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The problems in the UK started a lot earlier than when property prices started climbing. Everybody started getting mortgages for their houses and flats instead

The problems in the UK started a lot earlier than when property prices started climbing. Everybody started getting mortgages for their houses and flats instead of renting something. Credit and debt runs that country more than anywhere else I have seen. People get payday loans for Christ's sake. That's not a healthy sign, and I don't think that was the fault of "them". Individuals did that.

doc_holliday 11y ago
It is a combination. Policies from the government over the last couple of decades have combined with people's greed, and well we are where we are today. Individuals are of course to blame too, but it is hard to pin point who got the ball rolling.
- marrs 11y ago
  It got a big push from Blair and Brown. Their entire strategy seemed to be to get people to generate as much debt as possible, to raise as much tax revenue as possible to spend on NHS, education, and all that good stuff. To be honest, I'm surprised they managed to keep the racket going for as long as they did.
mauricemir 11y ago
Payday loans in the UK have been around for a long time and well before that you have Pawnbrokers
- GordonS 11y ago
  True, but they've never been as prolific as they are now
mauricemir 11y ago
Because common sense its better to investing in something than pay the same or higher to rent it. Renting would have to be a LOT! cheaper than owner occupiers to make renting a rational decision.
- claudius 11y ago
  Only if your investment is likely to increase in value and you can handle the continuous maintenance costs and you can take the risks associated with ownership and you can take the risks associated with mortgages and you want to tie a rather heavy anchor to your legs. But if all these are true, then, sure, you should buy your own place.
  - mauricemir 11y ago
    But in the UK renting is far more expensive and in general the USA's housing is far cheaper for similar area's
oliwarner 11y ago
Why are you attacking mortgages in the same paragraph as payday loans?! They're substantially different things. Owning your house isn't a bad thing if you can afford it and its value doesn't tank. The buyer is largely responsible for those things. Further, most homeowners treat their homes as an investment. They do what they can and trade up when they can afford [to mortgage] something better. When they retire, they trade down and release 50 years of equity. Yeah pensioners with money. That sounds horrid. The UK's housing issues are far more to do with the inadequacy of rents. Soaring rates (underpinned by flat welfare rates). Unfair terms. Agents that lump on their own hidden fees and arbitrary terms. In more than one case in my past, my rent has been substantially more than the equivalent mortgage would have been.

doc_holliday 11y ago

It is a combination. Policies from the government over the last couple of decades have combined with people's greed, and well we are where we are today. Individuals are of course to blame too, but it is hard to pin point who got the ball rolling.

marrs 11y ago
It got a big push from Blair and Brown. Their entire strategy seemed to be to get people to generate as much debt as possible, to raise as much tax revenue as possible to spend on NHS, education, and all that good stuff. To be honest, I'm surprised they managed to keep the racket going for as long as they did.

mauricemir 11y ago

Payday loans in the UK have been around for a long time and well before that you have Pawnbrokers

GordonS 11y ago
True, but they've never been as prolific as they are now

mauricemir 11y ago

Because common sense its better to investing in something than pay the same or higher to rent it. Renting would have to be a LOT! cheaper than owner occupiers to make renting a rational decision.

claudius 11y ago
Only if your investment is likely to increase in value and you can handle the continuous maintenance costs and you can take the risks associated with ownership and you can take the risks associated with mortgages and you want to tie a rather heavy anchor to your legs. But if all these are true, then, sure, you should buy your own place.
- mauricemir 11y ago
  But in the UK renting is far more expensive and in general the USA's housing is far cheaper for similar area's

oliwarner 11y ago

Why are you attacking mortgages in the same paragraph as payday loans?! They're substantially different things. Owning your house isn't a bad thing if you can afford it and its value doesn't tank. The buyer is largely responsible for those things. Further, most homeowners treat their homes as an investment. They do what they can and trade up when they can afford [to mortgage] something better. When they retire, they trade down and release 50 years of equity. Yeah pensioners with money. That sounds horrid. The UK's housing issues are far more to do with the inadequacy of rents. Soaring rates (underpinned by flat welfare rates). Unfair terms. Agents that lump on their own hidden fees and arbitrary terms. In more than one case in my past, my rent has been substantially more than the equivalent mortgage would have been.