Put back into the community and Adopt a pensioner

[Sustainability]

Most people outside of this forum know house prices over the long term do not rise greater than inflation or wage growth. If they did, houses would become un-affordable. Over the long term bubbles form, but they always pop.

While most of you are playing in a pyramid investment scheme and are having fun until the music stops (and there is nothing wrong with that), spare a though for our pensioners.

Their pensions are not going up by the same rate than you are charging for rent. Many are barely clearing their rent repayments with their pensions. Sadly many are committing suicide, rather than asking for help.

Now here is your chance to make a difference. You can Adopt-a-pensioner here : http://adopt-a-pensioner.yourwebspace.com.au.

Alternatively if your tenant is a pensioner, maybe you should consider slashing their rent by half? It will only be short term, as the price of your property should fall over the next two years, to come back in line with normal prices - history says they always well.

So do you bit for the community and help out a pensioner struggling to meet rent payments.

 

[WallyB]

Great sentiment- may I ask what you're doing for pensioners currently??

 

[Big Tone]

1st post.............need anymore be said

 

[yo yo ma]

Sadly many are committing suicide, rather than asking for help.

Can I ask where you obtained your figures?

Alternatively if your tenant is a pensioner, maybe you should consider slashing their rent by half?

Fortunately, my tenants are not pensioners so can't help there.

If, as you claim, the bubble does pop, I then have to make the most of it now, so the rent charged goes up at market rates. If my tenants don't like this, they have the option not to sign the lease. If the market says that rent must be lowered (due to supply & demand), then, and only then, will the rents be reduced.

The reason I choose to invest, is so I will not have to live on the pension in my latter years.

 

[weg]

There are far more non investors purchasing properties. 19 in 20 I believe. Shouldn't they also help out?

How about the pollies who are not releasing enough land and bringing in so many overseas immigrants?

What about the ablebodied renters that earn the same as, or more than alot of investors, yet pay only half of what a house costs to buy (thanks to investors). Shouldn't they help out?

If anything IP investors ARE doing something; preventing the rental crisis from being much worse than it is

This is what it could be like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIeRN-E2zek

 

[Aaron Sice]

yes - cut the rent by half and subsidise someone's living arrangements even further - someone who didn't bother to set themselves up for retirement, just expected a handout and a gold watch.

only be short term...? what, until they die? or commit suicide?

maybe you shoud go back to watching today tonight and leave the investment suggestions in your little box of tricks.

good night.

 

[Xenia]

My parents worked, saved, purchased properties and retired financially independent in their 50s. It wasn't easy with 20% plus loans in the 80s but they pushed through and it payed off.

My inlaws had the same opportunities and properties in Australia were $10,000 in the 50s and no competition. They chose to have an easier life and work from pay cheque to paycheque and spend all they had. They now rely on the pension to get by.

I see all of this as peoples personal financial situations bought about by peoples choices, behaviours and thinking. I fail to see how anyone else but the individuals involved should be responsible for any of this.

I think the only way anyone can help pensioners of the future is by setting examples of good financial literacy. I personally think that handouts make the situation worse!

 

[aaarghhh]

Can I ask where you obtained your figures?

The pic is from http://www.whocrashedtheeconomy.com/ausrealhomeprices.gif

What does the Y - axis measure - 50,100,150,200, bananas?

While most of you are playing in a pyramid investment scheme

I prefer a heart shaped box.


I think they want hits on their site(s) and clicking on google ads. Gotta love syndication and Urchin.

 

[Tizzy]

Many people I know support pensioners in one way or another. Whether as unpaid carers or in other ways. I have an elderly relative renting one of the family IP's. She pays $160 pw rent on a unit that should be returning $380 pw.

I don't think we are unusual. While a shortage of state funded rentals exist, I'm sure many families will be supplementing the income of their fixed income elderly relatives. After all, they didn't all get an equal opportunity to save for their old age.

 

[Perp]

What does the Y - axis measure - 50,100,150,200, bananas?

"Real home price index, 100 = 1890 prices", as per the heading at the top. I guess it's the price adjusted back to 1890 dollars, relative to the price of a home that cost $100 in 1890.

 

[plusnq]

"Real home price index, 100 = 1890 prices", as per the heading at the top. I guess it's the price adjusted back to 1890 dollars, relative to the price of a home that cost $100 in 1890.

Now we just need an algorithm that adjusts for cost/m2 and we could possibly see some relevant data?

 

[skater]

Their pensions are not going up by the same rate than you are charging for rent.

Maybe they should downsize, or move to a more affordable area.

Many are barely clearing their rent repayments with their pensions. Sadly many are committing suicide, rather than asking for help.

Gee, I must have missed the headlines in the newspapers declaring this one. I'm sure if this was happening it would well and truely be sensationalised by the likes of Today Tonight and the like.

Alternatively if your tenant is a pensioner, maybe you should consider slashing their rent by half?

Oh, OK. So, you're going to pay our mortgages are you? Investers already pay more than their share of Taxes. I'd gladly cut the rents if the government (or you) paid the other half of the rents.

It will only be short term, as the price of your property should fall over the next two years, to come back in line with normal prices - history says they always well.

