Property programs

To those of you unfamiliar with British television programming of the last twenty years or so you may not be aware of the growth of property based programs. The big ones are, or have been, Grand Designs, Location Location Location and Property Ladder.

Grand Designs should consider itself immune to my following general comments as it is about building houses, architecture and design rather than treating your house as an investment. However, the other programs encouraged two things both of which are, to me, anathema. Firstly that due to the uncertainty of financial markets due to their global nature people should see property as an investment and secondly that you should do everything in neutral colours so that potential buyers won't be offended by your taste.

I was prompted to write this particular blog after hearing an economist round on a BBC journalist and point out to him fairly bluntly that a house is not an investment it is somewhere you live. Hear hear I shouted loudly at the radio. The economist was also suggesting that there NEEDED to be an adjustment in property values of around 30% to make the market viable. As somebody potentially with a property to sell I would only be keen on every other property except mine to drop.

Location Location Location and its spin off Relocation Relocation are probably the biggest offenders. In all the years that the program has been on I can only recall one couple with a realistic budget that most ordinary members of the public could grasp. It generally features young couples who have eyewatering budgets that it is unclear how they can afford them and are just unnecessarily picky and turn down beautiful homes for no other reason than they don't like the decor. They clearly haven't the wit to realise that there is a product called paint and another called wallpaper which have been known to remedy even the worst taste.

Property Ladder which has now departed this mortal coil featured Sarah Beeny going round helping people climb the property ladder by suggesting improvements to make to purchases. Her own house is quite restrained from when I saw it on telly once. She spent most of the time rolling er eyeballs as her 'clients' ignored everything she said racked up huge debts and then were surprised to find that they couldn't make the money back. I will at this point throw in Homes Under The Hammer which focuses on the auction market and usually features buy to let investors who are the people who helped to create the property bubble and cause the crash by taking loans that they could not afford on the assumption that property values would always go up.

Other offerings are To Buy or Not To Buy which is awful, Escape to the Country which I quite like as it is something I would like to do but which baffles me and House Swap. Channel 4 and Five have other shows in the mould of Grand Designs but they are not a patch on it.

I worked in financial services and mortgages for a few years and I was appalled at the amounts of money and the types of people companies would lend money to for over priced houses. People were allowed to take mortgages on 6 or more times their income or even worse to self certify on their mortgages. Self certification works something like this you see a house you want but you either can't prove your earnings or you don't want to. You go to a provider say I can afford this mortgage and for a bit of a price hike they give it to you.

At the end of the day you pick the best house you can afford to buy for the money you either have or can borrow and make it your own. Make improvements when you can afford to do them and if you can't get it how you want it by the time you come to sell then just be prepared to negotiate a bit on the price. Property values are just as subject to market forces as the money markets and if you lose your house you could be in trouble. So gentle reader don't fall prey to the buy it, rebuild it and redesign it brigade. When you see a house see a place to live, to bring up your family and to enjoy not as your pension because it will all go in the end. If you can't afford to buy then rent it works in France and Germany. It's not ideal but if you get a good landlord you may enjoy it just as much.