Rent with no income but large savings - Renters rights laws ?

Herzlos

If you're being offered a suitable place to move to immediately then I'd take that on. The checks will only really apply if you're applying again so if you can do that without applying then it'll never come up as long as you make the payments. 

BlisteringBarnacles

Spoke a high street letting agent (not my current one) today and asked whether they would let properties to people with savings but without income. I gave the agent an idea of my cash savings and in his opinion it will not be a problem. Perhaps we will only know the ground reality after May. 

Murphybear

BlisteringBarnacles said:

Spoke a high street letting agent (not my current one) today and asked whether they would let properties to people with savings but without income. I gave the agent an idea of my cash savings and in his opinion it will not be a problem. Perhaps we will only know the ground reality after May. 

I was a letting agent before I retired. We did this a couple of times and didn’t have a problem with it

Grumpy_chap

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I do like flats actually, but if I buy I will probably go for one that is better quality than mine. But flats seem to drop in value like food past its expiry date, so I will need to be prepared to write off a good chunk of the value in future. 

Where / why / how do you get the understanding that flats lose value?

Robbo66

Given the upcoming Renters Rights Bill will outlaw upfront rent payments you will find it very difficult to pass the referencing when applying to rent a property.

monkey-fingers

Grumpy_chap said:

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I do like flats actually, but if I buy I will probably go for one that is better quality than mine. But flats seem to drop in value like food past its expiry date, so I will need to be prepared to write off a good chunk of the value in future. 

Where / why / how do you get the understanding that flats lose value?

This. A very odd comment.

In fact, if you could find somewhere that needed a bit of tarting up and possibly a shorter leasehold that you could extend cheaply, you could be in for a winner and make a chunk of tax-free money!

No tax or CGT on primary home.

Money leads to money.

I know you said you don't intend to be here for 5 years, that's a very, very long time for some in home ownership.

BlisteringBarnacles

Grumpy_chap said:

Where / why / how do you get the understanding that flats lose value?

Most in my town in Berkshire seem to depreciate considerably. Several decent looking apartments in my City centre - Sold for £200K in 2008 (£320K in today's money) but now listed on rightmove for £170-180K - the flats themselves look spacious - 2 bedroom, 2 bath, balconies too. 87 to 100 to even 120 years left on lease, service charges £3000 per year. There are several like this in the same building listed on rightmove. 

Here is an example from a different town : Wokingham in Berkshire. I mention it because Wokingham is considered one of the most desirable places in UK. And this in particular is the kind of flat I would like : balcony, spacious living room etc. But even in Wokingham, the price in seems to drop nominal terms let alone in real terms.   https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169766432#/?channel=RES_BUY

Another (extreme) example : Pan Peninsula luxury towers in Canary Wharf. 2 Bedroom 2 bath on 19th floor. 
Sold for £660K in 2009 (almost a million in today's money). Now listed for £525K 
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164308001#/?channel=RES_BUY

At one time such high-rise apartments were my dream : Pan Peninsula in London, Beetham Tower in Manchester, John Hancock Tower in Chicago. I now understand they are more like buying a fancy car, depreciating as soon as you drive out of the showroom. 

BlisteringBarnacles

monkey-fingers said:

In fact, if you could find somewhere that needed a bit of tarting up and possibly a shorter leasehold that you could extend cheaply, you could be in for a winner and make a chunk of tax-free money!

Thanks. But I am not a hands on guy at all. I prefer my savings in 1s and 0s in a cloud computer in the financial markets  

Extending, doing up etc - I dont have the skills to snap up a good bargain in a great location etc. Its the same with shares. I dont pick stocks. I go for the most boring boglehead portfolio, stay the course, buy and hold etc. 

Oh well. But now I am almost forced to buy OR find a job or leave the country. Lets see how it plays out. 

Thanks

BlisteringBarnacles

Robbo66 said:

Given the upcoming Renters Rights Bill will outlaw upfront rent payments you will find it very difficult to pass the referencing when applying to rent a property.

At least 3 high street letting agents I have spoken to have assured me it will not be an issue and I will not end up homeless. They said if tenant does not have income, they will go thru lettings hub, open rent etc or ask tenant to show 30 x monthly rent in savings. 

And for what its worth, my landlord did say he is happy to give me good references when I look for a place after Dec 2026. He doesnt know tho that I am not working at the moment. 

On one hand : I am wondering if I should let the cat out of the bag and tell him upfront that I am not working. If he gets nervous about the current lease, I can offer to pay rent in advance till Dec 2026, which is legal to do now. And then I can bring up other options and ask him if we can sign a new lease before May on one of his other properties where I can pay rent in advance. I guess advance rent payment is legal if the dotted line is signed before May. But my strategy could backfire and he may get nervous and just issue Section 21 which he can do now. This is very unlikely as he is a decent individual and I have not missed rent in almost two decades. 

On the other hand, I want to just stay in my current flat till Dec 2026 and treat my situation as a hard deadline : to find a job, or buy a house or leave. I dont do anything without hard deadline, so in a way this is exactly what I need. 

Thanks

monkey-fingers

BlisteringBarnacles said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Where / why / how do you get the understanding that flats lose value?

Most in my town in Berkshire seem to depreciate considerably. Several decent looking apartments in my City centre - Sold for £200K in 2008 (£320K in today's money) but now listed on rightmove for £170-180K - the flats themselves look spacious - 2 bedroom, 2 bath, balconies too. 87 to 100 to even 120 years left on lease, service charges £3000 per year. There are several like this in the same building listed on rightmove. 

Here is an example from a different town : Wokingham in Berkshire. I mention it because Wokingham is considered one of the most desirable places in UK. And this in particular is the kind of flat I would like : balcony, spacious living room etc. But even in Wokingham, the price in seems to drop nominal terms let alone in real terms.   https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169766432#/?channel=RES_BUY

Another (extreme) example : Pan Peninsula luxury towers in Canary Wharf. 2 Bedroom 2 bath on 19th floor. 
Sold for £660K in 2009 (almost a million in today's money). Now listed for £525K 
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164308001#/?channel=RES_BUY

At one time such high-rise apartments were my dream : Pan Peninsula in London, Beetham Tower in Manchester, John Hancock Tower in Chicago. I now understand they are more like buying a fancy car, depreciating as soon as you drive out of the showroom. 

In the UK, new builds lose money. Period.

You need to compare apples with apples.

Let's compare some older properties. I went with Brighton, simply because I know it and know that it has a lot of period property for sale.
There are many flats that sold in the mid to late 2000s for around £195k now actually being sold at >£800k.

Find me 100 year old flats and apartments and I doubt you'll find many that haven't increased since 2009.