Local youngsters are struggling as it is to buy a starter home
Tuesday 9th February 2010, 2:59PM GMT.
From the Constable of St John, Graeme Butcher.
HAVING read the recent article relating to J-category housing licences which featured Roger Trower, managing director of Broadlands estate agents, I am even more convinced that the Housing Minister made absolutely the right decision in suspending his recent ministerial decision. He must bring this to the States for full debate.
The decision was definitely going to throw more people into the housing search market, which would have been detrimental to our local youngsters who are struggling to buy even a starter home.
If the J-cat rules are to change the limits, then they must change, as it is ridiculous to have a limit of £250,000. In Jersey you can’t buy a decent flat for under that figure. I would suggest a limit of £350,000 for an apartment and £500,00 for a house.
Given that Mr Trower is always critical of the States, I am surprised that he has never stood to become a States Member. Maybe the financial incentives are not attractive enough.
He also mentions human rights, but what about the rights of our local youngsters to be able to afford to buy a home in their place of birth?
Independence is sounding more attractive by the day.
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Personally I hope it goes through and prices rise again so i can sell my dump of a flat for a decent profit and go live somewhere not so boring and full of moaners. And yes I am Jersey born and bred thruogh and through.
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Well said Connetable, most Jersey people agree with you.
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Local youngsters are not owed a house, in my experience most young people start off in a basic flat and work their way towards owning a house.
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Yes, I’m sure these comments will be popular with the small number of people he requires to vote to keep him in office. It is very easy to make bland statements about independence without considering all the consequences. Is he suggesting the rules concerning J cats would differ if Jersey was Independent? He should also realise that increasing J cat limits will just make it more difficult to recruit people such as nurses, which will result in health having to pay higher salaries to attract suitable staff
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Does he think that if the price of J cat housing goes up it won’t affect the cost of local housing? What planet is he living on?
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Houses can not be handed on a plate, the majority of homeowners work day and night to pay off their mortgages. If local youth are too proud to live in flats then they must live with their perants.
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Nellie, the voice of Jeremy speaks!
In all seriousness though, I’m a young person born and living in Jersey and this is some of the worst news I’ve heard in decades.
Poor Jeremy won’t be able to afford his own flat when he finally decides to home away from home!
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well said graeme butcher, silva yates is on the right track too.
at least we have two connetable’s who are thinking about , the young people of jersey, who have been growing up for the last 18 years, while many have linned their pockets on the crest of the wave , which has now become a ripple for some.
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toastedcakes – you truly have no idea what the market is like at the moment do you?
A one bedroom flat costs around £200,000 the average 20 something year old earns 20k a year…but they need 20k as a deposit and even then their monthly payments will be somewhere in the reigon of £1000 a month. My husband and I need at least a 2 bedroom place (around 300k)but our combined income will only get us a mortgage of £180,000 with a 10% deposit. Our parents can not help financially and we can not move in with our parents so what is it exactly we should do? We both work in the finance industry and both earn the average wage for our age bracket and we work hard for the place we RENT at the moment.
So Toastedcakes – Mr. I have all the answers and the youth of today sucks
WHAT exactly do you recommend?
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Interesting article in Times today. Average age of first time buyer in the UK is 38! and many people will never get on the housing market. So why do people in their early twenties in Jersey expect to be able to afford houses?
out of interest, does anyone know of anywhere were local youngsters have a right to be able to afford to buy a home in the place of their birth?
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Lulu – this is a common problem to young people all over the world. It is very difficult to get on the housing ladder and more so in Jersey.
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Dave 10.
Re your comment: “out of interest, does anyone know of anywhere were local youngsters have a right to be able to afford to buy a home in the place of their birth?”
Nowhere in the world can the indigenous youth claim ‘home/land ownership’ as their divine right. However, the indigenous youth should at least be given the chance to stay in the place of their birth…or is this too much to ask?
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It makes me laugh when you keep hearing about homeowners struggling, they are not homeowners until they have paid back every penny of their huge mortgages. What you are as a buyer of property is a mortgage payer renting your home home from the bank until it is paid for, not a homeowner.
