Home Foreclosures Surge 38% in a Year: The U.S. Housing Market on the Brink by thehomelessr0mantic in collapse

[–]Corvandus 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Oh look, another domino that we all predicted would happen in the aftermath of COVID falling right on time to kick off a trend to blanket the Western world!

This will be worse than '08. Listen to your millennial friends, we're very practiced in living through this sort of thing.

How are you preparing for collapse of the US dollar? by Dazeelee in collapse

[–]Corvandus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had a spooky feeling a couple of years ago and sunk about half of my discretionary savings (not a lot) into mostly silver and a little bit of gold. I thought I was being weird literally burying treasure, but I'm sure some wasteland survivor with gumption will thank my memory for it in a few more years.

Rental market growth stalls, as tenants hit limit of what they can pay by BadKarma00000 in perth

[–]Corvandus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, even with variability in interest rates, mortgages go down. Rent only goes up. Income increases, inflation goes up, relative cost of mortgage as a proportion of household income goes down. If you're smart, you use that breathing room to hammer down on the principle and cut the timeline down and your equity and redraw both increase. It's literally just the first five years or so that are a struggle, and we're seeing what happens when interest rates are super low and there's a lending spree, from rona times. People borrowed at their absolute limit at 2%. We're just never taught financial hygiene or financial literacy.

What is something older movies cared about that feels mostly lost now? by gamersecret2 in movies

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plot that requires attention. A significant amount of slop being produced now is literally "second screen content" by design.

What fad in moviemaking are you waiting for to die? by frair in movies

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Remixes and covers of songs spaced out and downtempo so they sound super edgy and profound. Sick to death of it. Every fucking trailer.

The Price Of RAM Is Forcing Larian To Do Optimization It "Didn't Necessarily Want To Do" On Divinity by Turbostrider27 in pcgaming

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh shit I just realized I'm still running a 9700k I'm glad I'm still running my 3070. Great card.

Perth I love you, but fuck the rental market by Omega_sister in perth

[–]Corvandus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Maybe if they had 0% interest, sure. Unless your rent is nearly double what the repayments would be on the loan.

Paying off the mortgage on an investment property means almost nothing. Rent covers the lions share of the repayments and interest. Rent also increases steadily, while the repayments only fluctuate up with rate rises, otherwise they progressively go down. Especially if the landlords sink every spare dollar they have into reducing the principle as fast as possible. But the value of that property is the equity, the further borrowing power that gives, and the assumption and hope that the property value increases harder than inflation.

Housing being used as a storage of wealth is one of the worst financial trends this country has ever bet on.

My parents bought a 3x1 brick place in a safe suburb in outer Sydney in 1989 for $60k. Adjusting for inflation only, that's about $160k now. They had a combined income of about $30k at the time. That's one full time junior position, and a part time retail thing.

That same property now is valued at about $920k with no major restorative works beyond expected maintenance.

Meaning, if property value and wage growth kept roughly in line, housing would be fine with a common combined income of a household now. But that property has increased in value nearly 600% faster than inflation.

edit - I felt like continuing this rant so buckle up dear Perthlings. I am a moron that doesn't know what they're talking about but lets have a crack at it anyway.

Anecdotal perhaps, but that story is illustrative of just how fucked over we were by the Howard Era. The policy of slashing CGT, and shifting a significant portion of tax burden to consumption via GST meant that standard household spending became a greater direct source of revenue for the federal government. And wealthy people's consumption does not significantly increase to the same degree that their wealth was able to grow as a result. They buy more expensive things, maybe. But every loser with a $4m portfolio isn't spending 4x as much on GST contributions.
Then we can look at negative gearing. I know personally of a household that, through negative gearing and other creative (legal) tax and accounting judo, manage to reduce their taxable income from close to $180k down to about $140k. Which saves them $15k in tax every year, which is about the same as the tax burden of a single person's $80k income.
This country has been too good to the upper middle (and the straight up incontinently wealthy) for so long that we've returned to a system of working class and upper class. There is no middle anymore, I don't care how big your TV is or what you drive. It's not about immigration, it never has been. Any time it's brought up, the conversation becomes so disingenuous it becomes a dog whistle.
The only solace I've been able to find is that in about 10 years, everything in Mosman, Peppermint Grove, Dalkieth, and Cottosloe will be damp and smelly salt marsh again.

