Buy-to-let Landlords - filling a need or evil capitalists?

missbiggles1

Cakeguts wrote: »

Anyone who has a building society account that is earning interest is making a profit from housing. Housing associations make profits from housing. Builders make a profit from housing. I can't see why BTL landlords are any different from the above.

What I think confuses a lot of people is the fact that they only hear stories about tenants who have to rent a home because it is the only way to get somewhere to live. However there are a large number of tenants who are not in this situation. They are renting from choice. Either because they have moved jobs and renting a house is cheaper than staying in a hotel or they are renting while they look at areas to buy or they are renting because they don't want to buy in case they have to move with their job. Some people rent when they retire because they don't want to bother with upkeep on a house. This is all from choice not necessity.


The arguments on here all seem to be from the basis that all tenants are renting because that is the only way they can get somewhere to live. This is just not true.

Yeah right - multitudes of elderly people giving up their own homes to live at the beck and call of a private landlord in the expectation that s/he'll do the maintenace that they can't do themselves?

You couldn't make it up........... oh, you just did!

missbiggles1

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

The mortgage payer can still worry about sickness or redundancy. Unlike the rent payer they won't get it paid straightaway by the Government. (I know LHA doesn't usually cover all the rent, but at least it covers some of it).

Having a mortgage is certainly not without its worries, however one of them isn't coming down to breakfast to find a letter from the LL saying that he'd like his property back in two months's time!

Cakeguts

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Oh dear....

People with mortgages feel secure as long as they're paying it regularly - private tenants feel insecure even if they pay their rent every month on the dot.

You keep saying this but you don't say which private tenants? I really can't believe that a private tenant who wants to rent somewhere for 6 months feels insecure?

Cakeguts

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Yeah right - multitudes of elderly people giving up their own homes to live at the beck and call of a private landlord in the expectation that s/he'll do the maintenace that they can't do themselves?

You couldn't make it up........... oh, you just did!

What evidence do you have that elderly people don't do that?

missbiggles1

Cakeguts wrote: »

What evidence do you have that elderly people don't do that?

In case you didn't know, you can't prove a negative.

If you have proof that this is a common occurrence, I'm sure we'd all like to see it.

missbiggles1

Cakeguts wrote: »

You keep saying this but you don't say which private tenants? I really can't believe that a private tenant who wants to rent somewhere for 6 months feels insecure?

But I'm not talking about people who rent for 6 months only, I'm talking about the many thousands of people who live for many years in privately rented accommodation.

Cakeguts

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But I'm not talking about people who rent for 6 months only, I'm talking about the many thousands of people who live for many years in privately rented accommodation.

So I am going to assume that you don't know 1000s of private renters who have all told you that they feel insecure and that there is in fact some evidence provided by someone somewhere doing a survey of the 1000s of renters? Could you post a link please?

missbiggles1

Cakeguts wrote: »

So I am going to assume that you don't know 1000s of private renters who have all told you that they feel insecure and that there is in fact some evidence provided by someone somewhere doing a survey of the 1000s of renters? Could you post a link please?

I'll swap this for your link to all those elderly people who are selling up and moving in to privately rented accommodation. (A simple article on the situation will do.)

"Over the last decade, the proportion of households in the private rented sector in England has increased from 10% to more than 17%. More importantly, between 25% and 33% of these households are families with children who are looking for long-term accommodation so that they can put down roots in the local community. "

http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/feb/14/instability-problem-private-rented-sector

Mrs_pbradley936

I cannot prove this but it is true. An elderly couple rented my son's flat for at least 3 years. They sold their home to do so and I only know that because they were able to pay six months rent in advance. Anyway I digress - after 3 years or so one of them needed to go into a home and the Council paid the bill. The proceeds of the house having gone to the children. The couple had been paying rent and Council tax for all that time and there was no investigation.

I would imagine that if it was a few months they might start digging into deprevation of assets or whatever it is called but not a few years!

Cakeguts

http://www.anchor.org.uk/our-properties/properties-for-rent There are several housing associations that offer rented housing for the elderly as well as properties to buy.