Chancellor's Emergency Budget Day June 8th 2020

[Melboy]

I have raised this as a new topic because there are going to be a few things to talk about especially in the property market that will affect us all on this forum and beyond with his decisions today.

So what's your thoughts and reactions to Rishi Sunak's plan to kick-start the economy? Good or Bad?  What has he missed as an opportunity in your opinion?

[Richlist]

I think I'd prefer to wait until the Chancellor has made his speech and we know exactly what's on offer.

All I've seen so far is a right wing press who can't seem to get much right at the moment and a Labour party that does nothing but whinge & moan. 

[Carryon Regardless]

Anything he, or the Gov't do is a gamble. Where this Covid takes us to is as yet unknown.

Early morning not sleeping time I watched a Lords 'debate type transmission'. This was one of those split screen types and would zoom in to experts and Lords as they took centre stage. The experts of various settings were reporting their findings and understanding to the Lords, so that the Lords can exercise their new expertise for our benefit I guess. 

I watch daily briefing now very occasionally. As it became clear that we are being more manipulated than educated. Watching the behaviour at mass gatherings I can understand why.

Anyway the experts were keen to share their knowledge without trying to twist it for a mass audience. After some time one thing was very clear, the experts don't bl**dy know. In truth I am surprised that by now there isn't more definitive knowledge from experience gained around the world and from lab test and experiments to attempt better understanding of this thing, but I didn't witness that.

So in the early days the masses were thrown lots of loafs to pacify them / us (well actually not LL's but hey ho). But this thing looks increasingly like a long haul so when will our Chancellor consider that he gave away too much too soon. The loafs can't be thrown to the Plebs indefinitely. His level of financial support/s is unsustainable, in the real world that I try to understand at least.

We are now anaesthetised to the gifts of the occasional £Billion. Support for the furloughed, for the self employed (or self unemployed possibly) all seems reasonable, and I could see the strategy. But he is looking for ways to reduce that bill and pass it to others, in recognition that it isn't sustainable. Where I seriously question the new strategies is gifts to a company to hire out electric scooters, to be paid for by 30.3 million taxpayers but used by a few. But the £2B is only £66 to each tax payer, on top of the debt of £1,821Billion prior to Covid  and that already equates to over £60,000 per tax payer. On our behalf the Theatres can have a mere £1.74B.

Now the Universities want their gift. Then the £2B for improving home insulation, are there many houses left that still need this after previous similar / same initiatives?

Investing in the infrastructure to generate jobs and improve lives generally has obvious payback. Too much of what is happening now though reeks of corruption and feeding the already well heeled that have the advantage of being able to bend the ear of those empowered to gift our money.

Time'll tell but I think Sunak might be fuelling discontent and increasing the possibility of civil disorder, as the money runs out that is.

 

 

[Melboy]

Well, his speech has been and gone now..............Some interesting points I thought but obviously lacking detail at this stage.

I am interested in the money voucher to be given to landlords for "Green Energy" improvements and I hope it is a better arrangement to the one the Labour government did back in the 1990's.

My Mother in Law had a new boiler fitted back then under the Labour green energy arrangements of a "free boiler" and it was "dogged in" I have to say by Roy Rogers & Clint Eastwood........but it was free and it lasted all of 5 years.

Will my Son pick up any work from this new green deal?  I doubt it.   What normally happens is that just one or two companies are chosen to undertake installation work. Still, I will give the government the benefit of the doubt.........for now.

[Richlist]

The cut in SDLT is the most interesting for me. There was no mention of the 3% surcharge paid by property investors so at this stage i am assuming the surcharge remains...... nevertheless, every bit helps.

[Melboy]

The 3% SDLT surcharge remains for 2nd homes.   Still digesting the £10 food voucher.  😋

Not sure how the re-employment of a  £1,000 cash back to those who people are furloughed is going to tempt employers though.

[kerbut]

Well hopefully I can get a boiler and c/h fitted to replace the nightstore heaters in one flat , I am quite happy to pay 1/3rd.

[Richlist]

1 hour ago, kerbut said:

Well hopefully I can get a boiler and c/h fitted to replace the nightstore heaters in one flat , I am quite happy to pay 1/3rd.

Your contribution will be even less than that......nearer to a 1/4 after you have offset your payment against tax.

[Melboy]

Energy saving £5,000 vouchers are available to Landlord's from September. Apparently you can use these vouchers to purchase from a registered supplier.......this is where it's gets a bit murky imo.

Now to my simple mind I should be able to to go to my Son's company with my boiler voucher and ask him to install a new quality Worcester/Bosch boiler for me in my rented house with a 30 year old boiler. I pay him his invoice and he claims back from the government scheme my energy voucher money.

He is VAT registered. pays Corporation Tax and has not received a single penny from the Government during the 4 month Covid Pandemic because he is classed as a a limited company and does not qualify for any financial help.

If the government are going to do what the Labour government did regarding boiler changes then be warned because Roy Rogers and Clint Eastwood will be your installers.......probably. The two people who installed my MiL's boiler back in the 1990's had left Leeds at 3 am to be in London by 8 am to fit boiler and they left at 5 pm back to Leeds. It was the cheapest of boilers (Ariston ) as well and badly installed. No pre site installation visit of course.

I shall watch with interest and report back.

[Carryon Regardless]

Mel I haven't read the minute detail, and tbh probably won't spend my time doing so.

But 'registered', with the Warm..... is what I would expect. I had a call 2 days ago from Warm Wales, a charity apparently, how nice. They wish to survey the replacement of electric heaters in one of my 5 flats because they are faulty. How surprising that that verbal T didn't let me know.

I'm expecting the registered body will be the overseer of works, farming those works out to fly by nights.

So far I understand we will pay 1/3 of any install, of whatever. Since the price may well be doubled by the monopoly body adding for their admin and inspection, time will tell if this is going to be a pee take of the naive, and the tax payer.

But you know I am historically just plain cynical.

I saw the news item last night discussing the disadvantaged 1st time buyers competing with investors (us) due to the stamp duty holiday. Somehow we have more fire power to buy and will squeeze out the 1st timers, and the 1st timers are the life blood that generate the property ladder scenario. Totally missed by the interviewees was that we will still be paying the 3% above the 1st timers. Not mentioned was that our mortgage rates are generally higher also.

Now, will mortgages be available in the numbers to rescue the property value downturn anyway? Will employment be at a level that demand will be significant? I see Sunak is attempting to head that off, so possibly, just possibly.