Are we that desperate to get on the housing "ladder"?

[formant]

Are we that desperate to get on the housing "ladder"?

most recent experience I had was moving a friend into a Housing association house.

light switches broken, dodgy plumbing , extractor fan broken -all wear and tear/accidental, drainage in front of door inadequate.

saw all that in 30 minutes. maybe the inspections aren't all that effective.

The thing about 1-2 bad apples is that they can kill the profit for a number of properties.


Both Part P & Corgi forbid signing off other people's work without in progress inspections. This is to stop people using choc blocks to join electric shower cables under the bath behind the bath paneletc. which is apparently quite common. I can't see how the German inspections can achieve a similar level of safety using just visual non invasive inspection.

I think we're talking about different things. The inspections that bother me in the UK have nothing to do with safety - they're entirely visual, with the landlord or letting agent checking how clean and tidy you're keeping the place and complaining if you dared to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture. Germany has very similar requirements for electrical and gas safety, and those are enforced whenever work is done. The landlord is legally bound to maintain and fix such installations, and the tenant is required to report any issues. That's all part of the heavy regulation around rentals there.

In all my years in Germany I've never seen any flat rented out in the condition you're describing for that housing association. But I have seen similarly poor standards from private UK landlords. I'm always amazed what rubbish properties still get picked up by (desperate?) tenants.

[CheeseSlice]

The whole point is that if you are young and don't have a family, that is not a huge downside. Conversely with a family you buy because that would be a big problem.

I should have said I was renting unfurnished properties and had lots of own furniture from a previously owned house. Moving a dining table, chairs, sofas, futon, dish washer, washing machine, double bed, etc, etc just because you're landlord decides to sell the house isn't fun.

[darmstadt]

This is a Housing Association place here in Darmstadt that I was going to move into but decided not too as everything is rounded so its not too easy putting up shelves!

Waldspirale

[EternalOptimist]

I may be in the minority, but i have no interest in buying a house, even though i could easily afford it.

My rent and living costs come to £450 a month, i live in a modern house within a 5 minute walk to the station, and live away depending on the clientco. I am not in a serious relationship, and have no interest in having children. There is so much pressure on people to buy a house, i have seen friends buy houses, rent out their spare rooms to strangers and it ends up costing them more money than it would be to rent a room privately.

I am more than happy building up a money pile, and when the inevitable crash does happen, i can buy somewhere with a large deposit if i want to.

Wise man. very wise man.
Not because you are right (im not sure about that) but because you are thinking for yourself.
I would rather make a decision, crash and burn than be a sheep waiting to be fleeced

good man, and I hope it works out for you