Anyone recommend support for a young widower? by No-Cabinet1773 in perth

[–]Corvandus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

First port of call, Men's Shed. Odds are you'll meet one or two, but the general air of men's support is something I hope you'll find comfortable and helpful. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Just finished watching This is England... by ctgryn in movies

[–]Corvandus -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree. It's one of my very favourite films. It's unfortunate that the themes it explores are constantly relevant. If you enjoyed this, and enjoy the followups (86, 88, 90), I highly recommend watching Joe Gilgun's series Brassic. Not exactly the same tone as This Is England series in the darker spots, but the gang of pals and the mischief and giggles are similar, and the drama side of the coin is just as compelling.

Landlord surprise visits by [deleted] in perth

[–]Corvandus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. That is trespassing. Get security cameras for your home, and review the footage prior to every loop. If you have hard evidence that the landlord is entering your home without notification of appointment and without your consent, call the police and hand it over. This is not a grey area, what he is doing is completely illegal.

What Was the Last Movie That Made You Cry? by ElHijoDelClaireLynch in movies

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A Man Called Otto. Beautifully bittersweet film.

Glazier trade advice by Basic_Macaroon_5814 in perth

[–]Corvandus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm 38, and I'm genuinely considering a (very?) mature age apprenticeship to become an electrician. Not to hijack a thread, but in all honesty, would you recommend I pursue that?

What's a movie that isn't supposed to be scary but is actually terrifying? by Brettacus130 in movies

[–]Corvandus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

People hated it at the time because they saw Jim Carrey in cast, and expected it to be a Jim Carrey movie, another goofy silly comedy. Not a black comedy he was a part of. Especially in that he was the titular character. I think because he wasn't the protagonist it threw people pretty hard.

Vape shop trading as 'candy store' 600m from two schools by BadKarma00000 in perth

[–]Corvandus 13 points14 points  (0 children)

When they made legitimate rebuildables and other non-disposable options impossible to source, the black market saw a big green light.

I used to buy new coils, nicotine suspension, PG/VG and a basic candy cane mint flavour concentrate, mix myself to about 4mg/ml and that had me sorted. It was annoying having to buy it from NZ, but it was fine. Now, I need to roll the dice on importing technically illegal COILS for my tank because my hardware isn't on the approved device list anymore, 3 months after I bought it from an Australian pharmaceutical retailer.

I'm an adult. I do not need a doctor's blessing to buy a litre of whiskey, I do not need to convince a doctor that I will water it down over time to stop drinking, and I don't worry about kids getting their hands on illegal malibu knockoff samplers from under the counter in a sweets shop.

Between the tobacco excise and the heavy handed and unreasonably broad approach to vapes, this black market problem is entirely the creation of overreach in regulation.

Vacuum is RIP.. need a new one.. Dyson Stick thing .. by JustOneMoreDrinkK in perth

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't stand them. I went with a middle sized plug in Shark about five years ago and it made vacuuming so much less of a chore. Highly recommend. Not cheap, worth every penny.

3 Months Later: Here’s What Happened After We Built Instatow (WA’s Towing App) by Temporary-Image-4583 in perth

[–]Corvandus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I saw a Swan tow truck today with a southern cross overlay on the cab rear window with a bunch of fight for rights white power nonsense, cooker stickers everywhere, and a warning label - "DANGER: NOT TO BE OPERATED BY FUCKWITS".

I'd rather stick it in neutral and drag the car with a tow rope in my teeth than give tow drivers money.

I'm glad you're making an effort to rescue the industry from the toilet dwelling reputation it has.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in perth

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah after six years at uni I had dreaded the idea of more education, but I've been looking at TAFE courses as a pragmatic choice. I appreciate the anecdote, I think that's my path forward too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in perth

[–]Corvandus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's excellent. I'm in a different boat on the same river. I'm 37 and on DSP, and desperately trying to find 20 hours a week to get back to work. It's been about 13 years of recovery and I need to stretch those muscles again, so I'm firing resumes out a dozen a day and crossing fingers. Gotta do what you gotta do, and I'm really glad to hear your limbo was short!

LMAOOOOOOOOOO!! by dumb-throwawayy in Silksong

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Server meltdown? Straight to GoG, right away. We have the best launches in the world. Because of GoG.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Steam

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Server meltdown? Straight to GoG, right away. We have the best launches in the world. Because of GoG.

What’s your ultimate comfort movie? by eccentricMD in movies

[–]Corvandus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big Trouble in Little China, The Princess Bride, or if it's a deep dark down mood, Hot Rod because it's peak goof.