I can't afford to buy a house

Hi,
Your story is oh so familiar.
I am not offering a solution in your specific situation as it sounds as if you need to remain in your area but, I know there are many retirees facing the same scenario.
If you are willing to pack up and move I have a solution but only if you like living in the tropics.
I have built and continue to build residences with today's economic turmoil in mind.
I have 2 bedroom, 2 bath units of 102 mts at under $80k (U.S. $) and monthly fees of only $80 per month plus utilities (U.S) . Our location is in the VERY affordable country of Panama. If you have an interest please contact me.

Being a landlord is the best way to secure your future. I decided not to trust my super fund as it will not be enough in retirement. By buying an investment property I have secured my future. As inflation rises so does rent. Eventually the loan is paid off and I can earn a weekly pension. In doing so, I will not receive the old age pension which will reduce the strain on tax payers contributions.

Investment properties are far more secure than banks or shares.

We all have to rely on others to fund our superannuation. It makes little difference as all our retirement money is funded by others.

I say investing in property is the best move.

Gainsborough lad. your logic shows blind greed has left you lost for words/answers... I have 14yrs behind me fighting greedy landlords, I am happy because I see much of what I say repeated on many sites around the world, the excuses/answers posted by landlords are all the same. makes my job easier,

Athair, using your logic, someone with no legs could demand a leg from their neighbour?

The business person works for a living, and pays most of what he earns to a landlord, the business person supplies a item to a custumer who pays in full for that item that then becomes his property .
A landlord does not work for a living, ( other than swing a golfclub ) he collects most of his money from a hard working tenant who pays in full for the roof over his head, that roof never becomes his property , because of all the greedy landlords are polishing seats with their butts in Parliament,

That is why people cant afford to buy a house, get rid of landlords and every one will have their own house ,

Athair, and I take it that the said buisness person doesn't make any money out of other people? like the landlord does? get yourself a tent or caravan.

I worked in a real estate office for 6months, as I needed to be on the inside to find out how the cookie. crumbled, one scam that was used to trap people there was always a house for rent that was used to give false values. this house was never let. people looking for a house were sent to this house first, then to the ones overpriced by 20% looked like bargains, its the same with houses for sale, this scam is used in car yards , supermarkets etc, there was no word in the dictionary to explain this activity so I created, 'SCAMBANGER' people need to recognise the scambanger, because it is legalised fraud

What makes the price of a house go upwards, there is just one activity that forces up prices, rents, If a house is said to be worth $400 a week in rent then as a investment property it is worth $400.000 rents are not based on the comforts and lifestyle of the tenant, they are based on how much rent so is you charge $600 a week, the value of the property goes up to $600.000.

Then there is the small business person he does not pay rent based on the cost of the building/land it is based on the hard work of the business owner, I he makes a million dollars a year. his rent could be $5000 a week, we need to rid this world of greedy parasites they take most of what we earn,,,,,,

This is one of the many negatives of immigration which far outweigh any benefits if there are any.

You sound like a professional. Relocate to America. It is not as bad as the BBC makes it out to me. And by the way I am not American. I am a professional, immigrant who has lived in the US as well as the UK for almost a decade each. If you leave out the mega expensive cities (LA, Frisco, NY etc), there are a lot of outstanding places to live where the dollar really stretches far and you can enjoy a very high standard of living. For a professional individual, the US is the best place to live.

House prices are a way of keeping wages artificially high. Smart people don't live in houses, rather they spent their excess income on things they desire. Otherwise to get a job you need to be born into a rich family.

House prices are a religion. They are advertised and sold and the prices that they are because people collectively think that is their worth or value. There is practically nothing intrinsic or true for the value of a house.

The nearest one could get to an intrinsic value is building costs, which are typically about 20% of actual advertised house price. The rest is so-called "land value".

The priests of this religion are the Estate Agents, backed up by their bishop in the Abbey National building society.

This religion must be swept away and replaced with a new one. The belief is destroying our society.