buying a house....

[abdoujaparov]

Let's give nightcrawler his thread back...

[abdoujaparov]

When the milk sours the cat runs...

It isn't a case of him having his thread back. He can return and claim it whenever he wants... There is plenty of good advice for him to pick at.

[Katster]

it wasn't the negative equity victims I was talking about - they're not in any position to sell at all. They'll only be getting out of the market in the short-term if they're forced to by repossession.

I'm talking about the types who might have bought for (say) £100k, and believed their house to be worth (say) 150k at the peak a few years ago. Today it might be worth (say) £120k, but instead of seeing that as a £20k profit from the £100k they paid, they see it as a £30k loss from its peak at £150k.

[nightcrawler13]

thank you so much for all the info so far

i'm not self employed, i work for the Co-op, so i have pay slips and such from the last three years. Though i'm curious, my kids party business is not currently registered as a business. I just get paid cash in hand every party and save it.... If i was to rent out the two rooms privately, would it be cheaper for me and better for easiness to put the cash through as payments for kids parties? Or is that massively illegal? We never got taught about tax in school

in reference to me 'paying my fair share', balls to that. My plan is to charge £350 all inclusive, which is cheaper then anywhere else in the area. So i would be giving a lucky couple people a big break financially, whilst i would be better off too. Everyone's a winner

Most of the houses i've lived in i've found through gumtree. Pay cash in hand and dont have a contract. So i'm assuming this is non-announced profits and such... Is this bad illegal or just not supposed to happen illegal? I'm not supposed to go through a red light on my bike, but if i do, and have done many times in front of police, they don't care. But then if i was stupid enough to piss on a war monument i would royally fucked. Which end of the scale is this?

I can't believe how little we're taught of practical life skills in school!

[lost]

I bought last year for £145k from the bank, it was a builder that had gone under though they had managed to sell some of the equivalent houses on the estate in 2007 for between £220k to £240k. Haven't got a clue whats its worth now.

Anyone considering new build I'd tell them to first check out the parking.. my estate is a mix of private houses, flats and some social housing. I think it was John Prescott when in power along with setting a minium number of houses a new estate must have also limited the amount of parking to "encourage people to use public transport" in reality as most people have two cars and for some reason people seem to have stopped using their garages for cars, this results in every house and flat trying to find a spot on these tiny little roads for their second car meaning you need to do a 5 point turn to get out of the drive on a morning..

[kaosmark2]

thank you so much for all the info so far

i'm not self employed, i work for the Co-op, so i have pay slips and such from the last three years. Though i'm curious, my kids party business is not currently registered as a business. I just get paid cash in hand every party and save it.... If i was to rent out the two rooms privately, would it be cheaper for me and better for easiness to put the cash through as payments for kids parties? Or is that massively illegal? We never got taught about tax in school

in reference to me 'paying my fair share', balls to that. My plan is to charge £350 all inclusive, which is cheaper then anywhere else in the area. So i would be giving a lucky couple people a big break financially, whilst i would be better off too. Everyone's a winner

Most of the houses i've lived in i've found through gumtree. Pay cash in hand and dont have a contract. So i'm assuming this is non-announced profits and such... Is this bad illegal or just not supposed to happen illegal? I'm not supposed to go through a red light on my bike, but if i do, and have done many times in front of police, they don't care. But then if i was stupid enough to piss on a war monument i would royally fucked. Which end of the scale is this?

I can't believe how little we're taught of practical life skills in school!

[abdoujaparov]

You need to pay tax on your income from the party business. If you dont declare it and HMRC find out you will be stung for unpaid tax plus interest plus a financial penalty. It will hurt

Same goes for rental income, You dont pay tax on all if it, just the profit, and you can offset reasonable expenses in running the property, but if you dont declare the income and pay tax, HMRC will sting you for whay you owe, plus interest plus a penalty. It will hurt.

Do it above board or there's a world of pain

[Rufus Gwertigan]

thank you so much for all the info so far

i'm not self employed, i work for the Co-op, so i have pay slips and such from the last three years. Though i'm curious, my kids party business is not currently registered as a business. I just get paid cash in hand every party and save it.... If i was to rent out the two rooms privately, would it be cheaper for me and better for easiness to put the cash through as payments for kids parties? Or is that massively illegal? We never got taught about tax in school

in reference to me 'paying my fair share', balls to that. My plan is to charge £350 all inclusive, which is cheaper then anywhere else in the area. So i would be giving a lucky couple people a big break financially, whilst i would be better off too. Everyone's a winner

Most of the houses i've lived in i've found through gumtree. Pay cash in hand and dont have a contract. So i'm assuming this is non-announced profits and such... Is this bad illegal or just not supposed to happen illegal? I'm not supposed to go through a red light on my bike, but if i do, and have done many times in front of police, they don't care. But then if i was stupid enough to piss on a war monument i would royally fucked. Which end of the scale is this?

I can't believe how little we're taught of practical life skills in school!

[feral chile]

thank you so much for all the info so far

i'm not self employed, i work for the Co-op, so i have pay slips and such from the last three years. Though i'm curious, my kids party business is not currently registered as a business. I just get paid cash in hand every party and save it.... If i was to rent out the two rooms privately, would it be cheaper for me and better for easiness to put the cash through as payments for kids parties? Or is that massively illegal? We never got taught about tax in school

in reference to me 'paying my fair share', balls to that. My plan is to charge £350 all inclusive, which is cheaper then anywhere else in the area. So i would be giving a lucky couple people a big break financially, whilst i would be better off too. Everyone's a winner

Most of the houses i've lived in i've found through gumtree. Pay cash in hand and dont have a contract. So i'm assuming this is non-announced profits and such... Is this bad illegal or just not supposed to happen illegal? I'm not supposed to go through a red light on my bike, but if i do, and have done many times in front of police, they don't care. But then if i was stupid enough to piss on a war monument i would royally fucked. Which end of the scale is this?