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Toasted – My husband and I could buy a house in England straight away on our current salaries a HOUSE not a poxy flat… why should we move because some J Cats who are getting paid far too much (in finance at least) have more money than we do so they can afford these extreme prices?
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Lulu – a lot of J-Cats live in rented flats/apartments whilst they save to buy a property in England.
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Agreed no 12.
The chance to stay in ones place of birth, and expecting to be able to buy a house in your place of birth, when you are in your twenties is not at all the same thing. Why is there such an obsession with home ownership in Jersey?
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‘It makes me laugh when you keep hearing about homeowners struggling, they are not homeowners until they have paid back every penny of their huge mortgages. What you are as a buyer of property is a mortgage payer renting your home home from the bank until it is paid for, not a homeowner.’
If you applied the same rule to boat owners, car owners, kitchen and patio owners, etc you would realise that the island is floating on a huge sea of personal debt.
I reckon Jersey must be close to the highest personal debt to income ratio in the British Isles.
Jersey has a very high salary level compared with the rest of the British Isles but whenever there is a glitch in the payment of salaries, there are plenty of people complaining that they cannot pay their bills because the money will be a few days late!
If you are earning good money eg £30K+ then you should have a few month’s salary as a buffer but in the crazy world of Jersey every penny is spent as soon as it is earned
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Dave 16.
I find your question rather odd, but I’ll try to answer it all the same.
If you pay a mortgage for a 25-30 year period, you’ll own a property at the end of it which, you can either sell and downsize or live in (with no outlay) for the rest of your life.
If you pay rent for a 25-30 year period, you’ll own nothing at the end of it. Therefore, you’ll have nothing to sell and, quite obviously, you will have to continue paying rent for the rest of your life…it’s as simple as that.
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Toastedteacakes Posted
“Lulu – this is a common problem to young people all over the world. It is very difficult to get on the housing ladder and more so in Jersey.”
When I lived in Plymouth I owned my own property, a three bedroom house that had just been refurbished to a lovely spec. OK it wasn’t in the nicest area, but it was only 120k. Now I’m back in Jersey I’m living with my parents again as a similar spec 1 bedroom flat is over 200k – well past 5x my salary.
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#16
Its because the rents are too high is why people wan,t to buy.
They see it as throwing money down the drain which it is.
My sister-in-law for instance bought her own counsel house in Scotland and paid less on the mortgage each month than the rent,also the counsel updated heating windows etc free before she decided to buy.
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I think there are additional reasons why people buy, they see the housing market as an easy investment and as a one way bet where prices will continue to rise in real terms. This is not the case however and youngsters should bear this in mind. The future of Jersey is far from certain, and we could be looking at falling property prices in the long term. It should also be noted that interest rates are at historic lows and can only rise, When we bought our house in 1990, we were paying 15.9% (and there were no 100% mortgages then)There is no reason why rates cannot go to that level again.
Born Warrior, I understand the mathematics, but why the obsession in Jersey and to a lesser extent in England compared to other western european countries such a France and Germany?
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I am a local woman who works full time and my partner is self employed. The prospects of us ever being able to afford even a first time buyers flat/house for us and our 2 children are becoming slimmer all the time. I love my island and used to be very proud of it, however it seems the only way we’ll ever be able to buy property is away from the island i would like to spend the rest of my days.Unfortunatly it seems the old saying still stands, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
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Dave 21.
Your choice of ‘home ownership’ in France and Germany is obviously not by chance, as these two nations are way down on the list:
Ireland 82% Japan 60
Spain 80 Portugal 59
Luxembourg 77 United States 59
Norway 73 Finland 58
Belgium 72 Sweden 55
Greece 72 France 54
Italy 68 Netherlands 46
United Kingdom 67 Germany 40
Canada 64 Switzerland 29
Denmark 60
There is a reason for this: social housing in both Germany and France is excellent (just look at what happens when a building goes up for sale in central Paris…the French government has first shout and it is immediately converted into social-housing units for the Parisians).
