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Posted

I only rented for the first six months of my married life, and that was because I knew I would be moving around. I knew before I was married that I would go to Adelaide for 3 months to help another guy set  up the bank's Adelaide computer centre and train staff. He was to stay on and manage the centre, while I moved to Sydney and repeated the exercise there. As I was to stay on and manage the Sydney centre, I started looking for a house to buy. For about six weeks, my wife and I lived in a motel at the bank's expense while we found a house and completed the purchase. I remained in Sydney for six years (72 to 78) and was then transferred back to Melbourne, where I bought the house we have lived in ever since. My wife died here, I will die here, and then it will passs to the kids who live here with me. It is the only home my 44 year old daughter has ever known.

 

I guess you could say I was lucky. Working for a bank, there was no difficulty getting a loan, and staff concessional interest rates were half the public rate. When I left the bank, my long service leave was paid out, and I paid off the mortgage. I have had 100% equity since 1991.

Posted

I don't put much stock in such sources.  A downward trend in prices  would help new buyers. Is THAT happening? Higher interest rates would reduce ability to pay it off. .   Nev

Posted

What has been missed, I think, in discussing the reasons for the lack of rental premises and, to some extent, for the failure of companies involved in the construction of residential properties is the effects of weather on the rate of construction.

 

The weather over the past year or so has put a stop to the development of housing estates and houses in them. Southwest Sydney, where I used to live, is a major area for new housing. Construction boomed during those years of drought, but then the wet years arrived. I lived in that area for thirty years and I only once or twice saw the amount of rainfall that caused flooding. For most of those years estates and houses weren't popping up like field mushrooms. But since the end of the last drought there have been periods of extremely high rainfall resulting in delays to estate development and thereafter construction of housing.

 

If a building company cannot complete a house, it doesn't get paid. If it doesn't get paid, subbies and suppliers don't get paid. The ultimate result is a bankrupted building company and no house.

Posted

whats the alternative?

larger population in a relatively similar sized space,

 

cant go much further out in many cities as its just not practical time wise with travel, and we haven't invested in infrastructure.

not to mention geographical features (hills etc... as we've used up the flat land)

Posted

We have also used up the flat land that was good for agriculture. In Europe they don't expect to have home ownership universal. Rentals are common and satisfactory with thick common walls and good security for a large part of the Population..  Nev

Posted

Those " semies " are without a car port . 

In the  fifties they had four ( quads ) with the missing rear access for transport vehicles between each set of four houses .

( to take your horse & cart out the back

( my wife's father had a horse and cart )) .

spacesailor

 

 

Posted

In the group in my photos, it appears that units are back to back (common wall) with a garage on ground level of each one. I can't enter the compound, but only guessing from what I could see through the framework.

Posted

Yes ( in Australia ), but I was referring to Jerry-Atrick,s

Semi-detached houses photo . 

When we are all  , on the one power source .

watch the price sky-rocket .

As I write this , the TV is telling me " electricity is going up " .

how well , do ' airdryers ' work , during a " brown-out " .

spacesailor

 

 

Posted

They work on the sun and humidity unless you mean HAIR dryers We dry  the clothes in front of the fire, and dry the Dogs with a towel. Don't believe much of what the TV tells you.. Nev

Posted

I meant " electric cloths dryers ". 

Even worse would be no dinner ware & cutlery. 

With-out your " dishwasher " , my wife's dishwasher has been working for 60 ish years . ( me ) .

spacesailor

 

Posted

I'm the dishwasher in this house.

 

I got an email from Origin Energy, my gas supplier, advising that gas prices are going up on July 1. Howwever, they also said, based on my usage over the last 12 months, I could swich to another plan which could save me approximately $140 per annum.

Posted

We use bottled gas at $145 per bottle. I was hoping for reticulated gas but there will be no more added in Victoria. No way I am switching to electric, we will be having brown outs and blackouts within a couple of years due to inadequate supply. Already have the maximum solar electric on the roof and solar heating for the pool.

Posted
6 minutes ago, pmccarthy said:

we will be having brown outs and blackouts within a couple of years due to inadequate supply.

I was going to say something along this line in the EV thread. When the expected brownouts happen next summer, where are the EVs going to get their electrons?

Posted
3 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

We use bottled gas at $145 per bottle. I was hoping for reticulated gas but there will be no more added in Victoria. No way I am switching to electric, we will be having brown outs and blackouts within a couple of years due to inadequate supply. Already have the maximum solar electric on the roof and solar heating for the pool.

I did away with the 45kg bottles years ago when they brought in the annual rental fee. I use my own 9kg bottles and get a refill from the local hardware store for $25, which is equivalent to $125 for a 45kg bottle. There's no rental and a bottle lasts ten years between testing. It's only viable for someone like me with a low gas usage household; with a higher usage there would be too many bottle turnovers to bother dealing with small bottles.

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Posted

The smartest source of electrons for EV's is solar or wind  and battery storage. In some places you don't need connection to the grid and long distance transmission with the LOSSES  and risk of weather damage that entails . I think the original article says there MAY be a RISK of blackouts. Power cuts of varying  duration'. Brown outs are different thing entirely. BASELOAD is a term out of todays context. What  you need is a quick response to change. SO|ME people can agree to some disruption and get bonusses for it which might suit their situation.. Link the EV battery in  and make money at  a higher) rate. There's a lot of potential ways of handing this and highly centralised ANYTHING is not really part of it.. Who wants to be CAPTIVE to a monopoly GRID if it can be avoided? Personally the approx 300$ a year it costs for connexion is good value .It's less than I pay for OXY and Acetylene bottles..Nev

Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, old man emu said:

I was going to say something along this line in the EV thread. When the expected brownouts happen next summer, where are the EVs going to get their electrons?

the flip side is that the EV owners have a battery they can draw from during these times.
use the cars battery at peak and charge off peak


remember listening to a green economist talk about this. (honestly one of the best most realistic conversation I have heard about this)

the best way forward with EV's is excess....
having the electric "toys" I.E. motorcycle/boat in the shed can be used for backup during power peak times.


 

Edited by spenaroo
Posted

Housing shortage....

 

From the esteemed Betoota Advocate:-

 

"Young Australians Probably Would Fight Overseas If They Still Got A Block Of Land In Maroubra Upon Return"

  • Haha 1

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