rugbymatt

Actually Hillybilly I was more referring to the distinct difference between borrowing and buying....


Now, if someone has gone out and spent a fortune of essentially what's not their own money then yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you, but in many cases now in the UK thats simply not the case, people have, for the last year at least, been struggling, and I mean real people, not the statistics you see all over the papers and TV. Bills have risen by an unsustainable amount, electricity bills alone are up 47% on last year, thats over £600 a year extra in some cases, and for many people, especially those on a fixed income, thats simply too much to cope with. The only way round this is to borrow, the only way out of the hell that many are living in is to accept the horrendous terms that are ONLY being offered at the moment. Yeah, in hindsight 39% APR is WAY too much, but in reality, if thats the only way you can find £1000 to pay the ridiculous council tax then what else do you do? Go to court? Get a CCJ? Have bailiffs bang on the door at 6am? Not really an option when you have worked all your life, given to the state and payed your taxes is it???????

rugbymatt

I am struggling not to accuse some people on here of being sanctimonious, really struggling!

Hillybilly

I don't mind if you accuse me of being sanctimonious!
I lived through it myself when I was 6 years old in the early 70's and my mother's house was repossessed following the divorce of my parents. We HAD bailiffs knocking on the door from whom I was taught to hide by lying down beneath a window, with the electricity cut off for non-payment and my mother borrowing from her family and selling whatever she had of value to try to keep a roof over our heads. We ended up being rehomed in a grim council flat.
But that taught me personally a valuable lesson which was (barring exceptional, unfortunate circumstances: death, divorce, illness and redundancy) to live within my means. Does that make me sanctimonious Maybe it's all part of life's learning experience which unless you've gone through personally you don't get?

rugbymatt

I didn't actually mean you.................


Funny how people just read what they want to read innit?


I think I will go back to hijacking and tonterias......

smartmove

The world is too connected now, there are very few countries where you can hide from your debts now, it's just not worth the risk. Come to an arrangement with the bank, don't run from the problem.

rachelk

A friend of mine works in a bank here. She says the staff there are being given training to help them deal with this kind of situation. The don't want people handing over the keys - they want agreements re future payments.

Mookster

I can assure you through helping a friend through bankruptcy that none of the depts are "bankrupt proof" including the inland revenue etc.
However people seem to assume that once they go bankrupt that is the end of it, it isnt.
You are expected to continue to pay off your depts from any future income for an agreed term before your bankrucy becomes "discharged" and if the court appointed official believes you havent made efforts to pay the depts or have been less than honest with him he will not recommend to the court that you are disharged from the bankruptcy order.

Mookster

Ummmmm....what about the reckelssness and stupidity of the borrower to borrow beyond there means to repay?
A plan B or at least buy a property at a value that leaves you room to manouvre if times get hard.
I mean, who in there right mind borrows 130% of a properties value ? were is the deposit that they have saved for the property? at 130% if things go wrong they cant get out of it as they dont have any equity, now that is what i call reckless, stupid and greedy.
If they saved a deposit like most sensible people and borrowed 80% then they can get out of it with a lot less grief, posibly a small dept if the market really colapses like it has which no one expected the depth of the collapse. Instead they wipe out their whole financial life for years to come.
Now thats STUPID, RECKLESS AND GREEDY in my eyes.
The banks didnt make them take out 130% loan.

Mookster

Keep them seperate ? why ? they are intrinsically linked, you wouldnt borrow anything unless you wished to buy something, and you couldnt buy anything if this value unless you borrowed. Why on earth do you think they are seperate issues ?
(SNIP)

Mookster

There is no "equity" thats the problem, there is dept and that is what they are resposible for, THEIR depts, not the banks, not the dogs, no one elses dept, THEIR dept.

Mitzyboy

No maybe not, but they are professionals and should assess the risk properly ... they clearly havent in past years and there is no doubt they must shoulder some of the blame

Mookster

well said that man, the voice of common sense

scampicat

Whilst sympathising with people who are losing their homes, I also do not understand why people borrow 130% mortgages for houses which are far bigger than they need, nor why they come here having taken out said mortgage and then have no income (don't quite know how they manage that but it does happen).

It is sometimes down to irresponsible borrowing as well as irresponsible lending.

pete_l

Simply put, greed. A lot of people have never had to think seriously about recession or tough times. They see house prices rising every year and think "why shouldn't I get a piece of that?". Now, they are told (incessantly) that the value of investments can go down as well as up, but think "yeah yeah" and ignore the advice which has now bitten them in the @ss.

rugbymatt

So glad you understood my quote, now run along and bother someone who is more impressed..........