The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

Do they own their houses?

Haven't asked outright but from their talk about doing up the attic and such it sounds it.

Living rent free with parents and having them as support is a massive, massive difference. It was something to come to terms with when I immigrated and something I guess I still haven't come to terms with  when it comes to what I consider acceptable quality in properties I am to shell out inordinate amounts of money for. Namely that although I had a white collar/lower middle class income back in Hungary as well as here (relatively - I'd be an upper middle class mofo if I could earn my British wage in Hungary), the big difference was that in Hungary I could rely on the solidly middle-middle class environment (wealth, contacts etc) created by my parents.

Yeah, its a massively under-rated factor in regional inequality in the UK. You've such a huge advantage to come from London even if its the shittiest part of London. Smaller advantages also available for other cities.
Thankfully unpaid internships are illegal these days so at least some avenues aren't totally barred to regular kids from outside the M25.

For me my parents haven't given me any money for a long time (when I was in my most desperate financial dire straights at uni they gave me a small amount), quite the opposite. But for sure it helps to have free and low cost trades on hand. When I switch to my Alpine manor things shall be tough.

[Tamas]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

Sounds like shared ownership in the UK. But over here it appears to shady to be trusted. Usually if you multiply up to the full value of what they expect to pay for a quarter you realise it is grossly overpriced. And for houses under shared ownership, they all seem to be leasehold which is highly unusual for non-flats and a clear indication something fishy is going on and they are looking to dupe you.

[Josquius]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

Sounds like shared ownership in the UK. But over here it appears to shady to be trusted. Usually if you multiply up to the full value of what they expect to pay for a quarter you realise it is grossly overpriced. And for houses under shared ownership, they all seem to be leasehold which is highly unusual for non-flats and a clear indication something fishy is going on and they are looking to dupe you.

I did a fair bit of work in this area. They're not particularly shady in themselves- as far as leasehold can be non-shady of course. The rental side of things is much cheaper than renting normally (since you're only renting x% of a house), and you're building equity with most of the rest of what you're paying.
The big thing to watch out for IMO is that a lot of them limit the share you can buy up to and its not actually possible to ever buy them outright since they're meant to be there as starter homes  and they expect you'll be selling to someone else getting their first start and moving on to somewhere else.
Which....you know, sounds fairly fair to me framed in terms of building equity whilst having somewhere to live on the side.

Seperately one thing that annoys me to hell is right to buy. So often you get people sniffing around social housing and refusing to accept something that doesn't have the theoretical option to buy down the line. Beyond belief that its not a top priority for local authorities and housing associations to rejig all their contracts to eliminate this.

[The Larch]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

If I understood it correctly, that's what my brother has.

[Syt]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

If I understood it correctly, that's what my brother has.

Yeah, it's pretty common, especially among young families who don't have the funds to outright buy a house or apartment. There's regular ones, but there's also ones that are subsidized by the city to lower cost of entry and rent, so if you're below a certain income threshold you can sign up for them. That said, the income threshold is such that as a single person you'd be in the top 10% of earners, so ....

[The Larch]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

If I understood it correctly, that's what my brother has.

Yeah, it's pretty common, especially among young families who don't have the funds to outright buy a house or apartment. There's regular ones, but there's also ones that are subsidized by the city to lower cost of entry and rent, so if you're below a certain income threshold you can sign up for them. That said, the income threshold is such that as a single person you'd be in the top 10% of earners, so ....

I didn't know about that formula before my brother got it, is it uniquely Austrian/Germanic? AFAIK what he did is pay down a deposit for an appartment, which they're renting for 15-20 years or so, and after that time has passed they have the option to buy it. I think that there's another window of opportunity to buy the appartment, but I don't know if it was earlier than those 15-20 years or later.

[Syt]

Sounds right. You get the option to buy in many cases (not always), but you can also elect to keep renting.

[Syt]

Old headlines, recycled.

Japan, Germany Expand Military Ties as German Warship Visits

[HVC]

Realistically, I aim for a Genossenschaftswohnung. Those are apartments where you make a larger down payment up front (rarely more than 50k), but you get a greatly reduced rent, get an open term contract and usually get the option to buy the place later (though generally at market prices, no real discount there).

If I understood it correctly, that's what my brother has.

Think its called Rent to Own here. That's how i got the place i own (where my mother lives)

[Syt]

The judge in the Rittenhouse trial seems, uhm, special?

https://twitter.com/Guinz/status/1459216913536634881

[The Brain]

The judge in the Rittenhouse trial seems, uhm, special?

https://twitter.com/Guinz/status/1459216913536634881

*chuckles* I'm a danger.

[Sheilbh]

I genuinely think that what it does to judges is one of the best arguments against allowing filming trials

[grumbler]

I genuinely think that what it does to judges is one of the best arguments against allowing filming trials

I have a feeling that this judge is a fucking goofball even off camera.  No result from the trial will save him from being spanked by the appeals court.

[Sheilbh]

Maybe - although I read an article saying he is consistently probably the judge you want in that court if your the defence. I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing in general. But I think he probably is playing up for the cameras.

And I do find it a bit weird seeing left wing people wanting the judge to tilt the scales more in favour of the prosecution. A bit like the weirdness of watching the left become FBI and CIA stans during Trump's term

[Syt]