Buying a Flat w/o Mortgage

Karmo

Hello ,
This is my first post . After working hard overseas for 30 years in a low paying job and living very cheaply , I have about 70,000 pounds in the bank . I am thinking seriously about buying a flat in my native UK to rent out and as somewhere I can retire in a few years . I would continue to live abroad on my meager salary using my income from rent to supplement . I have never owned property before and am just beginning to research the rules and regulations of being a landlord . There seem to be many . Can anyone give me some pointers . Is this a feasible idea to have a small monthly income for 10 years or so after tax , letting agent fees , repairs , vacant periods etc ?
Thank you for any ideas you may have .

sparky130a

I can think of much better places to put £70K without the hassle of being a LL.

tacpot12

Managing a property from a long distance away is bit stressful and you will end up making less income from it.

There are many issues with being a landlord and hiring a Letting Agent will not insulate you from all of them, e.g. paying tax, but if you know you want to return to the UK at some point it may not be a bad idea.

Bear in mind it might take 6 months to evict a tenant and cost a good amount in legal fees, when you want to move in.

TBagpuss

Do you have other savings? If not, you are putting all your financial eggs in one basket which does carry some risks.

You would need to look very carefully at how this would work for you. In particular, to look at what a realistic rent, and level of occupancy would be for the type of property and the area which you could afford, what the costs of repairs, maintenance and property management would be, what your legal obligations are and how you would discharge them.

You also need to ensure that you understand you tax liabilities in relation to the rental income.

Like nay landlord, you need to budget for void periods, and for the costs of upkeep and repairs, so you would probably need to put rent aside to build up a 'sinking fund' for those costs before you could start to take any rent as income (unless of course you already have other savings you can use for those things)

Do also consider what your longer terms plans are - are you going to buy somewhere that you will then want to live in yourself, or buy to invest with a view to selling and moving elsewhere when you return to the UK?

It might also be sensible for you to talk to an independent financial advisor about other options - you might, for instance, decide it makes better sense to invest in a unit trust or other finds with a strong lean towards property, rather than in a single residential rental property, for example.

andrewmp

I would buy a house instead, better investment than a flat IMO.

eddddy

If you think property is a good investment, but want to be completely 'hands off' - you could investigate the firms that lease your property for between 1 and 5 years for a fixed rent.

The firms then find their own tenants, and have all the responsibilities of being a LL.

TBH, I've always been very wary of these firms (and there seem to be some real rogues in this sector), but I know an owner who is very happy with this arrangement. You'd need to check out the firm very carefully before signing up.

I guess the big arguments could be at the end of the lease, if the firm's tenant won't move out and/or the property is damaged. Or if the firm goes bust or does a runner with your money!

Karmo

Thank you for the advice . My main concern is having the property lie empty while I am stuck with a property tax bill , repair bills , legal hassles etc all of which could decimate me as I have to live on a very small income overseas . If I buy the wrong place I will be finished financially I would guess . As I have no experience in the field and I imagine there are plenty of "professionals " ready to take advantage of this I am researching very carefully .

Karmo

Thank you for your reply . Would you care to elaborate . Being a LL does seem to have a lot of strings attached .

Pixie5740

Type "BTL" into the board's search function.