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What should my boyfriend do in this situation?

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TiredDonna
TiredDonna Posts: 37 Forumite
Mortgage-free Glee!
in House buying, renting & selling
I am in my late thirties with my own home and am working on being mortgage-free by the time I'm forty. My boyfriend of nearly two years is in his early forties and has no property but moved in with me last year. We split the bills and he has some healthy savings for a deposit on his own house. Next year he may possibly do a PhD, supplementing his scholarship with earnings from consultancy. He worries about security in his old age.

He had intended to invest in a property, renting it out. However, he has now learned that he cannot do this, but must live in the property for one or two years (depending upon the mortgage provider) before he can rent it out. His question is what should he do now?

His friend (works in property) says to forget the legalities, buy a house and rent it out anyway. We do not feel that is an option.

Should he buy a house and leave it empty until he can rent it? Neither of us is comfortable with owning an empty property. He could get a doer-upper to make the most of that time, but I'm not sure either of us would enjoy spending our leisure time doing this.

Should he just continue saving up money and see what the situation is in a couple of years?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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  • gettingtheresometime
    gettingtheresometime Posts: 6,911 Forumite
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    Couldn't he have a btl mortgage or doesn't he have enough of a deposit / want to pay the (presumably) higher interest rates?
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    Is his friend a letting agent by any chance?
    Why can’t he just get a BTL mortgage like any other landlord? In fact why does he want to invest in property in the first place, why not some other investment vehicle(s)?
  • LandyAndy
    LandyAndy Posts: 26,377 Forumite
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    gettingtheresometime wrote: »
    Couldn't he have a btl mortgage or doesn't he have enough of a deposit / want to pay the (presumably) higher interest rates?
    Pixie5740 wrote: »
    Is his friend a letting agent by any chance?
    Why can’t he just get a BTL mortgage like any other landlord? In fact why does he want to invest in property in the first place, why not some other investment vehicle(s)?


    Don't you have to already own a property to get a BTL mortgage on another?
  • gettingtheresometime
    gettingtheresometime Posts: 6,911 Forumite
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    LandyAndy wrote: »
    Don't you have to already own a property to get a BTL mortgage on another?



    I thought a BTL mortgage was a mortgage you got when you weren't going to live in the property yourself, regardless of whether you owned a property or not
  • TiredDonna
    TiredDonna Posts: 37 Forumite
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    Re Buy-to-let mortgages, my boyfriend understands that you already need to be home-owner/have a mortgage.

    The friend is not a letting agent :) something to do with conveyancing.

    He would certainly be open to other investments if they could be readily converted in to a roof over his head should he need one.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    edited 6 October 2017 at 9:01AM
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    LandyAndy wrote: »
    Don't you have to already own a property to get a BTL mortgage on another?

    Not necessarily. Yes already owning your home is a requirement of some lenders but not all. Lenders that do offer BTL mortgages to non-homeowners assess the borrower as if they were getting a residential mortgage to ensure the borrower isn’t trying to use a BTL mortgage to purchase a property they couldn’t otherwise afford.
  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
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    No rented house, regardless of mortgage circumstances, can be "readily converted to a roof over his head should he need one". If you are lucky it might be, but if not it can take months.
  • rtho782
    rtho782 Posts: 1,189 Forumite
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    Most BTL providers won't give you a BTL mortgage if you don't own your own home to live in.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    TiredDonna wrote: »
    Re Buy-to-let mortgages, my boyfriend understands that you already need to be home-owner/have a mortgage.

    The friend is not a letting agent :) something to do with conveyancing.

    He would certainly be open to other investments if they could be readily converted in to a roof over his head should he need one.

    Your boyfriend understands incorrectly and should seek advice from a mortgage broker.

    That is very worrying that his friend, who works in conveyancing, thinks that mortgage fraud is acceptable.
  • greendoor665
    greendoor665 Posts: 126 Forumite
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    He could invest in funds within stocks and shares ISAs, these are very liquid and can be sold and converted to cash within a couple of days. This might be a better option than becoming a landlord?

    If he had a property that he rented out and then wanted to move in to, it could take many months to get the tenants out and move in himself. In fact it could be far quicker to sell investments and go through the whole process of buying a new house than to legally evict tenants!

    If it's an investment for his future and the security of having a roof over his head he wants, there are better options than buying a property to rent out.
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