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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





   

[iansoutham]

Well done on killing the mortgage off. Now, remember to put that money each month away and spend it on yourself at a later date.

Been lucky myself in that I have never had to get one. Right time, right place for me.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Well done on killing the mortgage off. Now, remember to put that money each month away and spend it on yourself at a later date.

Been lucky myself in that I have never had to get one. Right time, right place for me.

Thanks, Ian.

I don't believe self-cert mortgages are so easily available in 2021. This may be a good thing as I personally know people who have been repossessed because they were unable make the payments.

[iansoutham]

I was lucky in being able to buy both my houses at the right time (1st house was after a big payoff from Deutchebank in 2002 when my department was taken over and everyone paid off their contracts) and my other house was a cheap repossession for £40k (bank repo, surprisingly enough) that is now worth over £250k just by sitting on it and replacing the windows for double-glazing 😄 as the area is now undergoing lots of development and infrastructure so now people want to live there (Isle of Sheppey As you go over bridge)

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I was lucky in being able to buy both my houses at the right time (1st house was after a big payoff from Deutchebank in 2002 when my department was taken over and everyone paid off their contracts) and my other house was a cheap repossession for £40k (bank repo, surprisingly enough) that is now worth over £250k just by sitting on it and replacing the windows for double-glazing 😄 as the area is now undergoing lots of development and infrastructure so now people want to live there (Isle of Sheppey As you go over bridge)

Sounds good...

If you buy a house in an  'unfashionable' area that becomes 'fashionable'..... like parts of London, then there is money to be made.

My 'crystal ball' has served me well but it doesn't always get it right, as I have found  to my cost 

[STEMO]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

I know.

[STEMO]

We took out a 15 year mortgage on this place, with the first five years fixed. That fix is up in two months and I plan to turn a 15 year mortgage into an 8/9 year one. So another 3/4 years. Of course, the bank are trying to get us to remortgage, at a much lower rate, but the interest I save on early repayment will be whopping compared to a longer/lower rate period.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

We took out a 15 year mortgage on this place, with the first five years fixed. That fix is up in two months and I plan to turn a 15 year mortgage into an 8/9 year one. So another 3/4 years. Of course, the bank are trying to get us to remortgage, at a much lower rate, but the interest I save on early repayment will be whopping compared to a longer/lower rate period.

Yes......In my case 4.09% would be a ridiculous rate of interest when I would be lucky to get 1%at the bank or building society.

I had been keeping interest costs down by overpaying 10% each year without penalty charges. It helped, but if people have any spare cash it 'may' be wise to pay it off in full...( as ML always says)

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

We took out a 15 year mortgage on this place, with the first five years fixed. That fix is up in two months and I plan to turn a 15 year mortgage into an 8/9 year one. So another 3/4 years. Of course, the bank are trying to get us to remortgage, at a much lower rate, but the interest I save on early repayment will be whopping compared to a longer/lower rate period.

Big opportunity to source lower rates or pay it off.

What rate are you currently paying?

[Doctor Gollum]

4% looks to be not far off the current going rate.

Still, job well jobbed

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

4% looks to be not far off the current going rate.

Still, job well jobbed

4% sound like the SVR. I should think 1-2% should be possible on a deal over 2 or 3 years.

Best to shop around.

[Doctor Gollum]

Agreed that was based on a place I was looking at on Rightmove... Might have been a first time buyer thing, but it looks like they've dropped their 10 year fixed  as well as creeping the rates up

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Agreed that was based on a place I was looking at on Rightmove... Might have been a first time buyer thing, but it looks like they've dropped their 10 year fixed  as well as creeping the rates up
[/quot

Were you looking for a nice 'shagpad'?

By the way......how did your date go?

[STEMO]

We took out a 15 year mortgage on this place, with the first five years fixed. That fix is up in two months and I plan to turn a 15 year mortgage into an 8/9 year one. So another 3/4 years. Of course, the bank are trying to get us to remortgage, at a much lower rate, but the interest I save on early repayment will be whopping compared to a longer/lower rate period.

Big opportunity to source lower rates or pay it off.

What rate are you currently paying?

3.9%, which drops to 3.55% after the fix. It was due to rise but BOE base rate is 0.1% or something.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

We took out a 15 year mortgage on this place, with the first five years fixed. That fix is up in two months and I plan to turn a 15 year mortgage into an 8/9 year one. So another 3/4 years. Of course, the bank are trying to get us to remortgage, at a much lower rate, but the interest I save on early repayment will be whopping compared to a longer/lower rate period.