Thus, where social-housing opportunities are high, there is less need to buy.
Unfortunately Jersey’s housing/benefit system is a victim of certain people/categories who know how to play the game.
Therefore, those who play fairly and wish to avoid throwing their money away on high rents for the rest of their lives, have no choice but to buy…and the younger they buy their first place the better…profit, for normal folk, has nothing to do with it.
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I think we should bring some sort of inheritence tax in over here. This would break up the passing of wealth down the generations which contributes to the high cost of housing and makes it very much a two tier market. A nice 40% on everything above £100,000 should do the trick. Either that or a capital gains tax on property with no exclusion for principal private residence to really damp things down.
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Dave – what you have not grasped is that Jersey is a unique and beautiful little island. People are queuing up to live and work here.
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The reason why youngsters are struggling to buy, is because all the intelligent Jersey born kids leave the island to pursue careers elsewhere. The only ones that stay on this deadbeat place either lack grey matter or ambition, and they are unlikely to buy anyway
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Thanks BW these are interesting percentages. The only reason I had picked Germany and France was because of their geographic and economic similarities to the UK. It is surprising that the % in Ireland is so high. I wonder what the percentages are for Jersey as a whole, and Jersey-born people in particular.
No 25. I think everyone knows that, but not to the same extent as previously as jobs in many occupations are more difficult to find in Jersey
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The major issue stopping kids buying their first house is not relaxed housing qualifications, it’s finance. Finance has risen the standard of living, inflated personal greed, and created a very unpleasant thirst for status, that ultimately leaves any kids not working in finance in rented accommodation
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I really don’t understand the mentality of many Jersey folk on this board. You seem to want to live on a prospeous island but you don’t want the pay the price of doing so. I’m afraid you can’t have it both ways. Now what’s it to be – the old days when you had a choice of working in farming or hospitality & marryinh your second cousin or a more modern Jersey with better infrastructure, world class education, healthcare etc? Unfortunately the thing that makes the latter happen is the finance industry & the fat cats who are attracted by it.
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Beaumont 26.
Re your comment: “the intelligent Jersey born kids leave the island to pursue careers elsewhere. The only ones that stay on this deadbeat place either lack grey matter or ambition, and they are unlikely to buy anyway”
Absolutely not, the really intelligent ones work all-over-the-world from their own sitting rooms…you’re way behind the times!
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I don’t think many who post on theses pages realise just how close the good ship Jersey is getting to “hitting the rocks”. Our present political leadership under TLS don’t exactly inspire confidence and our newly formed “opposition” seem determined to force political change through the destabilisation of our political and economic infrastructure. I fear that unless things change many the regular posters will get their wish of a very cheap house, because like many areas of rural France there will be no employment and the “local” population will have been forced to leave. It is an unfortunate fact that where there is a high level of quality employment and a limited housing stock, property prices are naturally high.
This could very quickly change if Jersey veers off course and heads towards the new socialist paradise promised by so many of our new politicians. Political and economic stability are the cornerstone to our economy and without these qualities many of the financial service providers will pull out. Once we loose “critical” mass in these areas there will be no going back. Skilled workers will follow the work and leave the Island. It will be the unskilled worker, the pensioners and those who depend on the State who will really suffer. Like so many places where there is little or no employment, houses will be very cheap but it will be the rich immigrant retiring from the City who will benefit – NOT YOU and I.
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God’s mentor is on the money. You want decent public services – then you have to accept either high personal taxation or else the influx of others who can fund the services.
But taxing property differently would help – I would suggest an annual tax levied at 10% of its market value on any property that is not owner-occupied or has not been let for at least 6 (or 9) months in the preceding year.
I once looked at “high-end” rentals in the Island. I saw at least 3 stunning properties that would have sold for £2-3m. They were all lying empty because the owners – who had inherited the properties – wouldn’t/couldn’t spend £100k on rewiring, replumbing and putting in new bathrooms. There are lots of these properties on the Island and not just at the top end. Let’s free them up.
