Online House Hunting - 33,000 couldbe made homeless by repossessions ?

33,000 couldbe made homeless by repossessions ?

We read that economists warn that 33,000 could be made homeless by the housing repossessions by mortgage lenders. But what about all those that are already homeless becuase they cannot afford the current high prices of properties ? Will it the situation not just balance itself out as those who previously could not aford a home, such as myself, manage to jump on the bottom rung of the 'housing ladder' ? Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/money/article.html?in_article_id=144855&in_page_id=36

Public Comments

It might. You've got to consider that there are a LOT of very low priced foreclosed homes on auction and in the market right now.
Why not just rent? It's a safety ladder that you can jump off of or climb up.
Its such as awful situation......i feel sorry to everyone being milked by the system, and trying to survive.
those 33k people were living above their means on a bubble of happy thoughts and nothing else. Home prices should drop, but so does the number of houses being built, which will raise prices. The market will not go up or down much from YOUR standpoint. But you can easily buy a house that was repossesed, those will be cheap. The new ones will still likely be above you.
They new the risks when they took out their mortgages!. most could not afford any increase in interest payment's but still went ahead.
People should not have borrowed more than they could afford for over priced homes I nearly did the same but thanks to some bloody good advice from my financial adviser i saw sense and borrowed in my limit a wise man he saw this coming
A long time ago in the US people could actually go to jail for not paying their bills. A lot of it is the mortgage companies fault for giving people loans that really didn't qualify for. They just wanted to give out as many loans as possible to make money. They didn't really care about the credit worthiness of the people borrowing.
the 33,000 is A low est. as I see it. over inflated prices of homes is what killed the California economy the first time and it is again the bullet that has put it down Again... but this time is is taking the rest of the world with it........... We are in for 1` UGLY time for the poor like we are my friend. hang on and PRAY for shelter from this storm...
No if their are already millions of homeless people out there; then how would adding more to this would it equal out, if you couldn't afford to buy a house a year ago what makes you think you will be now? it is a buyers market, unless you have an enormous savings account or your rich. i would say the poor are just going to get poorer. we are already cutting back now. when you purchase a home you also have to pay for home owners insurance and property taxes. can you afford all of this now when you couldn't before, it's only gonna get worse.
join us in tent city outside LA, fastest growing camp outside of darfur.
since the 1980's people have been convinced that it is their right to own their own home before this many people were quite happy to rent but we have been brainwashed into tbinking that renting is 'dead money' it is sad but true that many people have been encouraged to live beyond their means and have taken out 100% mortgages with no savings as a safety net a 100% mortgage means that the borrower is taking on a debt without a deposit as a buffer - quite a risky position to be in the price of houses isn't what is making people homeless .... it is people taking on a debt they cannot afford ..... that coupled with the 'right to buy' sell off of council houses ..... sometimes our expectations are not realistic .... sorry
There is still a problem for first time buyers trying to get on the housing ladder. Although property prices may fall, the cost of a mortgage is, if anything, rising. The banks are not passing on reduced interest rates to customers, and are also demanding larger deposits. By the time you have saved enough for the deposit, the price of houses may well have increased.
It's really awful. It reminds me of the nineties when the rates soared and lots of people lost their homes then. I don't know where everyone will go, as their are no Council properties to rent and private landlords will take peoples eyes out and go back for the sockets! But if you are in a position to, I reckon you just might get a bargain, unfortunately, one mans bargain will be another mans loss.. But I have always said, we should live within our means and take responsibility for our own actions...
What is lacking in the UK is a properly controlled house and flat renting market. The renting market is very little controlled by law. -A landlord can evict a tenant by simply giving him a week's notice. Other European countries look at the renting market as the main source of habitation and buying is the alternative. Not so in the UK. That, in my view, is the problem. It is absolutely crazy that a couple save the required 10% deposit, then pay legal fees and surveying fees amounting easily to 2 or 3 thousand pounds.... then after 5 years.... repossession. That couple, on repossession, could have lost a grand total of £80,000 including 5 years of mortgage monthly repayments and then they find themselves homeless, bad creedit atached to theri name with no further possiblity to buy ever again. -------CRAZY and wrong !!
One door closes and another one openes. Property prices are too high but I feel sorry for the ones lumbered with high mortgages and also for the ones like you who can't afford these sky high prices.
There are going to be many cheap properties bought at auction.
This all began when homes became investment commodities, instead of a dwelling & somewhere to live.
It comes down to people got property they knew they couldn't pay for or had to finance at an interest rate or certain type of loan because of bad credit initially. Enter corrupt loan brokers and appraisers and you have this situation. In my area alone I have seen 16 loan brokers get prison time in the last 2 to3 years. It's sad to say this but the borrowers are explained the details of a loan completely before securing the loan therefore they are responsible unless some crime outside of their control has been committed.
Yes I think the market will balance itself and house prices will decrease and will become affordable to people who hitherto have been unable to get a foot on the ladder. There are going to be winners and losers in this levelling out of the market. I wonder what would happen if people who have mortgages and cannot afford them because the banks and other financial institutions encouraged irresponsible lending dug their heels in and just stayed in the properties and refused to budge and then resume payments when they could afford to. They find themselves in a very difficult position (not really of their making) - if they have children would it make sense to make them homeless. Perhaps those 33,000 ought to challenge the financial institutions and see what happens. There has been gross irresponsible lending as well as borrowing. Waves : I agree totally with yr view. Homes (not houses for investment purposes).
If you read the Metro, I presume that you're a Londoner? I don't think that the house prices will fall as much in London as elsewhere simply because demand (consistently) exceeds supply. When I started looking for properties in 1999, no one would touch "Ex-local authority" properties on estates with a barge pole, as there was plenty of other more "desirable" housing about. You could therefore pick up one of these properties at a significant discount. Now, estate agents describe them as being in a "purpose built block" and I saw a one-bed going for £375k yesterday.
they will have to rent just like all people in the past who were repossessed. Some people have only themselves to blame they wanted what they could not afford and now its payback time...so many lied about what they earned..so many used their houses as an ATM....some could have downsized when they began to have difficulty but they were in denial and the houses will be seized.... I bought a property a lot cheaper than I could afford bcoz I looked at 2 scenarios for example.....what if the rates went to 7%.....or if I became unemployed or ill how long could I pay the mortgage from savings while trying to sell etc.... GREED and INSTANT GRATIFICATION is a serious problem in this country end of.... we will all learn lessons from this UNTIL THE NEXT TIME...... Good luck first time buyers get your hands on some repossessions.............