Big opportunity to source lower rates or pay it off.

What rate are you currently paying?

3.9%

3.9% over five years is probably reasonable, but not exceptional. I tended to change every 2 years. Slightly higher rate of interest, but with more changes to a lower rate I paid less overall.

[Doctor Gollum]

Agreed that was based on a place I was looking at on Rightmove... Might have been a first time buyer thing, but it looks like they've dropped their 10 year fixed  as well as creeping the rates up
[/quot

Were you looking for a nice 'shagpad'?

By the way......how did your date go?

Yes and it didn't. Thanks Boris... 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I'd like a shagpad overlooking a select part of the Thames.

Probably looking at millions though.

[johnnydog]

Back in the early 90's, I had an endowment mortgage, and then took out a second to cover a house move. It was then suggested that endowments were a thing of the past and ought to cashed in for alternative investments, but the amount I had paid didn't make financial sense relative to the surrender value. Fortunately,  I was able to pay off the mortgage about  20 years ago (but kept it open with a £1 balance which did away with a lot of the setup fees of any subsequent advance), but then added to the £1 to finance a big extension about 15 years ago, still keeping the endowments going. When they matured, they had done a lot better than expected and returned far more than had been paid in, and easily covered my outstanding balance. Glad I kept them going. Possibly other forms of investment may have had an even greater return after 25 years, but as they were doing ok, I decided to stick with them which worked out ok for me.

[Marks DTM Calib]

This should be me in a month or so, only a year to go anyway but, the fixed term finishes soon. So pay it off it is 

[TheBoy]

I took out a 25yr one when I moved here in 2001 - 20 years ago in 2 weeks - which I remortgaged with a 23yr one in 2003 to get a better deal.  Cant remember the specifics, but it was something like 0.3% above base, which I could never better, so stuck with it. And it was an offset.

As the interest rates plummeted after the 2008/9 crunch, I never adjusted payments, so it naturally paid itself off a year or 2 ago, several years early.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I took out a 25yr one when I moved here in 2001 - 20 years ago in 2 weeks - which I remortgaged with a 23yr one in 2003 to get a better deal.  Cant remember the specifics, but it was something like 0.3% above base, which I could never better, so stuck with it. And it was an offset.

As the interest rates plummeted after the 2008/9 crunch, I never adjusted payments, so it naturally paid itself off a year or 2 ago, several years early.

Lots of spare cash for fast cars and loose women then.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

One mortgage I took out was part repayment and part interest only. The interest only part was a f*ucking millstone  around my neck and I vowed never to have one again.

I was essentially renting money.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

....actually, I've done it more than once.

[JamesV6CDX]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

That was on one of his other 25 houses

[Sir Tigger KC]

Congratulations M'lud! 

With all the spare cash you'll have sloshing around, I have no doubt you'll be treating Mrs Opti to a nice car and a new kitchen? 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

That was on one of his other 25 houses

From the late eighties to the last 5 years I would say it is more than that. I don't own 25 houses at any one time though.

[STEMO]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

That was on one of his other 25 houses

The Nicholas van Hoogstraten of South Lincs.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Congratulations M'lud! 

With all the spare cash you'll have sloshing around, I have no doubt you'll be treating Mrs Opti to a nice car and a new kitchen? 

Over my dead body.....

New car though.....

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I had planned to pay this off last year ( or the year before) but have finally grasped the nettle.

I took out this particular mortgage in 2004, repayable over a 22 year period (2026)

 In common with other loans I have it took the form of a self-certificated mortgage, or liar loan, as they are commonly known. They are so called because the lender doesn't ask too many awkward questions like......"Will you be able to make the necessary repayments" Of course they made sure they covered their arse by insisting on a £30,000 deposit upfront and an administration fee of about £1200. In addition  interest rates were 1.5%- 3% above those you would normally pay at the better known lenders.

Over the years I have tried to source the lowest interest rates possible to keep costs down.......however the best I can find in 2021 is 4.09%, which is way too much with the base rate so low.

So, I've managed to pay off of a 22 year mortgage in 17 years which will have saved me a huge amount of interest.....although depleted any cash reserves I had.

Nice feeling though......although the bastards had the final laugh by adding a further £195 for administration for the final paperwork.





 

You posted last year that you'd paid a mortgage off.

That was on one of his other 25 houses

The Nicholas van Hoogstraten of South Lincs.

He is a crook. I am even nicer than Michael Palin.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

A number of people got into 'buy to rent' back in the day. Not so lucrative now.

