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

mumps

mwpt wrote: »

You mean the banks £112k and your £38k.

What do you think will happen to this house if you don't "invest" in it? Stand empty? Someone will send the bulldozers over and it'll be demolished?

No, I mean my £150k. I think the main thing that would have happened is that the young family who are relatives of mine wouldn't have had somewhere to live.

mwpt

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

You're saying people can't afford to buy them, so it will just lay empty.

No, I'm not saying that.

Anyway, there is no bank money in my BTL, it is all paid for (by me).

Congratulations. Mortgage free and a second property (or more?). Nice situation to be in, no debt.

mwpt

mumps wrote: »

No, I mean my £150k. I think the main thing that would have happened is that the young family who are relatives of mine wouldn't have had somewhere to live.

That is nice of you. There seem to be a lot of nice BTL landlords around these days, only doing it for humanitarian purposes. Fills me with ... something ... can't quite put my finger on it.

seven-day-weekend

mwpt wrote: »

No, I'm not saying that.



Congratulations. Mortgage free and a second property (or more?). Nice situation to be in, no debt.

Part of it is from an unexpected inheritance, but the rest is from arranging our affairs correctly and not living outside our means.. We were mortgage-free in our forties just by paying the mortgage for twenty years, no-one gave us anything.

It's not rocket science.

(Two properties, the one we live in and the investment property).

mumps

mwpt wrote: »

That is nice of you. There seem to be a lot of nice BTL landlords around these days, only doing it for humanitarian purposes. Fills me with ... something ... can't quite put my finger on it.

Landlords are people like any others, some are nice and some aren't, in fact tenants are the same. That is why I am undecided about finding another tenant or selling up when our current tenants move on later this year. They have had a decent home for five years when they were in a difficult situation and are now in a position to buy. I am tempted to sell but a friend of one of my kids has asked if they can rent the house so I am trying to decide what to do. If I do let it to them I will charge a higher rent, not as much as I could get on the open market but I know the people and having someone you can trust is worth more than an extra £150 a month to me.

I know about bad landlords as my kids have been in rented properties at various times. I think some of the student lets they have been in have been truly awful. The situation was so unsafe at one property that I contacted the university and they spoke to the agent. As the students were the main source of income for that agent they didn't want to be blacklisted so essential repairs that had been waiting to be done for months were suddenly started that day.

I also understand about the frequent moves, my daughter and her partner are in that position now which is frustrating as they are hoping to buy their own property by the end of the year and now have the added expense of an extra move.

missbiggles1

BarryBlue wrote: »

I fail to see why people who rent would hate BTL landlords. It would se a case of biting the hand that feeds them, since without them they would have few choices if unable to afford to buy. Nobody is going to start a mass building programme of council houses any time soon. Government housing policy has failed miserably, leaving landlords as the suppliers of affordable housing.

Many people have become property investors because it is the only way to get a secure return on your money. While banks are paying such miserable interest rates, people who have saved through their lives to have a return in retirement have had the rug pulled. Putting it into property is the only way forward so why should people not do it? People cannot moan about what others do simply because they have made no provision for their own retirement.

It is also a fact that good landlords attract good tenants and vice versa. It is far easier to vet out poor tenants now than it has ever been and they are invariably left with the landlords who don't care. Any tenant acting badly or mistreating a property will find themselves lumbered with the bottom end of the market, and deservedly so. If you want good landlords, be good tenants.

But however good the tenants are, at present they live their lives in month to month insecurity, knowing that they can be given a couple of months' notice simply on the LL's whim. That's no way for so many people to have to live.

mumps

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But however good the tenants are, at present they live their lives in month to month insecurity, knowing that they can be given a couple of months' notice simply on the LL's whim. That's no way for so many people to have to live.

Yes there needs to be safeguards on both sides. That is why I wouldn't let to strangers. When we inherited MILs house we took out a small mortgage to bring it up to a modern standard and then let it to a colleagues daughter. MIL died just after the property market crashed and it seemed more sensible to hold on to it. A relative lives in it now. We have never gone for maximum rent and the first tenant was there for about 3 years until she could buy her own place. The relative who lives there now will be there as long as they like basically. We charge a below market rent, they look after it like their own.

When we got a lump sum on a pension we had this other set of relatives who had just had a business fail. Two young children, a bad credit record, facing bankruptcy, and various pets meant they weren't going to find it easy. We had almost enough to buy a suitable house and did, we got a slightly better return that the bank and that got a secure home at an affordable rent. They are back on their feet now.

My kids do wonder why I am housing other people when they are paying rent:rotfl:I've told them that they were helped through uni and are fit and well and can stand on their own feet. If the situation changes so will the answer.

The young couple who want to rent our house when the relatives move out have been told that we might want to sell up in a year or two so we can't promise security beyond that but as they are hoping to buy during that time it isn't a problem.

I don't actually like being a landlord, I hate the faff with paperwork and feel very responsible. I tend to spend more money on the BTL houses than I do on mine and spend it without the angst I feel about spending money on my own house. Catholic guilt again. The nuns did a job on me.

wotsthat

mwpt wrote: »

That is nice of you. There seem to be a lot of nice BTL landlords around these days, only doing it for humanitarian purposes. Fills me with ... something ... can't quite put my finger on it.

You've made up your mind that BTL is synonymous with people farming and outbidding the young. Your bias won't allow you to believe the ratio of nice to nasty BTL owners is probably the same as the population at large.

If 100 investors, instead of owning 2 BTL's each, clubbed together and set up a private company owning 200 houses which were let out there wouldn't be half the animosity towards them. I suspect it's jealousy that's the issue. It's a bit silly being jealous of a company but an individual - that's a different matter.

BarryBlue

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But however good the tenants are, at present they live their lives in month to month insecurity, knowing that they can be given a couple of months' notice simply on the LL's whim. That's no way for so many people to have to live.

That's not how it happens in the real world though. Landlords want good tenants and actually strive to keep hold of them. Far better than chopping and changing for the sake of it and risking having someone less conscientious in their property. Apart from that, if you use an agent it costs money every time you have to find a new tenant, typically £250-300, and may lead to voids.

Much of the time, tenants who are given notice because there is good reason to do so. The vetting processes by a good agent normally root out the undesirables before they even view your property. There is normally no reason to evict good tenants. It is possible that someone wants to sell a property and the buyer wants vacant possession rather than a tenant.

Mrs_pbradley936

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But however good the tenants are, at present they live their lives in month to month insecurity, knowing that they can be given a couple of months' notice simply on the LL's whim. That's no way for so many people to have to live.

I know what you are saying but I do not think that individual landlords are to blame. They are simply taking advantage of the system and it will be very interesting to see what changes the new legislation will make.

I predict that it will not be as lucrative for younger people but those in SDW's situation will remain unaffected.

If any investment becomes less attractive the money moves elsewhere. I am not sure that all of a sudden those unable to afford to buy now will be helped.

The only thing stopping many youngsters from buying these days is a £40k plus deposit. It is the money supply that is to blame not those that do not depend upon the money supply.