Ghost Renters

dryhat

Any landlord with an IO mortgage is effectively subletting their property.

Loughton_Monkey

Sibley wrote: »

Talking to a mate who owns some houses in London.

Apparently, he has what is known as ghost renters in at least 3 of his places.

Women with children who do not really live at his property.
They have a boyfriend, live with them somewhere else but don't declare it to DHSS.

Maybe your mate might find.... er... a business going on in his property as well? Has he visited, say, local telephone boxes? He might see little 'business cards' with the telephone number of one of his properties on it?

Perhaps he should call round unannounced a few times. Might find... um... a lot of 'French Lessons' going on.

Is his reference to ghosts anything to do with receiving complaints from his 'tenants' that the property is so haunted and scary, that something is putting the willies up them?

Conrad

The common ruse we see is where a HB couple pretend to split up and thus qualify for 2 properties one of which they secretly sublet for a substantial rental income. The Kurdish and other minority communities we deal with treat this is an every day perfectly acceptable business practice.

The other I see a lot is a person granted a whopping right to buy discount despite the fact they do not really live in the property and sub let it. The council do not appear to check voting and credit record on each property which is a shame as this would help spot a lot of this casual fraud.

At 2.30 today when a dewy eyed Millipead is banging on about saving the poor, you might want keep in mind that in my real world day to day experience a significant proportion on welfare are simply cunning business people and anything but poor.

Jobseeeker

yes i've heard of it, the Dad has a good job and a mortgage but the mother officially lives somewhere else and claims as a single parent

Conrad

dryhat wrote: »

Any landlord with an IO mortgage is effectively subletting their property.

From another perspective I get to invest £35,000 in fees and deposit and gain a £500 pm after costs return, with 5 year fixed rate mortgages in place.

Effectively a 17% return on my £35000 investment and according to all long term stats I'll do ok on capital growth front. Do you know of a better investment?


I meet LL's that took out I/O mortgages 15/20 years ago which although large at the time, now seem paultry - sums such as £30,000, whereas the rental income in that period has trebled / quadrupled.

So a relatively fixed cost base leads onto an ever increasing rental income.


Plenty of retired LL's I know that have 10 or 20 I/O mortgages now relatively small, and a significant monthly profit. Who cares if they are I/O? If some expire due to age they can just sell a few properties and clear all the remaining mortgages and thus their net income position is relatively unchanged.

dryhat

Conrad wrote: »

At 2.30 today when a dewy eyed Millipead is banging on about saving the poor, you might want keep in mind that in my real world day to day experience a significant proportion on welfare are simply cunning business people and anything but poor.

I will also keep in mind that as a mortgage broker, you are statistically more likely to come across liars, thieves and spivs.

Your experience and description of "people on welfare" is both unrepresentative and and insult to the genuinely poorer members of our society.

AndyGuil

Turnbull2000 wrote: »

I'd imagine in and around London, yes. It'll probably be another 5-6 years before it becomes more widespread due to continued rapid population growth and supressed house building.

I said a while ago that house shares are set to become more common as people are forced to adjust to the market. Not just immigrants, but younger 'native' singletons and couples. Expectations have to change.

Around perhaps, in it would be difficult due to the rent cap. Depends what zone and how desirable the area is.

Conrad

dryhat wrote: »

I will also keep in mind that as a mortgage broker, you are statistically more likely to come across liars, thieves and spivs.

Your experience and description of "people on welfare" is both unrepresentative and and insult to the genuinely poorer members of our society.

My experience is also based on the years living on a council estate when Dad left the army.
Contemporaries of mine simply copied their parent and went onto a life on welfare, into what was a completely normal alternate lifestyle choice to make.
A common ruse was to pretend you suffered with panic attacks - the local GP's never dispute it, they don't have the time.

This is then copied by their kids in turn. In effect welfare dims the horizons of many children and is anything but progressive.
It's this zombification of the Human spirit that makes me so sad and angry. Only 35 years ago a third as many people claimed disability / illness welfare.
Are we really so niave as to suppose we've become 3 times as ill? Do we really fall for the lefty myth that we are twice as sick as those in other western democracies?

I find people like you that have no experience of this sort of thing take their world view from out of touch middle class Poly Toynbee / Sarah Tether types - about as realistic as WW1 General sitting 70 miles away from the trenches.

dryhat

Conrad wrote: »

I find people like you that have no experience of this sort of thing take their world view from out of touch middle class Poly Toynbee / Sarah Tether types - about as realistic as WW1 General sitting 70 miles away from the trenches.

Without getting into a reverse-wi11y-waving "I'm from a more deprived background than you" argument...

You do not know anything about my experiences.

But I do personally know several mortgage brokers. And to a man they are ruthless, conniving scumbags who will do anything for a quick buck.
Footsoldiers for a global financial terrorist network.

Loughton_Monkey

dryhat wrote: »

.....But I do personally know several mortgage brokers. And to a man they are ruthless, conniving scumbags who will do anything for a quick buck.
Footsoldiers for a global financial terrorist network.

Are the female ones any better?