Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

I suppose it all depends what line of work you`re in - like anywhere else in the world some people will get on fine while others struggle.

In the past 12 months I`ve seen a lot of reference to people struggling in the building trade in Oz while at the same time I know people at various levels within IT industry who say they seen no decrease whatsoever.

The brother-in-law moved out to Oz about 6 months ago and took a job in Coffs Harbour (auto electrician). They recently decided they want to go to Brisbane and he sent out 5 CVs to companies he liked the look of. Out of the 5 he has been offered 3 jobs straight over the telephone within the past 10 days.

Just goes to show ones persons experience may be very different from another persons. Best of luck to ya!

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

Not too long ago in London it was 'no dogs no blacks no Irish',so i told them i was a white south african with a cat;)

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

Absolutely. We had to rent unexpectedly a few years ago, after we'd sold our house. We couldn't find anywhere that would let us have our dog so we just hid her.
Her walks were either very early, very late or we would sneak her into the car and drive somewhere :D
She is not dirty or destructive and we limited the rooms that she could go into so it wasn't a problem.

I'm not looking forward to renting again. I like to be able to (get my OH to :p) decorate, put up pics etc, as I wish.

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

Your rent does not go down every year, you increase the amount of capital you personally have employed in your home every year. That capital could be earning more cash if employed elsewhere definitely in this market.

Your 'gains' by downsizing are purely the capital you have built up over years of mortgage repayments. Unless there have been capital gains in the value of your property, which are just as likely as capital losses in a rational market. In fact capital values in a rational market should decline because constructions have a finite lifespan and require maintenance and thus should depreciate over time. The Herengracht Index/Study examined real estate prices in Amsterdam over a period of roughly 350 years between the 17th and 20th centuries and found that capital values appreciated very little on an annualised basis.

As for being able to 'nick' a few quid off your mortgage every now and then. If the market continues in the current vein then the renter will always have abundantly more disposable income than you. If the renter saves on an ongoing basis to buy a house later in life then they will still have more cash than you.

If property does crash then the renter gets even more benefit. You would be stuck in negative equity unable to move house. You would be overpaying for your housing utility through interest repayments on an excessive mortgage principal and you would still be paying down that excessive mortgage principal. The renter on the other hand will have a lump of capital saved up if they are smart and can buy with a smaller mortgage or they can continue to rent in a depressed market.

Of course there is a possibility that the market could continue to spiral upwards, but unless the capital gains year on year are greater than 5 to 7 per cent then the renter is still in a better postion than the homeowner.

Of course renting has it's downside such as security of tenure and the possibility of dealing with an unreasonable landlord or agent. These are risks that are present with home ownership also. There is no risk associated with renting that justifies the premium demanded by the current market.

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

You would have to take each case on it's own.
70% of ozzies own or are buying their own homes. (Infofrom SIH) so it can't be that bad owning your own home can it?
Each to their own I suppose.

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

It's true, there are positives and negatives to either position. Too often people fail to recognise that.

On the subject of the 70%, even if they had bought in conditions similar to those prevailing currently, I would never favour blindly following the herd. In fact it's often beneficial to go against the status quo. In the investment world that can be the difference between 'value' investing and 'greater fool' speculation.

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

This bit has me puzzled this morning.

Re: From The Frying Pan To The Fire?
 

The parallels with owning? The government could compulsorily purchase your house for a nuclear waste facility tomorrow morning and there would be very little you could do about it. The king of the bogans and his six bogan wives could move in next door to you tomorrow and fill the air with the sound of a thousand V8s from morning to night. Your house purchase could go wrong and you could be ripped off by any number of people. On the other hand with renting there is also the trade-off that you are footloose. If the king of the bogans moves in next door then you can move.