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There is one undeniable fact about Jersey, we are an island based solely on finance.
Fact.. We need it to stay here.
Fact..Because of this (and the small matter of limited space) house prices are high.
Fact.. In almost all Jersey job catagories the pay is higher than the UK average for a comparable job.
Fact..Think about it, if we were relying on spuds and tourism to keep the island afloat house prices would be a lot lower but you would not have the standard of living or facilities that you have now. Believe me Jersey must be the “best kitted out” little rock in the world, we want for nothing!
Fact..Most people I know in the UK and Jersey all have the same problems buying property,this is not unique to Jersey. Moving to the UK will not make your housing woes disappear.
In the UK (Farnham) jobs are advertised with salaries that are nearly half of what people earn in a comparable role in Jersey. This will also effect how much they can spend on property. Flats in Surrey are half the cost of what you pay in Jersey, you do the maths. Everyone…….. no matter where you are in the world you face the same problem getting on the housing ladder. It is just the way it is.
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I like greedy Jersey, I like local the local nimbys, I like the moronic States “people” I like the lack of a sense of perspective, I like the housing apartheid system, I like the bubble mentality. I like it becuase …Thank God! it only exist over a 45 square mile area. Get a life you lot!!!
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#21 I’m with you and Lula, there’s an assumption (and criticism) that people ‘feel the right’ to buy. Then there are those who assume you’re uneducated or simply haven’t been good enough to climb the ranks. People for whom money = personal happiness won’t understand that it is far better be in a job you love… but this only works in a world where all jobs are fairly paid! We could all work our way into highly paid jobs that we hate but there is a real risk of ending up ill and then on benefits, a situation that helps no-one.
I don’t believe anyone expects to have a house or believes it’s their right, just that if they are two people on average wage that an average property should be affordable to them. If you rent you are throwing your money away to some greedy landlord and may simply end up never being able to buy (it will likely get less affordable as the years go on).
My ex and I were 21 and 24 when we bought our first home, we didn’t expect it or believe it to be our right, we worked long hard hours for it, no help either, we rightly paid every penny ourselves. We were both average wage and could afford an average house (slightly more since we didn’t drink/smoke/take expensive holidays etc) It wasn’t a mansion but a good-sized 2-bed flat in a lovely area just a 5-minute drive from the city centre.
But in Jersey on a supposedly average wage you’re scuppered, I can only guess it’s because the gap between rich and poor is just that bit bigger… too big.
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One or two people have commented that it is difficult for youngsters to get on the housing ladder in the UK also.It obviously depends on the area in which you live but I can tell you that in the village where I live ,and the surrounding ones,the only rental properties you will find are a very small number mainly for the older people.All the young families are buying their own homes which are mainly detached and with decent gardens.Wages are lower but house prices are a fraction of what they are in Jersey.For example-4 bedroom,2 bathroom with front and back garden,double garage in quiet cul-de-sac-£205,000!!!
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John Deere 33.
Fact…Only wages/salaries for certain categories are higher in Jersey. The island has a large number of workers on a minimum wage who have little or no chance of getting on the housing ladder.
Fact…The one-sided wealth/income growth in Jersey (see Lula 14.) is a rising tide lifting some boats and sinking others (those anchored to the bottom). This growing inequality is affecting the low-income groups to the point where they have to spend most or all of their incomes on life necessities with little capability of saving. Thus they are condemned to remain at the bottom of the wealth ladder in poor-quality rented accomodation.
Fact…Surrey (as per your example) is a big place, therefore, house-hunters can move in all directions and shop around for the best deal.
Fact…Jersey is a tiny island and house-hunters can move…just about!
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Leigh, Afraid I cannot agree with your last paragraph. A couple on the average wage will have a joint gross income of £64K per annum. On that income, they should be able to save a substantial deposit and be able to buy a reasonable flat within a few years, (if they make the effort to)
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Galloping Escalation of prices has been the problem, slow the market and people can catch up and manage better,the greedy will always be whores to acquisition, Capital gains tax would stabilize and slow it down to a more sane pace…any joined up Govt knows if the gap between the haves and have nots begins to widen as it has here,social unrest will surely follow, now if you all want to live in a place where bars on the windows and a whole host of security measures are needed,you will have trashed the very thing that was originally quested….a peaceful life.in a pleasant environment, robbery and violation are irreversible once established…no matter how many stupid laws and lawyers and law enforcers you have.quality of life has No price.
