Others more deserving of help than people in negative-equity trap
Amid all the criticism of the Policy Address, I'd like to support the Chief Executive on the issue of negative equity. Property owners caught in the negative-equity trap should be responsible for their own decisions.
Fifteen years ago, my husband and I had the ability to get a mortgage on a flat of 1,000 square feet but decided not to for the following reasons: one of us might suddenly depart from this world, or one of us might lose his or her job. In such cases, how could the other one pay for everything? Therefore, we mortgaged a 370-sq-ft flat for us and a baby daughter. After four years, we sold it and mortgaged one which was 30 sq ft bigger. That was when so many other members of Hong Kong's sandwich class forgot about careers and devoted much time and money to the property and stock markets. We concentrated on our professions and how best to raise our daughter.
Seeing the drop in property prices in Tokyo, we sold our second flat eight years ago. That was at a time when Hong Kong people ate shark's fin soup and boasted of victories in stocks and property. Many people asked us why we didn't mortgage another property instead of moving from one rental flat to another. Our reply was: 'The flats don't deserve the price, and we don't want to be slaves to property tycoons.'
For many years, we learned how to 'survive' in small flats. In the first few years, we didn't have a sofa in the sitting room because the flats we mortgaged and rented were too small - until the rent dropped and we could afford a 600-sq-ft flat.
Thank you, again, Tung Chee-hwa for caring for the contributions made by taxpayers. These contributions should be used for the needy instead of helping those who are able to live in spacious flats. As for people with negative equity, please ask the property tycoons for help instead of blaming the Government.
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