It's not real wealth when a property has a mortgage on it. It looks good on paper but .........

Pretty sure that Tigger fella owns houses in darkest 'Darzett'

[STEMO]

A number of people got into 'buy to rent' back in the day. Not so lucrative now.

It's not real wealth when a property has a mortgage on it. It looks good on paper but .........

Pretty sure that Tigger fella owns houses in darkest 'Darzett'

Over the border in South Wales, I think. Don't know how that's gonna work with Brexit.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

A number of people got into 'buy to rent' back in the day. Not so lucrative now.

It's not real wealth when a property has a mortgage on it. It looks good on paper but .........

Pretty sure that Tigger fella owns houses in darkest 'Darzett'

Over the border in South Wales, I think. Don't know how that's gonna work with Brexit.

It hasn't exactly gone smoothly in some respects, but the sky hasn't fallen in either.

North of Hadrian wall some people seem annoyed about fish.....

 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

If Boris gives them £1 million a day they will be less annoyed.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Congratulations M'lud! 

With all the spare cash you'll have sloshing around, I have no doubt you'll be treating Mrs Opti to a nice car and a new kitchen? 

Over my dead body.....

New car though.....

If Mrs Opti has a new kitchen but you disappear at the same time, we'll know where to start digging! 

[B52]

25-year endowment mortgage paid off last year, came out £5k to the good (all gone, of course)

[ronnyd]

25-year endowment mortgage paid off last year, came out £5k to the good (all gone, of course)

That was fortunate.  Had to use some of my pension tax free lump sum to pay my shortfall. .   Had an "interest free" mortgage for a while until i got to retirement age. Worked out very well  in the end, thankfully. Christ, i'm glad i'm not starting out like my youngest granddaughter.

[Entwood]

House purchased in 1978 with a £12,000 "low cost" endowment over 25 years. Increased over time due to several extensions, to a total of £38,000 but the "final date" not changed. Paid off in 2003 with the total of the 4 endowments being £54,000 ... a "profit" of £16,000 .... but I know I paid an awful lot of interest in those 25 years, especially given the way the interest rates went in 1978 !

Still live in the same house ........ 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

25-year endowment mortgage paid off last year, came out £5k to the good (all gone, of course)

That was fortunate.  Had to use some of my pension tax free lump sum to pay my shortfall. .   Had an "interest free" mortgage for a while until i got to retirement age. Worked out very well  in the end, thankfully. Christ, i'm glad i'm not starting out like my youngest granddaughter.

An endowment mortgage only really works  when interest rates are high......which is why they have not been around for some considerable time.

The endowment mortgage I took out was supposed to make £41000 from £72.98 a month, over 25 years......So £21894 in the pot.




It did not get close, the amount the policy was worth being less than half the amount I had paid in.

No doubt the fund managers still took a wedge for their inept management of the policy.....

I was left with the choice the choice of paying more each month, or switching to a repayment mortgage.......which I did.

[ronnyd]

25-year endowment mortgage paid off last year, came out £5k to the good (all gone, of course)

That was fortunate.  Had to use some of my pension tax free lump sum to pay my shortfall. .   Had an "interest free" mortgage for a while until i got to retirement age. Worked out very well  in the end, thankfully. Christ, i'm glad i'm not starting out like my youngest granddaughter.

An endowment mortgage only really works when interest rates are high......which is why they have not been around for some considerable time.

The endowment mortgage I took out was supposed to make £41000 from £72.98 a month, over 25 years......So £21894 in the pot.




It did not get close, the amount the policy was worth being less than half the amount I had paid in.

No doubt the fund managers still took a wedge for their inept management of the policy.....

I was left with the choice the choice of paying more each month, or switching to a repayment mortgage.......which I did.

Oh yes, i have not so fond memories of the high mortgage rates in the 80s.  . It was quite a struggle with a growing family.

[TheBoy]

My previous house was a low cost endowment, supposed to cover £40k.  But then the interest rates were around 14% when I took it out.

Interest rates dropped dramatically, but I never adjusted the payments on the borrowed money, so in effect I was slowly paying it off.

When I moved, I kept the endowment side of it going, as cashing in endowments was pointless, and that matured 3 or 4 years ago, and was only about £6k short or its promised target, so did much better than I anticipated.

[Rangie]

A great feeling not owing a penny, paid mine off many years ago with a windfall , never pay interest on anything is my motto.