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38. Dave
“if they make the effort to”
There you have it in a nutshell, now days people don’t know how to go without. Of course saving for a deposit is impossible if you have to have the latest car, phone, laptop & clothes whilst enjoying Jersey’s many fabulous, though rarely cheap, restaurants. And let’s not forget the must have foreign holidays.
The average wage can’t manage all of that and raise a mortgage deposit as well. It’s decision time people, go without whilst getting your deposit together or carrying on whinging.
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Beaumont – there will always be an influx of internationally intelligent folk more than happy to fill the spaces left behind from those who have fled their Jersey nests.
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Again with the “people can’t get on the property ladder” argument!
Has this not done the rounds about a hundred times in the last year? The same things are said over and over again.
Communism works on the idea that everyone is equal. If minimum wage earners should have the same ability to buy a house as a doctor in your mind then surely a communist state would be a more applicable place for you to live.
I have worked hard, bought a house (sorry – borrowed from a bank) and continue to make the payments. I and my wife are average earners for Jersey and we have managed it. Why should I have to listen to people complain that they can’t buy if I managed it?
Julie, you’re area sounds really nice. I don’t think you would get many of the houses you describe into Jersey and because of the lack of space I would expect they would only push prices up even more
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I cant afford to buy here. Im local and on good money but what there asking for is too much and i cant afford the payments and to live. And what you get is terrible.
Unfortunaly nothing will change and the prices will keep rising. Still makes mr Trower a happy man because they work on a percentage, so the higher the price the better the commision.
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Michael 42.
What you don’t seem to understand is that if the low-income groups continue to be unable to buy a home, the Jersey taxpayer will be forced to support them as they get older and are unable to pay their rents…help you must Michael…just decide when…
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Agreed no 42 and 40. Unfortunately, instead of making an effort to save and buy, many locals prefer to moan and blame outsiders. As envy plays a large part, J cats provide an easy target. Politicains jump on this bandwagon as they see it as a votewinner.
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Dave 38 and Bambeano 40.
Many workers earn the minimum wage of 18K, which works out at about £270 per week. The average rent for a single flat is £150 pw which leaves £120 for food/household products, facility bills, transport costs, etc.
And let’s not forget – with what’s left – they must pay for their brand new cars, designer gear, laptops, cellphones, holidays in Mexico, weekends in Paris, London and Rome.
Oh please, get real, people on that wage are lucky if they can eat, buy something in a sale and get the money together to go to St Malo for the day! So what chance have they got of saving a deposit/getting a mortgage.
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A generation ago, saving a deposit was a couples main goal, living simply, not having expensive holidays, and driving an old, cheap car.
Now it is expensive holidays, a flash car and all of the latest gear and then, guess what, no savings for a deposit.
Call me an old git, but I often overhear talk of vast sums of money being spent on someones Stag Bash which is usually a weekend away, and Friday/Saturday nights out which run into three figures !
If you really want something, you need to work hard and SAVE !
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I preferred Jersey shabby with unflooded valleys..I wandered freely as a 10 year old, imagine that now! I cook better food at home than most of the the vastly over rated restaurants. I liked the quiet roads. I liked knowing most of the people in town. I liked the fact that I could have afford to buy and do intellectually stimulating, quite high powered actually, socially useful work (probably not useful to the free market crazed junkies well represented on here). Loved Jersey is about fabulously beautiful coast and countryside…not money. I wonder what Colin Powell and others truly think about what they unleashed here. Decent schools and hospital existed before shiny shady corporate finance invaded (I also liked the glamorous creative individuals maximising their incomes…where did they go?). No one has mentioned the impact on children. It makes me very sad to see those tinies wheeled about by teenage(what level of education exactly) child care workers whilst their parents feed their rapacious mortgages and repugnant landlords.
