James's Take On Housing Crisis Is A Must-Listen
4 May 2016, 13:01 | Updated: 26 August 2016, 10:25
James O'Brien brilliantly articulated Londoners' concerns about the housing crisis in the capital.
The lack of housing is the most important issue for people in the London Mayoral Election tomorrow.
And James was discussing the new mortgage being offered by Barclay's, in which buyers don't need to put down a deposit for a new house, as long as their parents put in a 10% contribution. This is returned to the parents with 2% interest after three years.
It led James to conclude that only people with wealthy parents will be able to get on the housing ladder.
Speaking on his LBC show, he said: "This is, to my mind, conclusive proof that inherited wealth is pretty much the only way you're going to be ok in this country moving forward.
"Pretty much the only way that you're going to be able to even aspire to a standard of living similar and comparable to your own parents.
"If you've struggled to save up your own deposit, this is in many ways a slap in the face for you. Seriously, you're being, in a way, penalised. Because you're putting up a deposit on a house right now and you're not going to get a 2% return on it. The value of your property might go up, but the people who are using Mum and Dads money, they're getting that as well. So they're getting double pay-out.
"So it appears to me you are getting a better deal if your Mum and Dad have a spare 30 grand, than you will if you are living in a garden shed for the last five years so that you can save up 30 grand of your own to lay down the deposit for a new flat."