[New POD]

That final admin fee. I refused to pay it. They said I wouldn't get my deeds then.  Okay, but it's all electronic, so keep hold of the copy you have. 3 months later they sent me a copy of my deeds. self-abusers.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Danish banks are going to start offering 20 year fixed rate mortgages at 0% interest!   

Which is nice for the Danish people. 

Maybe it'll spark off a property boom there. 

[B52]

Mine was a traditional low-cost interest-only which seriously started to wobble around 2010. I made a few lump sum payments to reduce the principal (and therefore the interest) but stopped around 2015 when it was within 5 years of finishing, as I had more than enough in savings to cover the max shortfall.

In the end it still paid back enough and substantially more than I'd paid in.

Got loads of those mis-sold compensation claim letters but didn't take them up - left them to those in real need and I knew it wasn't risk-free tbh.

[Doctor Gollum]

Danish banks are going to start offering 20 year fixed rate mortgages at 0% interest!   

Which is nice for the Danish people. 

Maybe it'll spark off a property boom there. 

It could be a 60 year interest free mortgage... Doesn't matter if there's no affordable properties and everyone is unemployed

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Danish banks are going to start offering 20 year fixed rate mortgages at 0% interest!   

Which is nice for the Danish people. 

Maybe it'll spark off a property boom there. 

It could be a 60 year interest free mortgage... Doesn't matter if there's no affordable properties and everyone is unemployed

 60 years..... Nobody is going to be alive long enough to pay it off

The average first time buyer in 2021 is about 35.........forty years before that the average age was around 22/23.

[Doctor Gollum]

I was being slightly facetious because the term and rate are irrelevant if you cannot afford the property or qualify for the mortgage

I had a cursory look at a mortgage on a £145k flat. And was told to either increase the deposit or extend the term substantially.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I was being slightly facetious because the term and rate are irrelevant if you cannot afford the property or qualify for the mortgage

I had a cursory look at a mortgage on a £145k flat. And was told to either increase the deposit or extend the term substantially.

I know.....

But it really wouldn't surprise me if it actually happens in the not to distant future.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Mortgages are getting ever longer. I think this is a pretty new development. I don't remember banks lending for more than 25 years when I first took out a mortgage.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I was being slightly facetious because the term and rate are irrelevant if you cannot afford the property or qualify for the mortgage

I had a cursory look at a mortgage on a £145k flat. And was told to either increase the deposit or extend the term substantially.

Are you able or willing to consider either option?

[TheBoy]

The solution to unaffordable house prices is less buyers.  So once again, the policy of the mass cull is the only sensible option.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Danish banks are going to start offering 20 year fixed rate mortgages at 0% interest!   

Which is nice for the Danish people. 

Maybe it'll spark off a property boom there. 

I wonder if the Vikings will be able to take out an interest only mortgage from the Danish banks?                                                                             

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

https://youtu.be/xRSGSb7_L2Y


Vikings can have an interest free mortgage for as long as they like.

[Broomies Mate]

The solution to unaffordable house prices is less buyers.  So once again, the policy of the mass cull is the only sensible option.

When a purchase, be it a toaster, lawn mower or even a house becomes unobtainable due to cost, the only solution is to reduce the cost.  Supply and demand usually dictates the price (rise or fall) of any given commodity.

You like your I.T TB.... look at the cost of GPU's.  nVidia and AMD can't make them fast enough (mostly due to BitCoin mining), so the second hand market has gone through the roof.  I recently sold a MSi 2070Super for £150 more than it retailed for 18months ago.

House prices are the same, demand is/was so high that the prices are artificially inflated.  It won't (or can't) last forever.

[deviator]

I don't know where you guys get your mortgages from. I've just renewed and extended mine and got 1.9% fixed for 5 years. (I extended it to buy a second house to let out, even that mortgage was only 2.08%).

All I do is get some figures from compare-the-internet type site, then go and see a mortgage advisor. He can get much better rates than me, sorts it all out and the money saved more than covers the £500 fee.

[STEMO]

I don't know where you guys get your mortgages from. I've just renewed and extended mine and got 1.9% fixed for 5 years. (I extended it to buy a second house to let out, even that mortgage was only 2.08%).

All I do is get some figures from compare-the-internet type site, then go and see a mortgage advisor. He can get much better rates than me, sorts it all out and the money saved more than covers the £500 fee.

I could get a rate of 1.9 to extend, but I don't want to extend, I want to finish it as quick as possible. By keeping my current rate and overpaying, I will spend less on interest.

[LC0112G]

I don't know where you guys get your mortgages from. I've just renewed and extended mine and got 1.9% fixed for 5 years. (I extended it to buy a second house to let out, even that mortgage was only 2.08%).

