Loanpad P2P - Reviews, experiences, info or updates, post them here. I'm having a dabble.

Sea_Shell

I've found that if you highlight the whole loanbook from the scrollable page, you can copy/paste it into Excel and then it's filterable.

I did contact LP on this issue and they have replied to say that they don't have readily available collated data around HMOs.   So we're left to do our own digging into the data.

They did confirm that they "undertake many loans where the properties are being converted into HMOs"

They did confirm that, geographically, they are concentrated in the South East, but could be nationwide.

I've discussed it with my husband this morning, and he's of the same opinion, that it would be hypocritical to continue to invest.

So, better put my notice in.

Albermarle

Sea_Shell said:

To me it's about 2-3-4 bedroom homes being taken out of circulation and converted to 6+ unit HMOs.

Whether they would have been to buy or to rent, that's yet another house that's no longer available as a family home. 😞

Today, another 2 new loans, both for 3 bed terraces to be converted to 6 unit HMOs.

I think the issue is not with HMO's per se. Many towns and cities have large houses that are too big/expensive for a normal family, but not in the sort of very desirable location that would attract better off families. Often they will be detached or semi detached.
So an HMO is better than it being underused/empty. Often in cities the tenants are vetted - young professionals preferred normally.
However I can see that converting 3 bed terraces into 6 bed HMO's is more of an issue.

Sea_Shell

Albermarle said:

Sea_Shell said:

To me it's about 2-3-4 bedroom homes being taken out of circulation and converted to 6+ unit HMOs.

Whether they would have been to buy or to rent, that's yet another house that's no longer available as a family home. 😞

Today, another 2 new loans, both for 3 bed terraces to be converted to 6 unit HMOs.

I think the issue is not with HMO's per se. Many towns and cities have large houses that are too big/expensive for a normal family, but not in the sort of very desirable location that would attract better off families. Often they will be detached or semi detached.
So an HMO is better than it being underused/empty. Often in cities the tenants are vetted - young professionals preferred normally.
However I can see that converting 3 bed terraces into 6 bed HMO's is more of an issue.

I agree.   But looking at the address of some of these most recent loans, they are in "ordinary" residential streets, not those huge Georgian terraces that have been ripe for conversion to flats for decades, and mostly have been already.

It seems Developers are having to spread their nets wider, into suburbs and adjoining villages.

It appears to be a growing trend, not just on LPs books. 😞

TheWoodler

I invested a small sum in Loanpad a while back, but took my money out probably about a year ago. It was a little experiment for me, no more. I was never completely comfortable with it for various reasons, so only invested a very small sum I was happy to lose.  

Recently I’ve had an email or two suggesting that I might want to revisit my account - so this conversation has been of interest. 

I quite agree about the ethical issues around HMOs, and have noticed that they have also been cropping up more frequently on Homes Under The Hammer. My local council has taken quite a strong stand against HMOs, only accepting them up to a certain density on traffic management grounds - which at least is something and is a stance I applaud. So I won’t be reinvesting.