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Post by Mike Harding on May 21, 2024 16:03:56 GMT 10
I'm camped for a few days at Lake Lonsdale, a large, free campsites with toilets in central Victoria. A delightful spot with great views across the lake and on to the Grampians. Very windy though.
Normally I camp deep in the bush and have no neighbours but sometimes needs arise and campsites such as this are more convenient for me for short periods.
The reason for this post, and what troubles me, is that so much more often these days I am seeing homeless people at such places. Not just the middle age/old people who have stuffed up their lives but, like here, a young couple (late twenties?) with a two? year old who are living in a tent and tucked away at the edge of the site. The tent is good quality, they have a decent looking car, he (they?) appear to be working on a daily basis. Of course I do not know their story but I suspect my guesses will not be far wrong.
What have we done to this society such that a young couple with a small child starting off in life are destined to live in a tent?
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Post by yobarr on May 22, 2024 9:37:21 GMT 10
I'm camped for a few days at Lake Lonsdale, a large, free campsites with toilets in central Victoria. A delightful spot with great views across the lake and on to the Grampians. Very windy though. Normally I camp deep in the bush and have no neighbours but sometimes needs arise and campsites such as this are more convenient for me for short periods. The reason for this post, and what troubles me, is that so much more often these days I am seeing homeless people at such places. Not just the middle age/old people who have stuffed up their lives but, like here, a young couple (late twenties?) with a two? year old who are living in a tent and tucked away at the edge of the site. The tent is good quality, they have a decent looking car, he (they?) appear to be working on a daily basis. Of course I do not know their story but I suspect my guesses will not be far wrong. What have we done to this society such that a young couple with a small child starting off in life are destined to live in a tent? The housing shortage certainly is of concern, and will only worsen while the Crooked Elbow allows one million (?) people each year to immigrate under the pretence that we need "skilled immigrants". Perhaps it would make more sense to force some of the no-hoper freeloaders to take an apprenticeship? You don't need the Brains of Britain to be a builder's labourer, for example, where you could learn that trade. There are literally thousands of well-paid jobs available, but it's easier to sit back on the dole, smoke hooch, drink beer, fornicate, puff on cigarettes, and bleat about "Snot fair". Enough for now. NO Cheers here. |
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pete
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Post by pete on May 22, 2024 23:19:37 GMT 10
Lots of reasons Mike. Here are a just a few.
Many people are only a few pay packets away from being homeless.
Loss of a job means the rent cannot be paid and you are on the streets.
Marriage breakdowns will do it too. One, if not both will be looking for a place to live elsewhere.
Rents have climbed out of reach for many people.
A house put up for rent in a city may have 500 people apply for it. Only one will score it.
House prices climb faster than people can save.
Many more immigrants arriving here more than housing being built just multiplies the problem.
This very sad problem here is only to get worse I fear, with many overseas countries having a much bigger housing problem than we do.
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Post by north200 on May 25, 2024 9:54:38 GMT 10
I sold my rental property like many other landlords because the government regulations have taken all control away from the landlord. I’m not in the business of supporting a tenant while they damage my house.
Supply and demand control the availability and cost of housing. Immigration, government rules and council development rules have killed the supply side.
Far better returns a available on the stock market than in housing.
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Post by arewelost on May 25, 2024 22:53:43 GMT 10
Yes, I agree with North200. The more regulations there are, the more owners that will give up on the idea of renting out a property they own. While it is frustrating for tenants to have no certainty of long term tenure, the current governments want to give more rights to tenants.
It's all the government's doing with such high immigration and high inflation. A savvy owner knows that a better deal for landlords is unlikely.
What needs to happen is to reduce the cost of all the fees, regulations and ever increasing requirements for new home builds, along with incentives to become a landlord, not the other way around as it is trending at present.
As for the tent living family near you, maybe they are not destitute but just want to save. Having a nice car says they are not penniless, so maybe circumstances of timing are the reason. Why don't you have a chat with them?