Hmmm......this is a good one. Even if the price of the property fell, that would have absolutely NO effect on rents. Rents are determined by supply and demand. So while the demand is high rents are just going to continue to increase. If you want to come to an investment forum to sprout this kind of rot, maybe you should do a little research first.

So do you bit for the community and help out a pensioner struggling to meet rent payments.

FWIW, not all pensioners are struggling.

 

[lizzie]

hmmm - seeings as they can get rental assistance, doesn't that mean i'm already paying part of their rent out of my taxes?

 

[stumunro]

Im choosing to make the sacrifices now so I don't have to rely on someone else funding my retirement.

**EDIT** I think im a bit fired up this morning so i'll delete these parts

 

[natmarie73]

This adopt-a-pensioner thing is the latest feel-good initiative on A Current Affair Tonight, and in many ways it is a great idea (I happened to catch the story last night while avoiding ads...).

What it entails is either donating financially whereby your donation gets transformed into a food voucher or something so it doesn't affect their tax or pension, or you can donate your time ie by doing their shopping or driving them to appointments etc. Even just befriending a pensioner who is alone would make a huge difference to their lives, and really dosn't cost anything financially.

I haven't checked out their website for details, but all in all the idea is nice and sure to get the warm-fuzzies going. My cynical side immediately thought about how some unscrupulous people would join this scheme and try to scam the pensioner's houses when they die though...

http://adopt-a-pensioner.yourwebspace.com.au/

 

[buzzlightyear]

If people are really concerned for the elderly, then the best place to start and help is your family, not some gimmick for the temporary appeasement of a 5 minute social cause.

 

[Sunfish]

It doesn't happen that way, unfortunately, Buzz. "Care" is very unevenly spread.

Mrs Fish is about to retire and will, most likely, do charity work among the aged. So many need a little help but in kind, (company, help getting around etc) not cash.

What does pith me off is the retirees who can't see past their next pokie fix.

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hey Wally

I think our post starter is providing granma and spieling lessons , ....or maybe they have fat fingers like me

ta
rolf

 

[grossreal]

hi natmarie73
I am exactly with you on that one.
its great to have a warm fuzzy feeling but remember that most of these people as they change there position also change there ideas and no always for the best.
as they say you start as a child
grow up
and then in alot of cases change back to a child not in age but in mind.
so to have a system that adopts a person thats great for alot of people
but not all are above board and by doing this you are herding in a group and saying pick em off one by one.
now the families may or may not visit or what ever
but in comes johnny and he says I'll look after this one, this one and this one and get this person to draw up all the paperwork and before you know it johnny has a very nice porfolio.
this to me is very risky.
adopt a pensioner is a great idea
to organise a system to do it is not
as you are leaving that person at the whim of someone that they have very little protection against.
and the people that will be joining will be people that have very little contact with other(thats why they joined) so who is going to look after there affaires
johnny
and because its on tv it has to be safe and the website will look great so its got to be above board.
the tv is and the website is but is johnny.
spring to mind the great idea of taking kids from the bush and putting them with white familys in the suburbs
great idea or so it was thought at the tiem and for some it was a great idea
the trouble was some of those kids ended up in houses that had convicts, rapists,child offenders and good nows what in them
and no control or very little on who or where they went.
so are we going to mirror history now and put our aged care in the same position
and have in 10 to 15 years people looking back saying how the hell did this happen as we are now.
for me lets get the sorry out of the way in advance
and not wait for another 30 years to say it.
or lets not let it happen in the first place.
if you ever get to watch the cat in the hat( was on the other night) and one of its saying which is to this posts
is where the kids want fun all day and every day.
and the cat warning was
with any good idea there is always consequences and look at the consequences before asking and signing the contract
they signed and the story went on.
the same here for me
the consequence I see
is that you will have mr smilth no family, no friends, house with no loan
and
johnny
just out of gaol, lots of time, no chance of a job, on rehab and going to a social group to bring his life together
and gets
go adopt a pensioner on tv and mr smith is johnny first client.
client because thats what he will end up.
maybe I see it differently but I also see we are all human and johnny will do what all others do and survive and no body is looking after mr smith as he has noone.
just my view of it and to me is the most dangerous thing I have heard in a very long time

 

[Sustainability]

I see many of you are making cheap shots at the poor pensioner, that they should have saved enough money etc. There are other comments such as "My parents worked, saved, purchased properties and retired financially independent in their 50s. It wasn't easy with 20% plus loans in the 80s but they pushed through and it payed off."

I don't think you realize the severity or sheer size of the bubble in housing at the moment.

The graph belows shows the number of wage years required to buy a house. Since the 1900's to the late 1980's a average house cost a little more than 4 years wages.

Today, the average home is worth about 10 years wages.

Sure Xenia, your parents in the 80's would have had no trouble - houses were only 4x wages.

However for the pensioner today, like the rest of us, their income has not increased in the same proportions than the current housing asset bubble. Who would have guessed twenty years ago that in 2008 we would be at the peak of the biggest housing bubble Australia, and in fact most of the world has seen. Would you have put some extra money away?