Buying residential property, can I keep buy to let?

Ojb

After moving back home for a few years and letting my flat I now want to buy a small freehold house to live in

My tenant doesn't want to move but I'm finding it impossible to sell to an investor in the current market. So if I sell she will have to go.
I have no pension plan and had thought the flat could replace that.

However I am finding it difficult to refinance the flat in order to release the equity to buy the house. I would also have to find the 3% stamp tax

So based on the above should I try and keep the flat or sell it, no longer be a landlord and have much more equity in the house I intend to buy?

00ec25

since you give no meaningful indication of your financial standing, other than you are finding it "difficult to refinance the flat" and find 3% SDLT then it strongly suggests you are not cut out to be a LL as you have no idea how to business plan or set a budget.

there is a huge difference to being a LL with a 10K income and one with a 100K income, where are you on that scale?

Comms69

Ojb wrote: »

After moving back home for a few years and letting my flat I now want to buy a small freehold house to live in

My tenant doesn't want to move but I'm finding it impossible to sell to an investor in the current market. So if I sell she will have to go.
I have no pension plan and had thought the flat could replace that.

However I am finding it difficult to refinance the flat in order to release the equity to buy the house. I would also have to find the 3% stamp tax

So based on the above should I try and keep the flat or sell it, no longer be a landlord and have much more equity in the house I intend to buy?

Can I just remind you eviction takes 6-9 months on average...

Ojb

Ok well I have a full time job with income between 25-33k a year. The buy to let flat is worth 210k with a mortgage of 83k. I am looking to buy a house between 200-250k.
I though eviction is 2 months?

Comms69

Ojb wrote: »

Ok well I have a full time job with income between 25-33k a year. The buy to let flat is worth 210k with a mortgage of 83k. I am looking to buy a house between 200-250k.
I though eviction is 2 months?

Then you have ALOT to learn. 2 months is JUST the notice. What the, you turn up and turf her out?

There’s court dates and bailiffs to wait for.

Btw don’t turn up, it’ll cost you thousands if you try to illegally evict.

Ojb

Surely most evictions don't take this long, most people are decent and will honour the 2 months notice?

AnotherJoe

Ojb wrote: »

Surely most evictions don't take this long, most people are decent and will honour the 2 months notice?

Not most who need council housing, they need to be evicted by court order in order to be eligible.

Ojb

So better to hang on to it until tenant decides to move out of her own accord??!

Comms69

Ojb wrote: »

Surely most evictions don't take this long, most people are decent and will honour the 2 months notice?

Honour what? Your notic; which is intention of going to court in order to evict?

Pixie5740

Ojb wrote: »

So better to hang on to it until tenant decides to move out of her own accord??!

Seriously? Do you actually know how a tenancy can be legally ended.

Read G_M's Ending/Renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

Slithery

Ojb wrote: »

So better to hang on to it until tenant decides to move out of her own accord??!

Not at all. If the tenant needs onward council assistance, they will only get this on the day the bailiffs physically kick them out.

This can only happen once you go through the full, proper eviction process which takes around an average of 40 weeks last time I checked - and that's only if you've met all of your legal obligations as a landlord (which it sounds like you haven't from your lack of knowledge on this most basic of landlord subjects).

Please read...
Ending/Renewing an AST