Of all the animals of prey, man is the only sociable one.
Every one of us preys upon his neighbour, and yet we herd together.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay

Thursday 30 October 2008

Mortgages...two and two make eight.

"We are victims of irresponsible lending" - the words of a couple forced this week to sell their home because they could not keep up with mortgage repayments. This unhappy story is being played out up and down the country, resulting in much hardship and distress. However...

The couple in question are city traders who 'needed' £1.5 million to fund the purchase of a 'dream Sussex farmhouse'. A broker arranged a loan for the full amount (eight times their regular income) which was agreed by the bank without any salary check. Four months later, the couple are selling because they cannot make ends meet on the mere £1,300 they have left after paying the mortgage each month.

This is worthy of comment in so many ways that I shall leave it to you, dear readers, to muse at leisure on the matter. Meanwhile I shall refrain from comment on the issue du jour except to say that far from the 'adultification' cited in my previous post, the radio equivalent of two little boys shouting obscenities through someone's letter box and running away is a perfect illustration of the infantilisation that permeates contemporary society.

3 comments:

  1. £1.5 m = 8x their salary? Assuming they are both traders as you suggest, and assuming they both earn the same, then according to my maths each of them earns under £100k. Good lord - they'd get laughed out of any bar in the City on a take-home that measly!!!!

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  2. Re: Manuel-gate, I didn't hear it (my wireless has been stuck on Radio 4 for many years) but since when has Radio 2 been at the edge of broadcasting? I thought it was all dad rock with a bit of that nice Jeremy Vine.

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  3. BK - I suspect R2(or BBC2, for that matter)is like one of those city parks where nannies with Silver Cross prams are replaced at night by drunken hoodies or those engaged in dubious 'open-air' pursuits.
    My only recent experience of R2 is in the waiting room at our rather genteel local doctor's surgery, where it is played (quite loud) to ensure patient confidentiality at the desk. Oh to be a fly on the wall at late evening surgery!

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