Jan 13th, 2016: Unique Real Estate

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

There are a number of Government sponsored schemes to assist key workers with housing purchase or rental simply in order to keep these vital services going.

Are the decisions based on income, or the actual type of job that one holds? That is, are they choosing to house nurses, or simply choosing to house anyone who makes less than X amount of money?

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Are the decisions based on income, or the actual type of job that one holds? That is, are they choosing to house nurses, or simply choosing to house anyone who makes less than X amount of money?

There is a list of key workers which is the basic filter but there are also rules about household income amongst other things.

Have a look here:

http://www.homebuyservice.co.uk/elig...igibility.html

Apologies for not constructing a proper link, but I'm posting on a not very co-operative iPad!

[xoxoxoBruce]

There are a set amount of properties available from each housing association that are reserved exclusively for the use of Key workers, in order to be eligible for these homes each of the key worker job sectors have their own criteria set out below.

Hmm. I wonder if this group of reserved properties are bunched together in each housing association? Make it easier for terrorists to take out key people.
Probably not, just a certain total as they become available must go to someone with a gold ticket.

[Carruthers]

There is a great deal of overseas wealth in London which is forcing up property prices.
Flats (apartments) and houses are bought and perhaps occupied for a few months a year, but are very often left empty waiting for the price to go up.
Much of the foreign 'investment' comes from Arabs (oil), Malaysians (property), Chinese (industry) and Russians (don't ask).
I suppose that if you can only get 0.5% on your money from the bank, you might as well 'park it' in property and watch the value increase by 5% pa.

There's a good article from the Guardian here:

Londoners miss out as homes built as ‘safe deposit boxes’ for foreign buyers

And another one from the Daily Telegraph here:

These are the foreigners ruining our country

On the face of it, it's a rather inflammatory headline, but do read on.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Traditionally, if the Headlines aren't inflammatory they don't sell papers (or attract clicks), and aren't doing their job properly.

[Sundae]

One thing that used to bug me, before I just became immersed in my own personal misery, was that admin staff were not included as Key Workers.

I don't mean people who do the filing for rich bankers, or make the coffee for advertising corporations. I mean the admin roles in schools, the NHS, the Emergency Services. Often roles which require more dedication than those in the private sector, at lower pay, with less fringe benefits. See how long your local hospital lasts when no-one knows how to put paper in the photocopier, or where they keep the stapler.

Oh wait - the NHS are playing that game already...

ALL figures below approximate btw, but not deliberately skewed:

Average salary in the UK is £25,000 ($36,000)
Average house price is £275,000
Normal (most common) mortgage awarded on 3x up to 4x salary.
As a single person I'd have to earn £50,000-60,000 pa.
Highest salary earned by my good self? £22k
Priced out of the market? Oh yeah.

[DanaC]

My highest salary was about 17k I think