Quote:
Originally Posted by gfx3
This has nothing to do with the euro, I live in Europe and those cheap mortage rates have always been like that. They are so cheap because if you stop paying back the loan the bank takes the house and put it up for sale so there is no risk for them to lose the money they loaned.
I know that Americans prefer new homes but in Europe the age of a property makes no difference at all, so a property doesn't lose any value. That is why banks can offer these cheap loans.
I know you can buy building plots in California where you pay 1$ for a square metre while in Europe you pay 150$ per square metre so this is also something you need to take into your calculations when comparing mortgage rates between Europe and the US.
As for property I did some digging where you could get the best value for your money and when you compare Europe and the States the US is the best place to settle and get the most for your money.
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I wasn't comparing the Euro to $ in that post - it was a reply to there was no benefit in the Britain joining the Euro, and last time I looked, British mortgage lenders did the same thing - repossess and sell the house on default.
And that low interest rate on mortgages IS because of the Euro - the Bank of England base interest rate is now at 5%, wherease the European central bank is at 2%. It has got fuck all to do with whether the banks repossess the house, it's to do with WHERE the banks get their money form to lend to you.