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#38 While I understand that banks do offer mortgages 5 times your joint income (giving you up to £320k) I grew up knowing it wasn’t wise to go beyond 3 times your joint income. This might seem low to some but there would be a fair few less reposessions in the UK if it hadn’t been for the 4, 5, 6, even 7 times your salary mortgages!
3 times joint income only gives you £192k which in Jersey gets you a hut and is less than half the cost of a first-time buyer house.
I agree that with some people it is just spending too much on other things, I don’t sympathise with them, but there are others out there who are struggling on the average income who are not out enjoying luxuries. There can be essential costs in life that aren’t luxuries.
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Beaumont
if you think people who stay in Jersey lack grey matter or ambition then i think you need to take a quick tour of the UK. There you will sample the type of hangers on society we so desperatley need to avoid in Jersey.
Jersey currently has a superb quality of life compared to the vast majority of the UK. No one is forcing anyone to stay. If you work hard you can survive in this beautiful part of the world, if you want hand outs please go else where.
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What surprises me is how many people continually harp on about unrealistic rents/unaffordable property prices on a island that they clearly dont want to live on. I love Jersey dearly, but realised years ago that I had no chance of having any sort of standard of living there whilst earning a modest wage. Silly property prices, questionable states decisions and migrants are nothing new. Move on.
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No 46.
I agree that a single person on the minimum wage is unlikely to get on the property market, just as they cannot afford many things that wealthier people can,but that is the same in most countries in the world, and has always been the case in Jersey. I do not think that a large proportion of the locally born population are on minimum wages, as few work at the bottom end of the retail/hospitality/agriculture sectors which pay the minimum wage.
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It disappoints me to hear people continually harp on about unrealistic rent/unaffordable property prices/parking issues etc. on an island they clearly dont want to live on. As a born and bred bean I love Jersey dearly, but realised years ago that earning a mediocre wage(by island standards) was going to get me no where in Jerseys increasingly capitalist society, so moved on for the benefit of myself and family. Silly property prices, questionable states decisions, vested interests and adhoc migration policy is nothing new. Jersey is not the centre of the universe and just because that is where you find yourself at this time doesn’t mean you have no control over your future. Just dont think you can mess with the establishment!
Also RE:10 & 12. Indigenous people of Australia have a multitude of entitlements, assuming they have birth right and choose to claim it.
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48. I remember what it was like before ‘Jersey was booming’. It was a much nicer place, less traffic, especially the huge lorries we now have destroying the roads. There was not the rubbish strewn everywhere, our new immigrants obviously consider the countryside to be a rubbish disposal area.
But the States encourages ‘repugnant landlords’ by handing over some 30/40 MILLION a year of tax payer’s money by way of rent rebate.
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Expat bean 52.
RE: “Indigenous people of Australia have a multitude of entitlements, assuming they have birth right and choose to claim it.”
The circumstances you are referring to (Australian ‘Land Rights Act’ and similar) are attempts by governments to overcome the historical fact of dispossession of the owners land without payment of any compensation.
I think you will find that Dave (10) and I (12) were discussing a very different scenario: The divine right of the indigenous youth to claim land/home ownership (obviously without ‘Land rights’ or ‘Native title’).
Nonetheless, you are right when you say that Jersey in not the ‘Centre of the Universe’. However, for many (including you I fear) it’s home…and the young people who are struggling to buy a starter house/flat want to stay and won’t be able to if the States pull against them.
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@Toastedteacakes – I agree with you completely!
Jersey is a special place and people are queing up to be able to buy here; and I don’t blame them.
I worked hard from 16 years old, ok, there were a few oarty years! But by being responsible and not over streching myself I brought my first flat (a studio) when I was 21 and since have moved twice and now I’m 30 and have a 2 bed in town with parking.
I admit that I did make use of rising markets, but thats how it works, same as it worked for my parents who are local also.