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Post by toeknee on Jul 2, 2024 23:45:05 GMT 10
I have also come across homeless people, in some out of town free camps
I have (not exactly talked to them), but just said Hi How are you going, or words to that effect
I can only think to myself, but for the grace of god, there go I
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Post by magnarc on Jul 5, 2024 8:55:15 GMT 10
I fear that this once great nation is going to the dogs. I am not a pessimistic person by nature but it is difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Politicians are spending money like it's a bottomless pit and, in a lot of cases, on all the wrong things. Cutting back on hospital budgets when we have Ambos waiting for a bed hours at a time tying up vehicles that should be attending to other people should be a top priority. When you have had massive blowouts with tunnel contracts and the like, they have to cut somewhere because of their failure to manage money.
I would like someone to tell me why private enterprise cannot be held to the original contract cost? These guys must be rubbing their hands together when the government comes calling. I had a furniture removals business for 25 years and, if a quote I had given to a client cost more than anticipated, I had to bear the additional cost. It was up to me to get it right first time so why can't these people get it right and have a watertight contract that puts the onus firmly with the contractor?
There are some areas that should be at the top of the list, Police, Health and housing are but a few. Lack of affordable housing will see more folks sleeping rough with very little hope of getting anywhere to live. This is not the Australia that I came to in 1967. We didn't have mobile phones, internet etc: but there was a quality of life and we had politicians who had some idea of what they were doing. Piling more costs on landlords is not the way to go if we need more rental housing, they will just sell.
What really gets up my nose is the way that they can walk away with a big payout after stuffing things up big time. A recent case in question is that of a leading politician here in Vic who not only walked away from the financial mess he engineered, but ends up with a gong for doing so and is free to take up a well paid position in the private sphere. The words "gravy train" come to mind.
What is the answer? I wish that I knew. We vote them in because there is no viable alternative, and we don't find out that they are useless until it is too late.
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Post by yobarr on Jul 5, 2024 12:41:55 GMT 10
I sold my rental property like many other landlords because the government regulations have taken all control away from the landlord. I’m not in the business of supporting a tenant while they damage my house. Supply and demand control the availability and cost of housing. Immigration, government rules and council development rules have killed the supply side. Far better returns a available on the stock market than in housing. Like you, I once had two rental properties, one in Geelong and one in Brisbane, but after endless red-tape and tenant problems I sold both. There had just been a new 12 month lease signed for the property in Geelong when the property managers, a Real Estate company, emailed to say that the tenants were terminating the lease because of "financial hardship", and that the bond would not be refunded. Despite my best efforts there was little that I could do as I was thousands of kilometres away, but I did eventually get one month's rent in lieu of notice, and most of the bond back. Subsequent investigations revealed that the same Highton-based Real Estate company that was managing my property had SOLD another house to my tenants, despite their alleged "financial hardship". Similar happened with my house in Brisbane where I was made aware by neighbours the tenants were wrecking the place, both inside and out, but because I was trapped in NSW, courtesy of a border being closed by Palachook's Labor Party COVID policies, there was little that I could do. Then I was advised that the tenants had lost their jobs and, allegedly on advice from the rental tribunal, they would no longer need to pay rent. Enough was enough, so I arranged with a Real Estate friend to have the place sold. Despite the house selling quickly, albeit at a bargain price, my problems did not end there as the tenants refused to vacate the property. Long story short, it cost me another $8500 to get rid of them. Never again. Additionally, the new laws that effectively allow tenants to do as they wish in and to any rented premises will do nothing to encourage investment. The sooner Elbow and his brain-dead cronies get D Ass the sooner a Liberal party can begin to introduce policies that will stop inflation and encourage people to start businesses, the better. Over and over we see these Labor clowns, and their Green cronies, throwing money around like it is going out of fashion in an effort to buy votes, and over and over again we see them sending the country broke. Then the Liberals are again put back into power to sort it all out, but become unpopular because of having to repay debt. If people had to pass an intelligence test to be allowed to vote, Labor would quickly become extinct. But meanwhile the "Gimme, gimme" Brigade thrives. |
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pete
Junior Member
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Post by pete on Jul 5, 2024 12:41:59 GMT 10
Where/what is the flaw in this line of thought? What is the difference between an existing house rented or sold?
