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"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Alot of these empty places have been let to rot, so they do require TLC that most probably just can't afford.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
It's only normal for them to have a sense of entitlement after that graft.
a) they arent as popular in the area as there are a load of new builds going up.
b) they are roomier with more overall plot area
c) they are cheaper for a comparable size house than a new build.
d)more opportunity to negotiate on price if its a slow mover...
So if people are focussing on new builds only, i think they may be missing a trick. That being said builders do offer a LOT of incentives to buy new from them so i can understand the draw, that and the chance to spec it as you like along with no work needed.....
It won't change anytime soon. There is no desire among those with the influence to enact change.
I'd love to buy a house. Can't afford it. Simple as that.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Now, obviously that's a sweeping generalisation but in demographic terms, it's older people who vote and its older people who stand to lose if lots of new houses go up (their nest eggs lose value). So no government is going to risk overly pissing off their core vote by forcing through the building of lots of new houses.
It's the same reason why nobody has ever dared tackle the state pension ponzi scheme - national insurance should have increased in the 90s but it would be a massive vote loser so nobody dared.
If I read the ipsos mori statistics right then 40% of 18-24 year olds voted in the last GE as compared to over 70% of over 45 year olds. Turnout is also lower amongst renters and the working classes - the people more likely to need help buying a house.
If the 5 million odd 18-24 year olds who don't vote start showing up to elections - regardless of who they vote for - then political parties may finally start pursuing policies that target younger people instead of pandering to the older NIMBY and BANANA demographics.
I live in SE London. A couple of houses near me have been boarded up for year but reacently have been gutted and turned into 4 smaller affordable houses (if you can call £500,000 affordable).
They didn't sell, they couldn't be rented out. I assume the developer has now got bust as they are now up for auction.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/02/03/unprecedented-recent-times-rents-across-uk-set-fall-year/
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
I managed to get in when banks were lending like water, before the crash. Got a sensible mortgage which I could still afford if the interest rate doubled (of course, it fell in the end!), grafted away, chipped at the mortgage. On balance and despite the crash, I'm well in the black now and lucky to be so - it certainly wasn't through my own guile as a lot of homeowners will tell you ("oh you've just got to buy at the right time like us, we're so clever", blah blah fucking blah).
The big bit of luck for me is that through sheer circumstance, I wouldn't be able to do it now with the means I had then. I really really feel for anyone trying to buy for the first time around here, never mind in the south-east. We need more houses built and lots of them. Prices are insane, the market can't exist just to prop up speculators.
And while I'm about it, why can't planners and builders alike use a bit of imagination with new housing? Why does it all have to be made to look like old housing just to appease a few Telegraph readers? Use new materials and new designs, use space more efficiently, and build houses that are desirable instead of shoeboxes built to a legal minimum room size.
And yes I agree that modern housing looks so boring. Doesn't actually look like old housing, just looks shit, imagination is needed!
My feedback thread is here.
And year it does piss me off that they make all these new box estates with flint infill in the brickwork or fake stone quions when the overall footprint of the over priced estate resembles colditz.
Apart from the odd one in which some poisonous, moneyed architect with far too much self importance buys a plot of land in the middle of a London street of £1.6 million Georgian terraces and builds a house that looks like a spaceship out of Battlestar Galactica just to piss the locals off.
We also have some 'crash pad' developments which sold out the minute they were launched. They are designed for the busy millennial who just wants somewhere to 'crash' due to their busy lifestyle. Basically it's three room flat - one large bedroom, a bathroom and an open area with a kitchen/diner and lounge. Great way to get on the housing ladder and the developers put them up on a disused factory site within a two minute walk of the main railway station with links to Kings Cross. When the come on the market they sell very quickly.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
I'm surprised that FTBs want a new build - the quality can be shocking and why would you want to live on a ring road or on an estate on the edge of town?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/28/bovis-home-hundreds-of-snags-angry-buyers-unfinished-homes
https://www.newofficeeurope.com/images/serviced-offices/serviced-offices-barkat-house-finchley-road-camden-london_5_800_458_s.jpg