I have always lived alone and it has not always been fun, I remember more than one Christmas or New Year that I couln’t afford to go out but so what I am secure now and even though I am still earning less than the average Jersey wage (I hate when they publish that figure each year!)
You have to work hard or earn good and I think it is pathetic when people give excuses for not being able to do it!
@Lula above quotes that an average one bed is £200k, well it might be, that means you need to start with a below average!! You have internet access… I immediately before writing this checked a couple of well known estate agents websites and found a studio for £130k and two nice looking 1 bed places in “new developments” (I think we know where I am talking about) for less than £150k. Meaning you and your partner would need to on less than £13k a year not to be able to afford, so unless there is some underlying issue, pay your rent, work hard, save and don’t blame the economy!!!
Nobody deserves to own a house, you must earn it.
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When I came to Jersey in 1982, I had to put up with living in 1 room with other girls. I worked hard, had a day job and one a few evenings a week and when I met my future husband, decided to stay here. We got a flat together and although I was in my twenties, we had to wait another 20 years to qualify to buy. By that time of course we were in our forties but we managed so save up over 20 years and had enough for a deposit (even though the rent was high). We had to decide if we wanted to buy then otherwies, if we had waited we would have been too old to get a mortgage (you have to have at least 20 odd years of work left in you to repay the mortgage. So I get quite angry when people in their twenties expect to just be able to afford a house straight away without saving up for it.
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To those that think if you’re on the average wage you can save for a deposit – how exactly are we supposed to do this while we are renting and paying our bills?? We are currently saving on our combined income of less than £40k a year around £300 a month… which means we’ll have a deposit in around 9 years!
Beaumont I felt sickened when you said the only youngsters who stay in jersey lack ambition or grey matter… I didn’t move to the UK because I had family over here and a new born sibling that I wanted to watch growing up! I’ll have you know I passed all of my GCSE’s and A levels at 15 (because I had a lot of grey matter) but the simple fact was I had to get a job and support my family… I wouldn’t say I lacked ambition but more I had a lot of responsibility! As for my husband – he obtained 5 A levels and went to university but stayed in Jersey for me and now works in finance.
We work in finance and yet we’ll never be able to buy a home unless we take all of the additional exams and pray for promotion and as for the England has lesser wages than jersey – I was in England last weekend and saw a cashier job in ASDA advertised at £11 per hour which is a lot more than jersey cashiers get.
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@Lula – HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest all offer 90% mortgages to first time buyers which people around 21 years old would be expected to be and Skipton are also offering 90% mortgages to first and second time buyers!
Presuming that you will be buying a 1 bed flat for around £150k (a starter flat) then you will need to wait around 4 years to save at £300 a month, but I think it sounds like you are living beyond your means if you cannot save more than that. I make £34k a year ish (but then I’m nearly 10 years older than you) and with my mortgage which is now for my 2 bedroom flat and ALL my bills inc car finance, HD sky, 8Mb broadband etc, etc… I save more than £300 a month and still afford a decent holiday each year!
I’m no saint and enjoy the occasional Friday night on the tiles or whatever but you need to evaluate your situation and work out where the money is going!
When I was saving for my first deposit I was living in a bedsit as I didn’t get on with my parents as well as I do now and I was making about £20k… paying about £100 a week for my rent and spending about £100 a week on food and fun and even back then I was saving about £75-£100 a week, it took me three years to save for a deposit and it was hard work but thats what people need to do. A treat used to be if I could buy myself a pair of jeans or shoes if I didn’t go out all month!!!
Having done this myself and never having had a partner to help me I think that anyone complaining about the situation is selfish and would rather blame others than themselves!!!
Your situation is not special you just need to realise this and get on with your life.
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Grass isn’t greener:
As for flats for £150K – you may as well call these studios where two people can barely squeeze past each other – and to buy one of these would still require a £15,000 deposit…the average rent for a 1 bedroom goes between £600 and £1000 so earning around £1200 a month (after tax and social are deducted) how exactly is one supposed to save for one of these in today’s climate? Hell i may as well chug out a couple of kids and get the states to pay for me take 18 years off work… isn’t that the alternative to working hard to receive a stab in the back from politions who don’t actually come up with good ideas for their £40k a year salary?
