Affordable Homes

[ladymuck]

I blame Sarah Beeny. If she didn't have such huge knockers then no one would have paid attention to her.

[Shimano105]

Also, why should local people have preferential treatment? Why are they being insulated from market forces? Will they not sell for a profit on a whim if they have the chance?

I think the restriction should be to have to prove that you are going to actually live there and not be buying to merely invest, which is the cause of the housing crisis.

[DimPrawn]

Same could be said of Buy To Let.

Millions of empty Buy To Lets and millions wanting to own a home but can't as all the low end property has been snapped up by investors?

[Hart-floot]

Also, why should local people have preferential treatment? Why are they being insulated from market forces?

Because its fair that's why! You obviously dont come from an area where this is happening big time.

The likely solution is that we will end up with two property markets, similar to the market in Guernsey, where the indigenous community have been afforded some protection from the wealthier incommers.

[SameOldStory]

Because its fair that's why! You obviously dont come from an area where this is happening big time.

The likely solution is that we will end up with two property markets, similar to the market in Guernsey, where the indigenous community have been afforded some protection from the wealthier incommers.

What's fair got to do with anything?
Why is it fair that people who already live in an area get a right to buy cheap property in that area, but someone living outside that area (who can't afford houses where they live at the moment) has to pay a higher price?

When did house ownership suddenly become a right?

If you can't afford to buy, you can't buy.

I can't afford my own jet plane, should the government be forced to make affordable planes for me?

[The Lone Gunman]

Didnt Flash say we were all moving up the value ladder jobs wise? Surely nobody needs cheaper housing!

[ASB]

I see a lot of companies selling tiddly plots for £10K (yeah right), but also away from these rip off land investment companies are genuine farmland and paddocks for sale in the South of England for £50 or £60K. Usually about 4 or 5 acres of land.

e.g. http://www.primelocation.com/farms-e...lafa999000384/

These no point buying a 10m square plot among 100 others I agree.

Do you think this is a good investment?

Unlikely.

If you are even thinking about planning you need a 20 year timeframe. You will need the structure plan for the current 10 years and the last 2 decades. Then you can see how development boundaries have moved, and start lobbying to get yourself classified as possible for the next structure plan. Then you might just get in the one after that. In a lot of areas cars, thick envolopes, and the ear of the right people have been alleged to help smooth the process through

Given the changes to subsidys ensure it is at the very least registered for the single payment scheme. In a few years time this will be the only agricultural subsidy, and be paid at approx 200 gbp per hectare. The instant loss of income will seriously devalue land holdings if they are not registered - and a lot of poeple did not register modest holdings.

Here in sunny Somerset it is possible to sell the grass keep, pick up the single payment and get about 5% yield assuming pastureland prices of 4k/acre.

Strategically bought land which is adjacent can be very useful though. I bought 5 acres behind my property about 5 years ago. That's worth about 50k to the purchaser of my house (should I sell). It provide just the right amount of land for half a dozen horses and is not difficult to maintain. If it was not physically adjoining it would be worth about half that.

[Hart-floot]

What's fair got to do with anything?
Why is it fair that people who already live in an area get a right to buy cheap property in that area, but someone living outside that area (who can't afford houses where they live at the moment) has to pay a higher price?

When did house ownership suddenly become a right?

If you can't afford to buy, you can't buy.

I can't afford my own jet plane, should the government be forced to make affordable planes for me?

True home ownership is not a right. The solution to the problem of rural housing is to build more homes for rent so that they can be let to locals.

I can think of many places where i grew up that are now dormitary villages for wealthy pensioners to die in. The local population who dont earn the same salaries cannot compete with people (like us) who earn higher salaries. Result the village looses all sense of community, schools, doctors surgeries close down etc etc

In Guernsey they have two housing markets, one for the locals and the other for ex-pats. I know ex-pats hate it but from the indigenous population's point of view it seems to function well and allows them to own/buy/sell property. If it did not exist the local population would quickly be priced out of the market ending up in buy to let or in the dross housing.

[ratewhore]

These schemes are a con.

Near me one of these companies bought some land from a local farmer.

Next thing he finds out its been sub-divided and sold off mostly to people who seem to think that owning a few square metres of land will help them in their quest for a UK passport.

The land has no planning permission and will never get it. Its prime agricultural land, in an AONB. Developers would not touch it with a barge pole as they dont want to deal with 100's of owners. The local authority has stated they would never give planning permission.
Its all pretty sad really. The company have made hundreds of thousands and the buyers lost thousands each.

Yeah - I looked into one of these schemes. 0.1 acre of buckinghamshire greenfield land for about £15K. There were about 12-14 plots available so total value of, say, £210,000. I since found out the seller bought the field from the farmer 4 months earlier for £50,000.

So I guess the moral of the story is; if you want to make the cash, buy the field first, then sell it out in plots. Don't buy the plot, there's a very, very minimal chance of getting even OPP...

[MrsGoof]

a guy that works here used to be a farmer, over several years he has sold several blocks of land to developers, and in the contract he also gets to keep some property they build, I also understand the farm is still fecking huge and he still makes good money from it.

:kerching: