Selling BTL during pandemic and retirement

SXX

thepurplepixie said:

I was in exactly the same position 12 months ago.  The house sold in August.  I'd had enough of being a landlord, well never really wanted to be one it was circumstances but I'm glad I did it.

Ditto - I ended up being an accidental landlord and in some ways glad I've done it because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.  I think I have done my bit and would now like to sell up and retire.   Was your house vacant when you put it on the market or did you have to issue s.21 notice to repossess? 

thepurplepixie

It was empty, I had to do some work on it which wasn't easy with lockdown.  Nothing too drastic but it needed a fresh coat of paint, a bit of water damage repaired where her kids had made a bit of a mess with water, shampooed the carpets, tidied up a very messy garden.

I had two people after it, a young couple who wanted it to live in and an investor for BTL.  Eventually it was the investor who bought it, we did hang on for the young couple  as they tried to get a mortgage but due to one being self employed it got hard so eventually we had to tell them we were selling it to someone else.  I felt bad about it to be honest but we had no way of knowing how long it would take for mortgages to be available for someone in a job they couldn't do because of lockdown.

missile

SXX said:

missile said:

Will your property empty and ready to sell in March?
Where is the property?
Property is more difficult to sell at present. You might get more when lock down ends. However, there will likely be many like you waiting to sell and there may be a glut later.

The property is currently tenanted so not sure whether the tenants would accept notice or I would have to do down eviction route which I have been told could take up to a year.  Property is in Greater London.  Have spoken to estate agents in the area and to be honest they tell you want you want to hear.

Depending on your lease agreement, it may be difficult / impossible to evict. As others have said, you could sell with sitting tenant or it may be easier to bribe them to leave. 

SXX

thepurplepixie said:

It was empty, I had to do some work on it which wasn't easy with lockdown.  Nothing too drastic but it needed a fresh coat of paint, a bit of water damage repaired where her kids had made a bit of a mess with water, shampooed the carpets, tidied up a very messy garden.

I had two people after it, a young couple who wanted it to live in and an investor for BTL.  Eventually it was the investor who bought it, we did hang on for the young couple  as they tried to get a mortgage but due to one being self employed it got hard so eventually we had to tell them we were selling it to someone else.  I felt bad about it to be honest but we had no way of knowing how long it would take for mortgages to be available for someone in a job they couldn't do because of lockdown.

very really glad it all worked out for you.  

Terron

I have just sold one BTL property. It took about 5 months for the sale to go through. Lots of people were blaming Covid for not responding quickly. I am happy with being a landlord so I am buying another.

If you don't want to be a landlord, then it is probably best to sell. It isn't for everyone. Eviction is very difficult at the moment, so you may need to sell with the tenants in place. That isn't a major issue, but does restrict the potential market so you may have to settle for a lower price.

SXX

Terron said:

I have just sold one BTL property. It took about 5 months for the sale to go through. Lots of people were blaming Covid for not responding quickly. I am happy with being a landlord so I am buying another.

If you don't want to be a landlord, then it is probably best to sell. It isn't for everyone. Eviction is very difficult at the moment, so you may need to sell with the tenants in place. That isn't a major issue, but does restrict the potential market so you may have to settle for a lower price.

Thank you - it is good to know that your BTL did eventually sell.   I have since had a few more conversations with local estate agents and they have told me (after being pushed for an honest answer), to hang on until the summer when we fully come out of lockdown and take it from there.  The thing which I am keeping a beady eye on is any changes to CGT - as this will really have an impact on me as my BTL is the bulk of my pension so I do need to sell it before any changes to CGT.   My BTL would be classed a a first time buyer property - and I don't know if these are shifting fast enough as people are waiting to see if they still have jobs in the future.