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Leah Holmes#49
“3 times joint income only gives you £192k which in Jersey gets you a hut and is less than half the cost of a first-time buyer house.”
This may be so but all the time you are paying a mortgage you are accumulating wealth in the value of your property. you are not giving a landlord money that you will never see again.
Eventually you will be able to sell said hut for what you have paid out less interest plus whatever the property has risen in value. and use the money you have paid off it to use as a deposit on a larger hutch.
Its called the property ladder, It hurts to get your first foot on, but the longer you stay on the easier it becomes.
lula #57
We work in finance and yet we’ll never be able to buy a home unless we take all of the additional exams and pray for promotion
Take the exams, more hard work and less praying.
You get nothing for nothing in this world.
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48. I remember what it was like before ‘Jersey was booming’. It was a much nicer place, less traffic, especially the huge lorries we now have destroying the roads. There was not the rubbish strewn everywhere, our new immigrants obviously consider the countryside to be a rubbish disposal area.
So does every developed Western state! People in the UK pine for a time when there was less traffic, less people living there… but as with the rest of the world, population numbers have increased since the 1956/70s.
If you don’t like that then maybe a remote Scottish island is for you… though I suspect you might find someone there remembering the good old days before all the ‘immigrants’ came in.
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#60 PLG I don’t need an education on the property ladder, I was on it in the UK.
My point is that two people can’t live in a hut! And they can’t afford that hut while they are paying out on extortionate rents either.
#61 I come from a remote Scottish island originally and immigrants are welcome as long as they muck in.
A lower-priced property is not always cost-effective, although people seem to forget this. They can cost more in upkeep and if they are cheap because of the area then a lot more in security and insurance!
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I have taken the exams – well the ones i am able to (funded myself may I add) as to where my money goes? As for a monthly price breakdown here goes Grass is Greener:
combined monthly income (after tax and social deductions)£2255
Shopping for three people – £300 a month (min)
Rent – £900
phone line w/ internet- £50
Vehicle maintaining/parking in town – £150
Electricity – £60
Water – £30
TV Licence – £12
Insurance (pet, house, bupa) – £66
Gym Membership – £76
Sky – 40
This leaves around £570 – of which we save a minimum of £300 a month – the problem is life likes to throw little disasters our way which need to be paid for such as break downs on the car or needing to help a friend with your savings or a wedding! We made a concientious decision not to buy a property in Jersey as it will only lose money and be detrimental to us long term – for instance our grandparents had no help from housing or the states when they were pensioners because they owned their own home… regardless of whether the equity had to be released on the home because they couldn’t afford to heat their home – if they had never owned their home the states would have provided them with a warm house for little to no money whatsoever.
My first place was a bedsit that was £400 a month – but back then I was getting paid £800 a month so things were more than a little tight. I’m glad you’re all financially stable enough but times have changed and the flats that I can afford to get now are falling apart and will cost more to maintain than the place I’m renting. Young people will never be able to afford anything decent in Jersey so we may as well use our savings for nice holidays to see the world – or do what we are and saving for a property outside of Jersey
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No 64
So you are in you 20′s, rent a flat, have a car,internet, sky, gym membership, Bupa and can save 300-500 per month. life is really tough for you in Jersey!
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Dave – We were saving for a house initially when he popped the question we spent our savings on a wedding. We started saving again but after a few months there were rumours of J cats getting full qualifications we knew it would oversaturate the housing market and we’d never get a decent place to call our own. So we used our savings on a three week holiday and a nice TV and subscibed to sky, brought a car, got driving lessons and did all of the things we wanted to do but put on hold. My partner and I work hard for our income and now I’m finally enjoying it instead of scrimping and saving for a glorified shed. I can rent my flat long term, the payments are less than a mortgage and when I have a child things won’t be so hard for me (I hope!). The downside is my child will never inherit but I don’t think that really matters too much anymore.
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