THERE is a much envied group in our society known as “baby boomers”.

This is a generation who have had it all according to informed columnists.

As a “baby boomer”, I would like to shed some light on what it was like to be one of the aforementioned, especially as a property buyer.

I married in 1969 and after a year of renting, my wife and I decided to try our luck in the property market.

In 1970 we suffered the worst case of “gazumping” ever known.

The price of property went from £4,500 to £16,000 in a very short space of time, effectively wiping out first time buyers such as ourselves.

This was followed by a crash down to £12,000, which in those days was a significant sum of money and plunged house buyers into what was, at that time the unknown situation of “negative equity”.

After several years of hard saving we were able to grasp the bottom rung of the property ladder and we duly moved into our modest property.

Little did we know what was to follow. James Callaghan took over the then Labour government and instituted several years of wage freezes which meant that every time the mortgage rate went up our wages did not.

Traditionally, at that time, property buyers, after two or three years were able to start getting on top of their mortgages. That was denied us.

There was more to follow. We were then treated to three devastating rate increases in very close order of 3%, 2½% and 3% which took the overall rate from around 8% to over 16%.

This resulted in millions of “baby boomers” to lose their homes and savings, a phenomenon which lasted throughout the 1990’s and into the 21st century.

If that was not enough, just to help things along, the mortgage subsidy that the government paid to aid property buyers was abolished as well. What joy.

I say this to those who think us “baby boomers” have had it all. There has been a high price to pay for the privilege.

D T TULK Station Road, Wimborne Minster