I can't believe how little we're taught of practical life skills in school!

Edited October 15, 2011 by feral chile

[feral chile]

The first rule of tax is... Don't call the tax office

Speek to an accountant would be my advice (specially if you have been a bit naughty)... and get some proper independent advice. They will advise you on the best approach to take and the most tax efficient options open to you. Any local accountant can help you out with sorting out your tax return and advising you on your affairs. I would be lost without mine. You can usually get them to sort basic stuff out quite cheap. Phone around and see whats on offer.

You really are best declaring your income properly from both your business and anything earn't from renting out your house. As unlikely as it is, if HMRC start an enquiry on you it can be very painful. If you go legit you will be able to claim expenses etc and you will find your take home pay healthy anyway I would imagine.

Good luck.

[feral chile]

double post

Edited October 15, 2011 by feral chile

[abdoujaparov]

there is also a possibility, if you have three tenants in the house when you are away, that it will require licensing as a HMO (house in multiple occupation)

[bunique]

Most people buy property with a 20 to 25 year view...

[eFestivals]

I am in negative equity :-(

I bought my flat for 85k. It's now valued at around 70k.

I have to sit it out or face a potential 'loss' of around 10k although I don't really see it like that, because it will all get bundled into whatever house I buy next (whether credit or debit) so I will only really feel it whenever I want to sell and not buy into another property.

it's not necessarily that easy in reality, dependent on your position.

It's unlikely at the moment that you'd get a mortgage that gave over 90% of any property value, so unless you have the cash to pay off the loss on your current property and for a 10% deposit on the property you're buying, it's unlikely that you'd be able to move to another property.

Having said that, I've heard mention in the past of mortgage companies allowing the transfer of negative equity from one property to another, so that might be something a person in negative equity could do (tho I'd be surprised if that's something mortgage companies are doing in the current economic conditions).

[Katster]

it's not necessarily that easy in reality, dependent on your position.

It's unlikely at the moment that you'd get a mortgage that gave over 90% of any property value, so unless you have the cash to pay off the loss on your current property and for a 10% deposit on the property you're buying, it's unlikely that you'd be able to move to another property.

Having said that, I've heard mention in the past of mortgage companies allowing the transfer of negative equity from one property to another, so that might be something a person in negative equity could do (tho I'd be surprised if that's something mortgage companies are doing in the current economic conditions).

[feral chile]

HMRC will give you the advice that suits them... They wont give you any advice on tax avoidance issues...

To say something as generalised as a accountant can't save you money unless you have complex tax affairs is rubbish. It all depends on what you know, what you are doing and how much you are earning.

Some of the things nightcrawler has said is screaming out for professional advice. Who is more likely to work in your best interest, the accountant wh relies on your repeat business or the person who is demanding the money in the first place.

If someone wants to chop your head off you don't hand them the axe...

Edited October 16, 2011 by feral chile

[Rufus Gwertigan]

HMRC will give you the advice that suits them... They wont give you any advice on tax avoidance issues...

To say something as generalised as a accountant can't save you money unless you have complex tax affairs is rubbish. It all depends on what you know, what you are doing and how much you are earning.

Some of the things nightcrawler has said is screaming out for professional advice. Who is more likely to work in your best interest, the accountant wh relies on your repeat business or the person who is demanding the money in the first place.

If someone wants to chop your head off you don't hand them the axe...

[feral chile]

When I was seff-assessed for a few years, I always found the Tax office very friendly and helpful

just thought I'd share....

Edited October 16, 2011 by feral chile

[feral chile]

How so? Tax avoidance is legal... Why should anyone pay more tax than the law demands?

[kaosmark2]

Your incredibly naive ... I don't see what benefits has to do with it either... Separate issues...

My attitude is you pay every penny due and not a penny more... Again, what's wrong with that?

[feral chile]

Your incredibly naive ... I don't see what benefits has to do with it either... Separate issues...

My attitude is you pay every penny due and not a penny more... Again, what's wrong with that?

Edited October 16, 2011 by feral chile

[feral chile]

What tax laws does a sole trader need to know? Turnover minus expenses equals taxable profit. I don't see how an accountant can be cost effective in small cases. I'm trying to keep morality out of this for now, and concentrate on cost effectiveness. I hate seeing people paying good money for something they can get for nothing.

I used to work with a company that bought bad debt, and we'd get calls from financial advisers who were pocketing a fee from people who were almost insolvent, and all the adviser would do is call us and we'd work out a payment plan that we'd have done for nothing with the customer. And the financial adviser's fees would have paid off the debt faster.

People are afraid of financial institutions, and often end up paying more than they'd save.

Did you see my edited link in my post above?

[kaosmark2]

All I am saying is pay every Penney due and your blowing that up into other things....

You are naive because you trust the HMRC and you think only big business can lower their tax bills legally...

If you are well versed in tax laws and procedures then you don't need an accountant ontherwise it can be money well spent...

No problem in general with benefits...

[feral chile]

I am not a christian...

[kaosmark2]

Your welcome to your personal set of morals...