They both will only house one family.
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Post by yobarr on Jul 5, 2024 16:52:29 GMT 10
Where/what is the flaw in this line of thought? What is the difference between an existing house rented or sold? They both will only house one family. The difference is that if there are fewer investors chasing multiple properties and pushing up house prices, those people who have saved a deposit, and have arranged a certain level of finance, will have a much better chance of being able to procure a suitable property. For those people that are currently renting there no longer will be the fear that they are going to be moved-on, with associated expenses, at the end of their lease. Kids will have some stability in their lives, rather than being regularly swapped between schools, and buyers will be happy that they own their own property, and are building financial stability. Greater capital gains tax on investment properties that are sold may also slow escalating property prices, putting more houses in the price range of first-home buyers etc. |
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Post by north200 on Jul 7, 2024 16:08:42 GMT 10
The system will collapse if there isn’t any reason for investors to build new houses
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Post by yobarr on Jul 8, 2024 14:51:22 GMT 10
The system will collapse if there isn’t any reason for investors to build new houses Sorry, but I cannot understand your thoughts. Surely there is no need for investors to build houses when families can buy a block of land, choose the plans for a house in their price range, and then appoint a builder to build that home at a mutually agreed price. This is what I did with one of my houses waaaaaay back. The builder obviously employed subbies for things like the electricity supply, plumbing, glazing, concreting etc but built these costs in to his price. Would this not eliminiate the "middle man" who always seems to run away with the cream! |
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Post by arewelost on Jul 8, 2024 16:04:53 GMT 10
It's pretty hard for families to get enough deposit to get started with building for themselves.
I think North was more referring to the rental market. If there is not enough incentive for an investor to build a home and rent it out, then that home won't get built. One less available for renters. Rental prices go up. Then because rent prices are so high, the government adds extra red tap and maybe say "We can solve this. We will limit how much rents can be increased each year" (or other plan to benefit renters). Then the already disillusioned investors leave the property market in greater numbers. The system collapses.
On the other hand if the government made it more attractive for investors to build rental homes, more would enter the market. More rental homes built. Rents go down.
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Post by north200 on Jul 9, 2024 17:14:52 GMT 10
Supply and demand controls price
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Post by peter57 on Jul 9, 2024 18:32:17 GMT 10
I fear that this once great nation is going to the dogs. I am not a pessimistic person by nature but it is difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Politicians are spending money like it's a bottomless pit and, in a lot of cases, on all the wrong things. Cutting back on hospital budgets when we have Ambos waiting for a bed hours at a time tying up vehicles that should be attending to other people should be a top priority. When you have had massive blowouts with tunnel contracts and the like, they have to cut somewhere because of their failure to manage money.
I would like someone to tell me why private enterprise cannot be held to the original contract cost? These guys must be rubbing their hands together when the government comes calling. I had a furniture removals business for 25 years and, if a quote I had given to a client cost more than anticipated, I had to bear the additional cost. It was up to me to get it right first time so why can't these people get it right and have a watertight contract that puts the onus firmly with the contractor?
There are some areas that should be at the top of the list, Police, Health and housing are but a few. Lack of affordable housing will see more folks sleeping rough with very little hope of getting anywhere to live. This is not the Australia that I came to in 1967. We didn't have mobile phones, internet etc: but there was a quality of life and we had politicians who had some idea of what they were doing. Piling more costs on landlords is not the way to go if we need more rental housing, they will just sell.
What really gets up my nose is the way that they can walk away with a big payout after stuffing things up big time. A recent case in question is that of a leading politician here in Vic who not only walked away from the financial mess he engineered, but ends up with a gong for doing so and is free to take up a well paid position in the private sphere. The words "gravy train" come to mind.
What is the answer? I wish that I knew. We vote them in because there is no viable alternative, and we don't find out that they are useless until it is too late.
Well thought out and written Phil. |
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