Is it a good time to be a landlord?

Dorian1958 wrote: »

If you are not big on risk taking, then I would suggest this is not for you. There are risks all over with this idea; buying an unsuitable property, not understanding your market, assessing whether or not you have the skill set required to manage a property and an agent (who will need to be managed), being able to vet prospective tenants, managing it like a business, and having the mental and financial resources to cope when things don't always go to plan. When things are going ok, money can still be made, MrsDorian and I have 2 outright owned rentals making about 5%after costs but before tax. After another 7 years or so we plan to sell so there might be a bit of capital gain as well (also taxable). A lot for you to think about and not the path to easy riches that some folk think it is.Good luck.

Add to that good advice, that this is the equivalent of putting your entire investment money into the shares of one single company which is very high risk and almost no investor would do that.

You also cannot shelter your gains from tax in the same way that you can through an ISA or a pension,

And lastly government is adding more and more regulation in this area. Regulation = cost and hassle

I can also support the notion that using an agent does not reduce workload, my next door neighbour rented his house out for a few years whilst abroad and any time anything happened they called him to ask what to do, eg washing machine broke, should they call ina repair person or buy a new machine, if ut wasbrepair person then later they’d call him to say quote was £x should they proceed or not, etc etc he might as well have done it all himself.

I have inherited my mum's house and she expressed the wish that I rented it rather than sold, so I have become a landlord by accident
I am going to go down the full management route as in all honesty its painful to be involved in my childhood home

Toooldforthisagain wrote: »

My mums wished were that the house is to be rented and not sold, hence the phrase Accidental Lamdlord, I did not go out and purposely buy a house to let out.

I am emotionally involved with the house as it was my home for my whole childhood and my mum lived there for over 40 years. That is why I am letting some one else manage it as I still cant get used to going through the front door and mum not being there

5 years ago I was in your position, and understand what you are feeling.
However you do need to come to terms with the property becoming a rental and start to detach yourself from it.
Once you rent it out either self managing or via an agent it becomes someone elses home.
Yes you gain an income from it but unless you take steps to make it work for you in the way you want it to,you wont move on and forward.
For us it was a renovation of the house,updating to create a living space for someone else and in that process removing some of the old home feel.
5 years on,I'm not fully detached from it but I do see it in a very different way from the place I grew up.
I have gone on to invest in other BTL's and buying something that you have no attachment to previously is so much easier.
I would even suggest that if you want to respect your mum's wishes of her house becoming a rental property,sell it and invest the return into a couple of smaller units that you have no attachment to.It will still give you the income without the sentimental attachment.
It is quite difficult sometimes respecting someones wishes but also doing your own thing and I often think that maybe previous generations passed things on especially property with the words or sentiment that "you would always have an income from it as a rental". This of course transpires differently now with all the regulations that you need to comply to as a LL. It probably isn't a scenario that was thought about by your mother when she expressed her wishes to you.

Good luck with your venture,I hope you have chosen a good LA who will hopefully match you with tenants who will enjoy your property going forward.

I can understand the term accidental Landlord a little like a career move you didn't actually choose but took the job to see what happened or to fill a gap whilst you needed money.

Some people end up doing well from the move and enjoy it,others will just put up with it until such time that its time to move on.

Just don't end up stuck with something that really isn't working for you,either as a LL or as a career move!
That is where regrets can manifest.