Anyone else feel this way? Y Generation Living!

seven-day-weekend

zarf2007 wrote: »

I was told that in france you can sign up to 25 year leases, and these can be passed from generation to generation.....there are also controls in place to stop the landlord raising the rent on a whim....

So why would anyone rent their house out if they can't reclaim it for 25 years or maybe longer? Won't it lead to a shortage of rented housing?

seven-day-weekend

googler wrote: »

Renting in Germany

http://www.expatica.com/de/housing/renting/Renting-a-home-in-Germany_15490.html

Thanks, that is interesting. I agree that a longer minimum period that six months is a good idea, however I also think that if it is really hard to evict tenants that this will restrict the rental housing stock.

However, Germany seems to know what it is doing economically, so it must work.

It is interesting to notre that the article says that both rents and house buying prices have risen by more than 20% in the last few years.

zarf2007

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

So why would anyone rent their house out if they can't reclaim it for 25 years or maybe longer? Won't it lead to a shortage of rented housing?

because it is likely that this rented property isnt the landlords main residence, they would likely own a number of houses and be 'professional landlords' not the BTL idiot housewives who think they can make a fortune ripping off tenants. The government in this country should highly tax the BTL market, its those people who have driven up property prices (especially in london) and generally cut corners in maintenance.....

I never understand how a BTL landlord is suddenly an expert in all aspects of house maintenance....I work in the field of Internet Security and wouldnt expect to suddenly be an expert at plumbing or other aspects of building, but you now have any idiot who can hold a paintbrush and has watched grand designs doing a bodge job just to maximise their rental income, to the detriment of the tenant.

lemontart

I have had a mortgage all my adult life, got stung with the endowment fiasco so in stead of being mortgage free last year I will have one up to retirement age - I hate where I live. I want to escape but am trapped for various reason - renting would have given me more flexibility especially in the last few years but cost a lot more than my mortgage each month. But such is life you make the decisions that seem right at the time.

TopQuark

sinbad182 wrote: »

I don't mean help from the evil home owners stalking your every move.

Homeowners?? Do you mean people like me who buy outright, or people like you who have mummy and daddy give them a leg up and then rent off the bank for the next 15+ years until the mortgage is paid?

And neither situation makes it acceptable to look down on people who rent. You need to have a word with yourself if that's how fragile your self esteem is. You should probably buy an entry level Lexus too, a la Alan Partridge, to really help you feel superior. That's if you don't already have one :rotfl:

seven-day-weekend

Top Quark, you really have got a problem (and it's not because you rent). You really do need to get it dealt with.

FYI, (although I know you were referring to Sinbad) I have had a mortgage (now paid off) , and have bought a home outright in a foreign country (now sold) and have helped my son with a deposit (and he is paying the repayment mortgage himself). I have in the past had an investment property with a mortgage (now sold) and also one that my husband inherited (now sold).
I have also lived in a mobile home and in a Council flat. About the only thing I have not done is privately rented. But that does not mean I look down on those who do! I would just chose to buy if I possibly could.

TopQuark

I'm an ex-pat and live between Geneva and Lausanne in Switzerland (I work on Geneva). Most of the population rents - around 70% and as such, laws regarding tenant protection are tighter than in the UK. For e.g. there are only a few legally admissible reasons for increasing the rent. A progressive rent clause is sometimes possible in agreements, but only for tenancies that have been signed for a minimum of five years. The rent amount must then be adjusted in line with the Swiss Consumer Price Index.

In France, the law also provides better protection for tenants. Many of my colleagues are frontaliers and live on the French side of the border. We are also going to let our house in Provence when the purchase is complete, since we live in Switzerland (my fiance is French). For example, in France, the contract has a minimum duration of three years An individual owner can make a shorter contract (one year minimum) only if he needs to recover the property for professional or family reasons. If no limit is fixed in the contract, three years are automatically applied.

Laws and attitudes to tenants in these two countries are very different (better), when compared with the UK.

TopQuark

SDW, of course I don't have a problem, but I don't really need to tell you that as you already know it.

You have already said that you don't look down on renters and neither does your son, which is good and I thank you for that.

I should also clarify that I don't think receiving parental assistance to get a mortgage is any kind of shame, but what is a shame is if one then goes on to feel superior (or attempt to make others feel inferior) to those who are not so fortunate as to receive such help (and thus may find themselves in rented accommodation against their will). That is just unkind and wrong.

seven-day-weekend

TopQuark wrote: »

SDW, of course I don't have a problem, but I don't really need to tell you that as you already know it.

You have already said that you don't look down on renters and neither does your son, which is good and I thank you for that.

I should also clarify that I don't think receiving parental assistance to get a mortgage is any kind of shame, but what is a shame is if one then goes on to feel superior (or attempt to make others feel inferior) to those who are not so fortunate as to receive such help (and thus may find themselves in rented accommodation against their will). That is just unkind and wrong.

Then we agree.

andywilson_2

I agree, I have bought a house to rent out, and I have now decided to sell my house which is currently mortgaged, and then use the capital to put deposits on another two to rent out.

This way I can rent a nicer house cheaper than I could afford having a mortgage on, I am not responsible for any repairs, the properties I rent will go up and down as would my own house but someone else is paying for them.

When they need repairs, it only costs me 60% of the cost as it is tax deductable. Also the income form the rentals, will offset the rent I pay on rent.

For some reason it is drilled into us, from an early age that we need to buy our own house, for many they will end up paying 2.5 times the purchase price, plus maintenance for something that may well be worth less.

I can leave my rental properties to my children, just as I would my own house, and it is easier to move to different areas for schools etc, without the costs of solicitors and stamp duty.