Shocking BBC Investigation: There's a housing bubble in England! Oh my god, who knew!

Gotta love the Brits. England's the home of one of the biggest housing bubbles / ponzi schemes in the world, and Brit hot money has funded bubbles across Europe.

Let's see, they call it the "Housing Ladder", you can rent a place over here for less than 30% of the cost of "owning", every damn show on TV is about flipping homes, their economy is based on banking and housing, everyone wants to be a "buy-to-let" landlord, and the average home price is ELEVEN TIMES the average salary.

Now, this SHOCKING BBC investigation which compares the English housing bubble to past manias, including the South Sea Bubble and the dot-com bubble. Man, that's some great reporting. That's our taxpayer pounds at work over here (did I ever tell you about the TV Tax?).

Welcome to housingpanic.co.uk my Brit friends. A bit late to the party, but glad you could come...

Bubble trouble in housing market - Is there a bubble in the British housing market? We may soon find out.

Looking at every investment mania, from the South Sea bubble of the 18th Century to the stock market boom of the 1920s or the dotcom madness of more recent years, you find dubious deals and misleading numbers which helped persuade borrowers and investors to invest more than they should.

Ominously for the British housing market, a File on 4 investigation has highlighted two glaring examples of these bubble characteristics, both of which have encouraged people to borrow more than they should.

On the one hand, there is the overvaluation of buy-to-let properties. On the other hand is a blatant fraud - lying about your income to get a mortgage.

In the classic sign of a boom turning to a bust, the wall of Paula Jones' estate agency branch is covered with the details of properties that other buy-to-let investors are trying to sell.

Buy-to-let lenders in the UK absolutely lose their freaking minds

Ever watch someone with a cocaine addiction grab a hefty bag of the white stuff and jump in? That's what I feel like watching UK lenders go absolutely bonkers in the "buy-to-let" space, loans for would-be property barons (i.e. people who make $40,000 a year) to buy up millions of pounds worth of apartments ("flats").

You used to have to prove you had rental income that represented 130% of your interest payment. Since that's completely not possible these days, as rent covers just a fraction of carrying costs and every flat bought has significant negative cash flow, these brilliant lenders have just chucked the rule. Rent? Who needs rent! Because property values can only go up and up and up and up! Par-ty!

People of the world, I have a message for you: THE INEVITABLE DEBT BUBBLE CRASH IS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST FINANCIAL EVENT THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN. GET READY.

Financial Times April 27 - Loan standards for buy-to-lets slide

Lenders are offering mortgages to buy-to-let landlords without requiring any minimum rental cover or proof of income, even though returns have sunk to record lows in the 10-year-old market.

Other lenders are offering buy-to-let mortgage loans of up to £20m to help people build up property empires, prompting fears of a bubble in the popular market.

Multi-million pound loans are being offered to people on modest salaries. Some lenders have begun to offer mortgages to people with poor credit histories, even considering those having just emerged from bankruptcy.

The relaxation of lending criteria comes as landlords struggle to cover their mortgage payments amid higher interest rates and rents that have lagged property prices in recent years.