Would you be a landlord?

markfj

Yes.

I am a landord, 50/50 of 2 properties with my brother. We pay the agents full management service, who basically do everything for us. Rented out first place out from 2007 and our 2nd from earlier this year, never had issues with tenants etc and i think this is partly due to fairly strict criteria from agents.

[Deleted User]

No.

Even my old landlord borded up the place I spent 7 continuous years in - and I paid on time every month but the place was never touched hence now being deemed unfit to let so I'm not sure where 7 years of rent went.

Though I can hardly cope myself in an owned outright place on a nice looking estate and with the above so am not deluded that I would make the greatest landlord. Even though I didn't want to move in at first nothing in this world would ever tempt me to put someone else through it.

Likewise Yrs ago my parents very silly let out the family home whilst we lived in marriquarters due to 1 parents job on returning 'home' we were later burgled by the very people who were 'vetted' as we slept soundly upstairs... They always say it was more trouble then it was worth.

scriv

markfj wrote: »

Yes.
I am a landord, 50/50 of 2 properties with my brother. We pay the agents full management service, who basically do everything for us. Rented out first place out from 2007 and our 2nd from earlier this year, never had issues with tenants etc and i think this is partly due to fairly strict criteria from agents.

We also paid 10% for the full management service which dealt with any issues along the way. They also had a strict criteria. Their fees were worth every penny.

_CC_

Conrad wrote: »

INVESTING IN ISA's et al IS A RISK. If there was some massive global depression, which could occur given the level of sovereign debt in the world, you may end up with nothing more than worthless bits of paper. Think about it.


As I say I have ISA's but I would not sleep well knowing I was reliant on them.

What would happen to the value of your flats and the ability of your tenants to pay the rent if there was a massive global depression?

You may feel safer, but you're not. There seems to be some mass delusion among a lot of people that BTL and property are safer because they're tangible and shares/funds are just "paper". But that's like saying the deeds to a property is just paper - if you own shares in a company you own a share of the property, machinery, earnings etc of that company.

There have been plenty of downturns in the past century, including the great depression of the 30s, yet equities have continually outperformed.

The exception is when you throw leverage into the equation with BTL. The returns are often then greater, but so are the risks. If there was the depression you speak of it will be the leveraged investors/speculators at the greatest risk.

markfj

scriv wrote: »

We also paid 10% for the full management service which dealt with any issues along the way. They also had a strict criteria. Their fees were worth every penny.

Yes, thats about what we pay.

For %10 they really do a fair bit of work, that I genuinely wouldn't have the time to worry about. Personally i wouldnt rent my houses out myself, now that Ive used agents for so long.

westernpromise

havingaball74 wrote: »

Would you? Are you? I am thinking about it as an investment and weighing up the pros and cons. Financially, it looks like a 'no brainer' under the right circumstances.

What is your evaluation of the regulatory risks to landlords?