All I do is get some figures from compare-the-internet type site, then go and see a mortgage advisor. He can get much better rates than me, sorts it all out and the money saved more than covers the £500 fee.

Presumably you're putting a bit more than 5-10% deposit down though? Haven't looked for a while, but it used to be that you needed 50% deposit for BTL mortgages. The bank can be a bit more generous in their interest rate if they know they've only leant 50% of the value of a house and then have to re-possess it.

[TheBoy]

The solution to unaffordable house prices is less buyers.  So once again, the policy of the mass cull is the only sensible option.

When a purchase, be it a toaster, lawn mower or even a house becomes unobtainable due to cost, the only solution is to reduce the cost.  Supply and demand usually dictates the price (rise or fall) of any given commodity.

You like your I.T TB.... look at the cost of GPU's.  nVidia and AMD can't make them fast enough (mostly due to BitCoin mining), so the second hand market has gone through the roof.  I recently sold a MSi 2070Super for £150 more than it retailed for 18months ago.

House prices are the same, demand is/was so high that the prices are artificially inflated.  It won't (or can't) last forever.

So cut demand.  Without intervention, there will never be a significant drop in housing demand, as the population is constantly growing.

So significantly reduce the population, house prices come down.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Yep, there has been a perfect storm with house price rises. A large growth in population in a short space of time - thanks to B. Liar.
Developers and Supermarket chains buying up land and just sitting on it.
Chinese, Russian and Arab buyers buying up lots of property in London, and often not even bothering to rent it out. Just sitting back and watching prices rise.
The biggest factor has to be population growth though I would imagine.
Politicians created the crisis, so they should take responsibility for it and do something to solve it.
They are doing the opposite at the moment though, with stamp duty holidays and the like to try and keep the market bouyant.
This is from people who claim to believe in market economics.
If the economy is in deep trouble, house prices should drop. Let it happen, and some good can come out of the economic chaos of the current crisis.

[TheBoy]

Yep, there has been a perfect storm with house price rises. A large growth in population in a short space of time - thanks to B. Liar.
Developers and Supermarket chains buying up land and just sitting on it.
Chinese, Russian and Arab buyers buying up lots of property in London, and often not even bothering to rent it out. Just sitting back and watching prices rise.
The biggest factor has to be population growth though I would imagine.
Politicians created the crisis, so they should take responsibility for it and do something to solve it.
They are doing the opposite at the moment though, with stamp duty holidays and the like to try and keep the market bouyant.
This is from people who claim to believe in market economics.
If the economy is in deep trouble, house prices should drop. Let it happen, and some good can come out of the economic chaos of the current crisis.

I hate bloody wishy washy liberals like you.  Just cull people

[Doctor Gollum]

They're trying to, but new people are popping out faster than the Chinese virus* can get rid of them... 

*it's called the Chinese virus because it comes from China

[TheBoy]

They're trying to, but new people are popping out faster than the Chinese virus* can get rid of them... 

*it's called the Chinese virus because it comes from China

No, that sniffle thing was never going to be fast enough.  And besides, the cull needs to be more targeted to improve the gene pool

[Doctor Gollum]

It might be a bit late for that... 

[Sir Tigger KC]

We could always reverse the 'one way system' across the English Channel and only allow the rubber dinghies to go south.  Inbound rubber dinghies would only be allowed to land at Thurso.

We could then reduce the population by 16 million or so. 

[New POD]

A number of people got into 'buy to rent' back in the day. Not so lucrative now.

It's not real wealth when a property has a mortgage on it. It looks good on paper but .........

Pretty sure that Tigger fella owns houses in darkest 'Darzett'

For me it's all about return on investment. 5 years in. 
We invested 42k and pay tax on £6k profit
Which appears to be 14%.  However, the value has risen so if we were to get out now, after fees and tax etc would end up with an extra 25k which I think we can call £5k a year
So over 5 years 26% return on that 42k per year.

Mortgage is reduced by the profit every year so in reality the return on equity is decreasing as our equity increases and the profit is fairly straight. 

But yes BTL not as lucrative as you think.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Well, I call it the unacceptable face of Capitalism. 

[Doctor Gollum]

Well, I call it the unacceptable face of Capitalism. 

The irony is utterly wasted

[New POD]

Well, I call it the unacceptable face of Capitalism. 

The irony is utterly wasted

I feel like getting wasted.

[Rangie]

Got rid of our BTL just over 3 years ago , what a bit of luck..😄