Flipping property or BTL?

km1500

hyundai2005 said:

km1500 said:

if you flip once it's not a problem.

if you do.it multiple times over a short period you should consider if it is a business or not.

Thanks.

Do you know what timespan to flip is generally advised as to not raise red flags?

it's not a time scale it's not that you can run a business and think how can I get away with it if I space out the flipping

if you are running a business then it is a business it doesn't matter how often you flip

if you are genuinely buying a main residence to live in but just doing it up and then moving on then that is not a business

SDLT_Geek

hyundai2005 said:

km1500 said:

if you flip once it's not a problem.

if you do.it multiple times over a short period you should consider if it is a business or not.

Thanks.

Do you know what timespan to flip is generally advised as to not raise red flags?

It sounds as if you asking for help in evading tax.  That is not what this money saving website is for!

AlexMac

I think you should go for it Hyundai!

 I'm blown away (as a softy southerner living in London) by the fact that you can buy houses in NI for under £80k. 

I couldn’t afford my own gaff til I was in my late 20s. And that only ‘cos it was a wreck, my wife was joint purchaser, we got a now unbelievable 100% homesteading mortgage from the Regional Authority - the old “GLC” - and a “Home Improvement Grant from the local council AND ‘ cos property was dirt cheap in the early 1970s. Ten grand for a gaff that now (blinged up in the now trendoid -then slummy- suburb of Brixton) is worth north of a million. 

So if you buy a wreck and do it up, like I’ve done a few times, live in it  for a year or ten (maybe with mates or a mate) you’ll be well on the way to where we are now 50 years on; gazillions of equity, in an upmarket manor, and a comfortable retirement despite never being big earners. 

Even if you don’t make a big profit you’ll learn useful skills as I did; of internal and external decoration, carpentry, how the fit kitchen units etc, and how to manage the plumbers, builders, heating engineers and electricians you’ll need for the stuff that demands real skill and Certification. “Sweat equity” it’s called!

the downside is that I doubt if NI will see the galactic house price inflation of London in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. So if you do go ahead, remember the adage “ buy the worst house in the best street you can afford”

good luck

Doozergirl

AlexMac said:

I think you should go for it Hyundai!

 I'm blown away (as a softy southerner living in London) by the fact that you can buy houses in NI for under £80k. 

I couldn’t afford my own gaff til I was in my late 20s. And that only ‘cos it was a wreck, my wife was joint purchaser, we got a now unbelievable 100% homesteading mortgage from the Regional Authority - the old “GLC” - and a “Home Improvement Grant from the local council AND ‘ cos property was dirt cheap in the early 1970s. Ten grand for a gaff that now (blinged up in the now trendoid -then slummy- suburb of Brixton) is worth north of a million. 

So if you buy a wreck and do it up, like I’ve done a few times, live in it  for a year or ten (maybe with mates or a mate) you’ll be well on the way to where we are now 50 years on; gazillions of equity, in an upmarket manor, and a comfortable retirement despite never being big earners. 

Even if you don’t make a big profit you’ll learn useful skills as I did; of internal and external decoration, carpentry, how the fit kitchen units etc, and how to manage the plumbers, builders, heating engineers and electricians you’ll need for the stuff that demands real skill and Certification. “Sweat equity” it’s called!

the downside is that I doubt if NI will see the galactic house price inflation of London in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. So if you do go ahead, remember the adage “ buy the worst house in the best street you can afford”

good luck

I think you've hit the nail on the head.  

We're talking to an 18 year old FTB buyer here who may have aspirations, but at the moment they are nothing but an 18 year old FTB about to start learning what it is like to buy and renovate a property.  

Buy the house, see what happens. 

When you come to sell, that's the point that it becomes a business or not.  It's important in a business plan to account for tax, otherwise it's not sustainable.  We shouldn't be arguing about it.  

To the person who talks about playing the market right and putting in a new kitchen - there's no point in putting the kitchen in when the market is going your way.  You can buy anything, do nothing and probably make more.  

My own experience is that it is very difficult, nigh on impossible to buy a property than just needs renovation and make a profit that can be considered comparable to a wage for the effort.  You either need the market in your direction, cash to make the purchase on an un-mortgageable property or to add square footage.  Been there, done it and got the t-shirt.  

The cheaper the end value of the property, the harder it is to realise a profit.  In some areas it can be more expensive to build a house than buy one.  It's a serious issue for small house builders - they can't get the numbers to stack up and yet it's arguably cheaper/faster to build than it is to renovate for many pros.  

Property is not an easy career choice.  

Albermarle

So if you buy a wreck and do it up, like I’ve done a few times, live in it  for a year or ten (maybe with mates or a mate) you’ll be well on the way to where we are now 50 years on; gazillions of equity, in an upmarket manor, and a comfortable retirement despite never being big earners. 

You have done well but all forms of money making bring risk. Sometimes you win, maybe by being cleverer/better at that business, or maybe one can be just lucky, or in the case of a couple we know, unlucky.

They lived a good life for many years, doing up large Victorian villas in North London. He was an architect and she was good with interior design. They lived in the properties whilst builders did their bit. They took out big mortgages and paid off them using the big profits from the previous development.
Then one day they got impatient waiting for the right property to come along, and bought the wrong one.
Then during the development the market went quiet and it would not sell.
They had to borrow from friends, family, credit cards, overdrafts to pay the mortgage.
Fast forward a couple of years and house was sold at a loss. He had to declare himself bankrupt and now lives with his Mum in a one bed flat on benefits. She is still paying off and agreed portion of huge credit card bills and living in small rented flat on benefits outside London. They are divorced.
To be fair they were a bit too keen on splashing the cash in the good times, which did not help, but property development is certainly not without risk.