Comments on Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy: Loony Left Want Second Home Ban

What is 'excessive second home ownership' - how ma...

2006-11-02T22:20:00.000Z

What is 'excessive second home ownership' - how many second homes can you own?

Would Two shags be exempt because he has more than two? Would Ruth (Silas) Kelly get off because no laws apply in her back yard? Would Sheree Bliar put theirs in Euan the war dodgers name?

Could we have 'pairs' of houses. So say a husband and wife could own two each? Could you put an extra one or two in your kids name?

There must be some way to get around excessive second home ownership? the very idea strikes at the heart of individual entrepenuership as we strive to add to our property portfolios.

Oh, must pack - off to Boston tomorrow. I hope the maid has done the groceries.

I live in South London and the rent on my house is...

2006-11-01T17:36:00.000Z

I live in South London and the rent on my house is a little over half what the interest repayments would be if I owned it. Indeed I suspect its a little bit less than the landlady is paying in interest every month, and she like many people who like to think they are sharp investors will be left with a depreciating asset in a few years time, as mugs have done after every asset price bubble in history.

Of course, the disadvantage is that one has to listen to endless whinging about needing to 'get on the property ladder' and 'missing out on the property ladder' from dumbsters who don't actually understand what the 'property ladder' was and it why it is operating only very weakly at present. Still, it's a small price to pay to secure the home of one's dreams in the long term.

The time to get out of stocks in 1929 was when bell boys started giving hot share tips; the time to get out of bricks and mortar in 2006 is when Channel 5 has programmes on speculative investment in Eastern European property.

Doesn't affect second homes in Manhattan, Provence...

2006-10-30T16:53:00.000Z

Doesn't affect second homes in Manhattan, Provence, Tuscany, though does it? Still, interventionist fools.

The real sufferers of such a policy would be Labou...

2006-10-30T12:31:00.000Z

The real sufferers of such a policy would be Labour MP's. How many houses does Blunkett have?
No doubt there will be caveats to exclude politicians, as a special case of course, nothing to do with feathering nests.

A 1% annual tax payable on the value of every seco...

2006-10-30T11:13:00.000Z

A 1% annual tax payable on the value of every second home would free up the housing market a bit.

Despite the pratt like way this issue has been rai...

2006-10-30T08:16:00.000Z

Despite the pratt like way this issue has been raised, it does have some validity..but not in restricting supply or penalising ownership...thats a free market choice, its all about supply and demand and means building on green field sites, loosening up on restrictions, keeping the Wallys at English Nature off-site instead of them looking for fucking newts and snails and screwing up the build..There will always be a few hot spots where you can never solve the problem like SE Devon or the Lake District but that shouldn't mean onerious taxation or legistlation to crack a not very large nut!

Living and working in one of the more expensive pa...

2006-10-29T22:20:00.000Z

Living and working in one of the more expensive parts of the country (not reflected in my salary as a skilled cabinet maker) I have struggled to put a foot on the property ladder. Part of the struggle is not only finding a place I can afford but in bidding against those buying to let, either companies or those making an investment in property. I have nothing against anyone making a profit but some common sense has to be used. I don't have the financial clout of these companies or individuals and have been left out of pocket several times after making an offer, which was accepted, then arranging surveys, lawyers, etc, only to be gazumped by someone coming along at the last minute and offering more money. I know I can move to a cheaper part of the country but I was born and raised here; my friends and family are here; as are my wife's friends and family. This is the part of the country where we wish to raise our children. In some other countries, anyone wishing to buy more than one house has to form a company for the second or more houses. The rates and taxes for these are at the higher commercial rates. This gives the first time buyers a more level field to play on. A large block of low cost housing for essential occupations has just been built near me and more than 70% of them were bought by companies or professional landlords for letting.
I can only hope that someone, somewhere, finds a sensible solution to this mess or else this country is going to consist of lawyers, politicians, landlords and those on benefits.
Chippy

Remarks like this guarantee that yo bitch does, in...

2006-10-29T22:12:00.000Z

Remarks like this guarantee that yo bitch does, in fact, have a nice little pied a terre in the country, only its owned by her mega rich boyfriend

I'd love to know where you live Cinammon. The rent...

2006-10-29T20:55:00.000Z

I'd love to know where you live Cinammon.

The rent on the flat I rent is equal to the interest on the mortgage required to buy the place. The landlord covers his mortgage and the asset price increases over time.

The housing shortage is caused by people who know ...

2006-10-29T20:12:00.000Z

The housing shortage is caused by people who know they will not get pension, and so are buying-to-let in the hope that this will be sufficient.

Right now it is cheaper to rent and save than it is to buy, and the amount of money the Government is raking in in stamp duty on even the most modest hovels is staggering. Houses are the new tulips -- I rent a very nice house for a 1/3 of what the equivalent mortgage would cost me, I am free to move at the drop of a hat and can invest my savings more flexible. Ok, I lose out on the 'house price inflation' leverage, but I am also immune to a 'house price crash', undesirable neighbors or inconvenient local developments that can shave thousands of my 'investment' or make my life a misery, and all the expense that goes with owning a house, vs. renting it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush -- and looking at the huge amount of places that are available for renting and empty, I have to say there is no housing shortage, just a shortage of affordable houses for owner occupiers.

Looking at the demographics of Britain, it is doubtful that those hoping to gain a pension from land-lording will be successful -- the only winners are the banks and the treasury -- it costs a homeowner on average £12000 pounds to move, whereas a tenant spends about £1000.

