you can find enough free downed trees to actually feed the burner, otherwise you'll be paying for it. A caravan will still need maintenance like a house, with regular repairs to keep it roadworthy.
But downsizing and getting rid of a lot of the ties to banks sounds like a great idea
But downsizing and getting rid of a lot of the ties to banks sounds like a great idea
Trouble is that the way those in charge of us get their money is by making us pay.
So we are tapped up for more and more money while they have zero idea how pissed off a lot of us are getting and how utterly fed up we are with them and the never ending taxes and fees and things they say you have to have so must pay for.
There are too many non productive paper monkeys on the teat these days.
So we are tapped up for more and more money while they have zero idea how pissed off a lot of us are getting and how utterly fed up we are with them and the never ending taxes and fees and things they say you have to have so must pay for.
There are too many non productive paper monkeys on the teat these days.
I have enough in the bank to survive comfortably for at least 10 years of not working and living in a rented house/flat.
That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
croyde said:
I have enough in the bank to survive comfortably for at least 10 years of not working and living in a rented house/flat.
That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
i have a property worth around 550k 5 minute drive for the beach in cornwall....i could sell, buy a few acres woodland or rugged land, use it legally for 28 ish days a lol...tour a bit....homestead a bit without this huge liability i have to clean/maintain/improve....i think i could get good interest on 400k is plus still working part time.....i feel like houses are tax prisons.That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
croyde said:
I have enough in the bank to survive comfortably for at least 10 years of not working and living in a rented house/flat.
That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
why buy a different level of property than you rent?That gets me to 72 where I'm sure I'll scrape by on the pension and pension credit.
I live in London where I was born and bred.
Or I could use all that money to buy a house in a pretty poor area 100s of miles away from friends and family, crapping myself in case of boiler/roof/damp situations.
People say to me, buy, it's an appreciating asset but the areas I can afford to buy have not seen price increases in 10 years or more, in fact there have been more decreases.
Or a new build, which at least has a guarantee but always in a sea of similar houses tied to a former small town/village now with struggling local and social services.
Anyway, sorry OP, I've stayed off topic. As you were
If you can afford to buy a property, then why wouldn't you buy the same?
jezhumphrey75 said:
a bit of land/outbuilding hidden away, a modest touring caravan/fifth wheel with a van/truck, rain water collection/solar/collecting wood/wood store grow food surely is a better life.
You've been watching Ben Fogle...Not so much fun in winter I suspect. One of those things that's nice for a holiday but less so for 365 days a year in all seasons.
There's a lot of people who feel 'wealthy' as house prices inexorably rise. What they all forget is that house prices are so high now that most of us are having to have two incomes or stuck in stty jobs because they pay enough to pay the mortgage. It's a fallacy that higher house prices make us wealthy - they just make banks wealthier and us all spend more in tax and maintenance costs.
I hit a milestone last week - my savings are bigger than my mortgage. This time next year I will be mortgage free.
tty jobs because they pay enough to pay the mortgage. It's a fallacy that higher house prices make us wealthy - they just make banks wealthier and us all spend more in tax and maintenance costs. I hit a milestone last week - my savings are bigger than my mortgage. This time next year I will be mortgage free.
Narrow boat? I was reading the other day about a bloke who bought a plot of land next to a canal. He dug a trench between the canal and his land, sailed (?) into it and backfilled. Apparently you don t need planning permission or pay tax on boats.
I do agree though. Looking at my gross income vs how much of it goes on taxes and just staying alive, barely seems worth it.
Or go live in the Isle of Man
Standard rate
20% VAT
What the rate applies to: Most goods and services.
Reduced rate
5% VAT
What the rate applies to: Some goods and services, e.g. energy-saving materials, construction services on eligible buildings, children's car seats.
Zero rate
0% VAT
What the rate applies to: Most basic foodstuffs, children's clothes, construction of new dwellings.
I must have spent £40k on my house there over the past 5 years and all of it has been charged at 5% vat.
I do agree though. Looking at my gross income vs how much of it goes on taxes and just staying alive, barely seems worth it.
Or go live in the Isle of Man
Standard rate
20% VAT
What the rate applies to: Most goods and services.
Reduced rate
5% VAT
What the rate applies to: Some goods and services, e.g. energy-saving materials, construction services on eligible buildings, children's car seats.
Zero rate
0% VAT
What the rate applies to: Most basic foodstuffs, children's clothes, construction of new dwellings.
I must have spent £40k on my house there over the past 5 years and all of it has been charged at 5% vat.
Edited by Len Clifton on Saturday 28th June 17:34
lizardbrain said:
why buy a different level of property than you rent?
If you can afford to buy a property, then why wouldn't you buy the same?
Because the money I have might just get me a room with a kitchen in it and I'll have to sleep in it too. Toilet separate hopefully. No garden, no garage for my bike and countless tools.If you can afford to buy a property, then why wouldn't you buy the same?
If I remain here.
The same money will get me a little house with garage and garden hundreds of miles away.
Both options mean no money to live on so will have to find work.
Or budget to stay in my rental (£600k on the market plus £2,500 a year management charges) and hope that I drop dead within the next 10 years, having lived reasonably well
croyde said:
I live in London where I was born and bred.
That's where you went wrong, horrible place, everything is rush, rush, rush and so expensive.Move to Mablethorpe, bracing North sea air and cheap house prices.
btw:- Just come back from a lovely holiday cottage in Croyde, thought about you
Sheets Tabuer said:
jezhumphrey75 said:
Mortgage
Well you are buying something on the never never, I suppose you could buy it outright but at the end of the day it will be yours until they take it off you to pay for your care home fees.Sure I had first mortgage @22 (probably impossible now!) Moved a few times.
No mortgage when mid-50s.
Hopefully 40 years before I end up in a care home so it s free compared to the ticking timebomb of renting into retirement/no assets/rent rises. Getting booted out at the whim of a landlord. Boats depreciate like caravans & cars & need a lot of maintenance,
Wills sorted so if either of us goes into care home, their half of house goes into trust for kids.
Council tax & other bills, less than £500 a month all in.
Getragdogleg said:
Trouble is that the way those in charge of us get their money is by making us pay.
So we are tapped up for more and more money while they have zero idea how pissed off a lot of us are getting and how utterly fed up we are with them and the never ending taxes and fees and things they say you have to have so must pay for.
There are too many non productive paper monkeys on the teat these days.
Nothing to add.So we are tapped up for more and more money while they have zero idea how pissed off a lot of us are getting and how utterly fed up we are with them and the never ending taxes and fees and things they say you have to have so must pay for.
There are too many non productive paper monkeys on the teat these days.
boyse7en said:
The lifestyle sounds idyllic, but does come with costs. You could easily spend a day a week collecting and chopping wood for heating, for example. That's assuming that you can find enough free downed trees to actually feed the burner, otherwise you'll be paying for it. A caravan will still need maintenance like a house, with regular repairs to keep it roadworthy.
But downsizing and getting rid of a lot of the ties to banks sounds like a great idea
i would only buy a piece of land with a woodlan area/and a river...i imagine a caravan only need rust proofing underneath and check all seals are good regulary, not quite what a house needs.But downsizing and getting rid of a lot of the ties to banks sounds like a great idea
Edited by jezhumphrey75 on Saturday 28th June 19:11
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