First Time Buyer being blocked by Buy To Let Only

SiY8991

Hello,

I am starting the process of looking for a property to buy as a FTB. I am currently renting and me and my girlfriend are looking to buy a flat/apartment in Manchester, however, we're finding that the majority of the properties on the market are marked up 'But to let only'.

Does this mean as a FTB looking for a flat to live in rather than rent out we cannot put in an offer to buy it? I find it hard to believe that the seller would care if i go on to rent it or live in it once i own it..? The money the receive from the sale is the same regardless of my intentions with it afterwards.

Furthermore, I cannot believe the government would have schemes for developers to sell their properties as buy to let only, this is really edging home owners out of the market.

By law are they not able to sell that property as a regular residential purchase?

Cheers
Simon.

forvar

I wonder if there are already tenants in the properties? Otherwise I'm not sure why they would care who the buyer is.

Hopefully we'll see more BTL properties come onto the market in the next year as section 24 starts to bite. Good luck.

p00hsticks

forvar wrote: »

I wonder if there are already tenants in the properties?

Yes, that was my thought too - they want to sell with the tenants in situ so they don't have to go through the process of evicting them and/or have any rental voids prior to completion.

franklee

I does look like some of the new blocks are designed for investors as they come with rental assurance for the next few years (assume that's the time in which rent is guaranteed by the developer, even if the property is untenanted).

SiY8991 you can always ring up the selling agent and ask what the situation is for the blocks you are interested in to find out if it's a policy for the whole block or if it's just the particular flat that currently has a tenant.

diggingdude

could they be build to rent properties looking for investors?

davidmcn

Give us a link to an example and we might be able to make more sense of it.

I guess the cheaper end of the market might include those dodgy investment opportunities where you supposedly get e.g. one bedroom in a student residence.

muz3562

I'm a FTB as well currently looking . I have seen many cases of flats that I would make an offer for which are listed the same .



I suspect that they might already have tenants and be looking for a current LL who wants to add this to their portfolio who might be more likely to pay cash and be able to exchange and complete quicker . I have seen a few flats listed as cash buyers only with sitting tenants . It is expensive and risky trying to get rid of tenants .



If the property is sold with sitting tenants you are going to struggle to get a residential mortgage for it as the lender are going to consider the risk of the sitting tenants refusing to leave and then the massive legal costs that go with this .

Cakeguts

It might depend on what the planning permission was for. If it was for build to rent then the flats will only be let. I had a quick look and there were flats on Righmove in Manchester that were not just buy to let. Some of them will be because there is a tenant living in them so the landlord is hoping to sell to another landlord.


If the flats that are available for landlords are cheaper than the others then that means that there is some reason why they are only available to landlords.

need_an_answer

There are a lot of these blocks now in Manchester,I came across them a few years ago and when I looked into them they seemed to be marketed at the investor mostly for upmarket student accommodation which presumably is not an area you would like to live amongst even if you were to be able to buy as a non investor.

Mixed living units ranging from a studio apartment,one bed,2 bed to 7 rooms and a shared kitchen.

The ideal set up is a student for 9 months of the year followed by a 3 month summer let.all very short term really and not meant to entice the permanent home buyer

I have to admit some of the apartments I saw being built looked very nice with good specification and I guess by this time they are now built and potentially struggling to sell them in the way they were intended.
The ones I saw were being built by a developer in order to be purchased and then rented back to the student market possibly via the developer or at least their agent, so not for owner occupation,more as a long term investment.

AdrianC

SiY8991 wrote: »

...however, we're finding that the majority of the properties on the market are marked up 'But to let only'.

Ask the agent why.

By law are they not able to sell that property as a regular residential purchase?

They can market it as whatever they want. There may be restrictions which prevent a typical putative owner-occupier from being able to buy it. Perhaps the lease is so restrictive or short as to be unmortgageable.

Lauralou79

Have you signed up with different agents with your requirements? Manchester housing markets esp the surrounding areas is moving quickly in certain price brackets. There may not be many flats that get as far as marketing as people are snapping them up before they hit the internet etc.

If agents know you and what you are looking for they can contact you when they start to market or before it hits Rightmove etc. Maybe could you expand your search a a little wider?