In about a year's time, the Buy-to-let landlord will be public enemy Nr.1 and the treasury who is currently trying desperately to up the tax take will be devising schemes to get their pound of flesh -- and as soon as it is realized that people have stopped to bother having families as 6 month rental contracts do not offer sufficient stability to bring up children and guarantee them uninterrupted schooling, the law is very likely to be changed in favor of the tenants(Save the children!!!), and people will find that their 'investment' has been commandeered as 'social council housing'.

A lot of the new mortgages are interest-only, very often self-certified(lie-to-buy), and what is more, tenants currently have no legal protection if the landlord defaults and can be evicted without notice. Once this starts to become a frequent occurrence, the government will have an easy time to 'punish the evil landlords' with a vengeance whilst scoring brownie points with the electorate -- all perfectly timed for the next election too!

...excess second home ownership...What's that mean...

2006-10-29T18:07:00.000Z

...excess second home ownership...

What's that meant to mean?

The rise in second hom ownership, and beynd to thi...

2006-10-29T17:33:00.000Z

The rise in second hom ownership, and beynd to third and fourth etc. is down to them being such a good ivestment, and everything else being such a bad investment...quite as simple as that.

This fucking Government needed people to have access to large loans in order to keep their plans on track by through growth, and the only way to do that was to ensure that the retail sector stayed buoyant...so this Government has deliberately fueled the housing price rise by making it the most attractive investment.

How many Vultures does it take to pick a corpse cl...

2006-10-29T17:07:00.000Z

How many Vultures does it take to pick a corpse clean?
One Housing Officer from the Local Council.

No great shock really, Lib Dem MP in marginal cons...

2006-10-29T16:35:00.000Z

No great shock really, Lib Dem MP in marginal constituency makes stupid populist statement in attempt to win over poor people.

No-one will take it seriously, but it will look good on the front of the Cornish Herald or whatever they call their local rag.

Look there's bound to be a shortage of homes, look...

2006-10-29T16:14:00.000Z

Look there's bound to be a shortage of homes, look at all those Tory MP's who keep dumping their wives and running off with blokes: they've got to live somewhere!

Jus coz it's Sunday this has to be shared.http://m...

2006-10-29T14:49:00.000Z

Jus coz it's Sunday this has to be shared.
http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=172038#TellAFriend
enjoy

Did I read somewhere that Chris Huhne has FIVE hou...

2006-10-29T13:30:00.000Z

Did I read somewhere that Chris Huhne has FIVE houses. If he really has, it would be terrbly splendid to get his personal take on this proposal.
Toodle pip !!!
Oldsilverfox.

As they try to steal houses/land the short term in...

2006-10-29T12:48:00.000Z

As they try to steal houses/land the short term increase in available houses will be countered by a drop in entrepreneurialism in the housing sector.People staying beneath the 15 home limit for affordable provision etc.If they want houses they should slacken the planning process (which has become almost daft) and let the market get on with it.

Yes the housing shortage is caused by stupid plann...

2006-10-29T12:39:00.000Z

Yes the housing shortage is caused by stupid planning permission. Like the case in Wales I know of where the idiot council would not let someone build a house on his own farm for his offspring (who works for the farm) telling them that she had to live in the local village.

How dumb can that be? You can build a house on your own freaking land?

Most council officials earn more than M.P.s. In Ca...

2006-10-29T11:28:00.000Z

Most council officials earn more than M.P.s. In Carmarthenshire, the council chairman, Jim Jones, in addition to his £120k salary, last year, spent £30k on a chaffeur and jaguar to visit "functions". Many of these functions were at rugby stadiums and golf courses.
He has declined to comment, but his £48k p.a. press officer said that "The public don`t understand, important people need good quality transport".
The local house prices are high, as is coucil tax.

As someone who lives in Cumbria, I can completely ...

2006-10-29T10:17:00.000Z

As someone who lives in Cumbria, I can completely agree with her opinion that something needs to be done.

England is a small country, with limited space and a dense population. As the population increases, house prices are likely to rise as competition for houses grows. Something – though I'm not sure what – needs to be done to allow those on lower incomes be able to own their own homes. In Cumbria, wages are low but property prices are high – a 2 small 2 bed terrace can be well over £300k in a village where you'd be lucky to earn more that £16k a year.

Charley

The Laughing Cavalier said...Presumably Members of...

2006-10-29T10:10:00.000Z

The Laughing Cavalier said...
Presumably Members of Parliament will exempt themselves from this legislation?.

Tish tish. how cynical. you clearly do not understand that the circumstances facing our intrepid leaders are totally to different to those faced by the plebs.

The job they do is special and therefore they should not be expected to suffer from an punitive legislation that they introduce.

What's the point of being an MP if you cant get some perks.

Exclusion from any penalties from multi home ownership would sit nicely with not having to produce receipts to support their expense claims and having a different set of pension rules that the working man (and woman) can only dream of.

Presumably Members of Parliament will exempt thems...

2006-10-29T09:25:00.000Z

Presumably Members of Parliament will exempt themselves from this legislation.

Of course the South West has the permanent homes o...

2006-10-29T00:49:00.000+01:00

Of course the South West has the permanent homes of many service personnel, who tend to get a bit uptight about restrictions on "second" homes when the exigencies of the service mean that they must temporarily live in married quarters if they want to see their families.

Love cornwall, spend much time there. Own a 2nd h...

2006-10-28T23:58:00.000+01:00

Love cornwall, spend much time there. Own a 2nd home in St. Ives. I guess Julia won't be coming around for supper then. Many of the locals in St. Ives and surrounding areas like the money that the incomers bring, but bemoan the house prices forcing their children to leave. When pointed out in economics 101 that restricting the sale of property to locals (or any other restrictive schemes) will cause an instant collapse in Cornish house prices they soon shut up!