Remember Fergus Wilson?

Graham_Devon

ILW wrote: »

I would suggest he is making a better living then 99.9% of the people slagging him off.

so who is the fool?

So do people who win the lottery. What;s your point? He's making money therefore everyone has to congratulate him?

To prove he is simply "lucky" to be in the position he is, in which circumstances prevent him from going under, rather than judgment or skill...

This is what he said in 2010...

Buy-to-let is "absolutely dead and will never return". So say Fergus and Judith Wilson, the husband and wife team who became Britain's king and queen of buy-to-let, and who are now selling up.

Absolutely dead apparently, but now he comes out singing the joys of BTL.

Note, they were trying to sell up. They have been unsuccessful. They can't sell.

Also note what he said when he tried to go bust...

"We asked for a meeting with our lenders. I said, if you think you can run the show better than me, you can have them all back. They said no. They were determined that we shouldn't go under. If we went under, then everyone went under."

He's simply HAVING to keep serving the business. He has no other option open. Howskillful is that?

He's simply lucky that things swung his way - this time.

"We were going to be, to put it bluntly, stuffed. The reason we were saved was the drop in interest rates," Fergus says. He is now paying an average of just 2% interest. "I earn a yield from rents of around 5% and pay 2% in interest. The average mortgage cost is about £300 per month with £800 income. This gives about £300 per unit per month after paying agent and repairs etc. The renting game has never been better. I do not have one house available to rent in Ashford, Maidstone or Hawkinge."

You can't really ignore his own words and only take what he says now that he's been saved by forces outside of his control.

What happens if interest rates go up?

ruggedtoast

I find it rather depressing that someone who used to be a teacher, is now gloating without irony about young people being priced out of home ownership. Especially when its a scenario he is somewhat responsible for.

With all his millions he could actually make a difference in young people's lives, but thats the thing with people like the Wilsons, they are only ever part of the problem, never the solution.

Across the globe, wherever there is not enough food, or water, or medicine, someone like Fergus Wilson will appear to ensure that shortage is that much worse and makes him that much more profit.

One day a government will be elected that thinks that a youngster having a secure environment to raise a family themselves is more important than pandering to parasites like Mr Wilson who have found a loop hole to exploit others. This is not that government so for the timebeing the Wilsons and their ilk will continue to profit from the housing shortage.

Not something to celebrate imo.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Graham_Devon wrote: »

What happens if interest rates go up?

Today?

The wider economy crashes.

Which is why they won't.

Until the economy and markets are in a much stronger place.....

"The reason we would raise interest rates would be in the context of a much stronger economy with unemployment falling rather than rising.

It should also be the case that the interest rates that borrowers face should not rise as fast as the rise in bank rate.

"Along with the path of an increase in the bank rate -- which inevitably will come from where we are now back to more normal levels -- you would expect that to be accompanied by a process in which the spread between the bank rate and the rates banks charge would undoubtedly narrow."

~ Sir Mervyn King

Now, hands up anybody who thinks a strengthening economy, falling unemployment, and mortgage rates rising much less than base rates are conditions conducive to falling house prices.....

Anyone?


No?


Thought not.

Graham_Devon

My question was in relation to Mr Wilsons own words...

"We were going to be, to put it bluntly, stuffed. The reason we were saved was the drop in interest rates," Fergus says. He is now paying an average of just 2% interest. "I earn a yield from rents of around 5% and pay 2% in interest.

What happens when interest rates go up?

I don't need another of your copy and paste posts!

Graham_Devon

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Now, hands up anybody who thinks a strengthening economy, falling unemployment, and mortgage rates rising much less than base rates are conditions conducive to falling house prices.....

Anyone?


No?


Thought not.

Thing here though Hamish is that while you discuss all the benefits of "getting back to normal" you simply ignore what getting back to normal actually means.

It means a removal of the massive amounts of money that have just about kept our heads above water. It could take decades.

ILW

Graham_Devon wrote: »

My question was in relation to Mr Wilsons own words...

What happens when interest rates go up?

I don't need another of your copy and paste posts!

So he had a bit of luck, most successful businesses do at some point.

They did nothing that anybody else couldn't have done though.

It now appears he is getting around a quarter of a million a month from the business. (Plus capital growth it appears).

Graham_Devon

ILW wrote: »

So he had a bit of luck, most successful businesses do at some point.

They did nothing that anybody else couldn't have done though.

It now appears he is getting around a quarter of a million a month from the business. (Plus capital growth it appears).

Quarter of a million profit? Doubt it. Just 2 years ago he was about to go bust. The ONLY reason he didn;t as he says, is the lender stated they would go bust if he went bust.

House prices have hardly moved since that point - check out the land registry. Rents haven't increased enough to provide those profits.

And how useful is capital growth really, if you can't sell your assets and realise it? He can't remortgage, so it's of no use there. Can't sell, so of no use there.

About the only use it has is gloating.

I'm not jealous, hell, I certainly wouldn't like to be in his position. He's got no where to go. No business will touch the model and buy it out, he's tried that too. I'd only like to be in his position if I had a business I could sell, especially as he wanted to retire now, or had a business I could pass on.

He can't really do either. Just a sitting duck with a massive responsibility.

I just hope theres some contigency plans in place should the wilsons not be able to carry on with this business. There are a LOT of people at risk here. If he can't manage it for whatever reason (he's not exactly the youngest of blokes, is he), the mortgage company will go bust. What happens to the 700 families?

ILW

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Quarter of a million profit? Doubt it. Just 2 years ago he was about to go bust. The ONLY reason he didn;t as he says, is the lender stated they would go bust if he went bust.

House prices have hardly moved since that point - check out the land registry. Rents haven't increased enough to provide those profits.

And how useful is capital growth really, if you can't sell your assets and realise it? He can't remortgage, so it's of no use there. Can't sell, so of no use there.

About the only use it has is gloating.

I'm not jealous, hell, I certainly wouldn't like to be in his position. He's got no where to go. No business will touch the model and buy it out, he's tried that too. I'd only like to be in his position if I had a business I could sell, especially as he wanted to retire now, or had a business I could pass on.

He can't really do either. Just a sitting duck with a massive responsibility.

I just hope theres some contigency plans in place should the wilsons not be able to carry on with this business. There are a LOT of people at risk here. If he can't manage it for whatever reason (he's not exactly the youngest of blokes, is he), the mortgage company will go bust. What happens to the 700 families?

He stated ave £300 profit per property per month after mortgage and maint payments. Sounds realistic to me and I believe he has getting on for 1000 properties.

capital growth is just a bonus.

angrypirate

He openly admitted a while ago that had rates not dropped to 0.5% when they did he was only weeks away from going bust.

Mr._Pricklepants

Graham_Devon wrote: »

To prove he is simply "lucky" to be in the position he is, in which circumstances prevent him from going under, rather than judgment or skill...

Yeah yeah, he got 'lucky'

Good luck is a lazy man's estimate of a worker's success.

Good luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity

I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have

Mr. Wilson risked, invested, went through a difficult time and is now reaping the reward of what I can imagine were many difficult years since 2008 when the crash came around.
I remember several threads on here full of glee from the usual moaners, groaners, doomers, worriers and do-nothingers scoffing at the Wilsons' misfortune.
As always, the doomers been proved wrong.
All the best to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. :T