I'm a buy-to-let landlord AMA

[accidentallandlord]

I own four flats in and around London - AMA.

Don't get me wrong, there's some awful landlords around, but fundamentally the lack of high quality affordable housing is due to a lack of social housing.

I'm currently renting out my property as I'm abroad, the rent is 20% less than the mortgage so I'm far from making a profit.

Lots of people want to rent. If there were no landlords these people would have nowhere to live, especially now there is such a lack of social housing.

I rented for 16 years. I couldn't afford to buy as I was a student, then had a low income /high enjoyment job (which I chose)

Small landlords are an easy target I think. But absolutely everything we do in this country is wound up with capitalism.

If you have any sort of company or private pension this will be being invested in property/ companies you may disapprove of/ arms etc etc via the stock exchange.

The blame lies, to my mind, in selling off council housing. I personally find unethical the people who bought their council house and sold them for a huge profit, or rent it out.

But buying a property at market value and renting it at market rent to people who WANT to rent is another matter.

Our current tenant wants to rent. She has a terrible credit rating and would be unable to get a mortgage. Luckily there are landlords like me who will rent to her despite her past financial issues. Otherwise she would be homeless.

Lots of people want to rent. If there were no landlords these people would have nowhere to live, especially now there is such a lack of social housing.

This is such ridiculous nonsense.

What do you imagine would happen if no one owned properties to rent out? If everyone was only allowed to own the home they live in?

Do you think that all of those properties would just sit empty? Or be knocked down?

The property had previously been a rental. I think we have done a good service as the flat is now in good condition and the tenants seem happy (on the basis they have been there 5 years without complaint). But I do think of it as a pension for the future as mine is not great.

OP, do you have any thoughts on tenants receiving housing benefit? I have one BTL property and have accepted tenants on HB without issue. However the last time I did so I needed the property back after two years. She was fine about this but the housing department simply would not house her until I had gone all the way through the expensive and time consuming eviction process.

At the very last minute she found a private rental in a completely different area and no hard feelings.

IMO the councils who behave in this way are a big part of the problem with LLs being wary of renting to HB recipients. I don’t think I will again unfortunately.

Gorgon, I am afraid it is you talking nonsnse.

Yes a lot of houses would sit empty in the scenario you describe. Not eveyone can get a mortgage. Even if house prices were very low, most people on low incomes would still need to borrow to buy, and would be unable to buy.

I point you in the direction of many parts of the UK where there is a lot of empty housing stock, which is very cheap to buy. Some areas of Manchester, Liverpool and the North East for example. Houses lie empty for years because even though they are cheap the banks wont lend.

Banks have pretty strict criteria on income and past financial history.

The problem is the lack of social housing caused by the seelling off of council houses.

OP, do you have any thoughts on tenants receiving housing benefit? I have one BTL property and have accepted tenants on HB without issue. However the last time I did so I needed the property back after two years. She was fine about this but the housing department simply would not house her until I had gone all the way through the expensive and time consuming eviction process.

The same would apply to a non HB claimant that wanted social housing. Don't confuse housing benefit with social housing, many people in social housing (and waiting for social housing) do not even claim HB.

@MatildaTheCat I have no personal experience of this, but I do think it's incredibly ridiculous that a landlord, who is able to give a tenant several months' amicable notice effectively has to effectively make a tenant homeless before social housing kicks in.

It's a demeaning process for everyone involved, and seems totally unnecessary. However, I am not speaking from personal experience.

@GorgonLondon What do you imagine would happen if no one owned properties to rent out? If everyone was only allowed to own the home they live in?

Could you please follow this thought to its logical conclusion? Presumably renting is illegal in this scenario (as you are only allowed to own the home you live in).

How does the 18 year-old who is starting a new job, has no credit history, no proof of income over x months get a mortgage, or even enough deposit to put down? Where do they live in your scenario? Not trying to aggravate, just genuinely curious how your utopia works from a practical perspective.

@Echobelly Completely agree about "amateur" landlords, who often through no intended malice, can fall foul of legislation. I make a real effort to keep up with changes in the industry - e.g. attend HMRC seminars, subscribe to property magazines that outline changes in laws, and always, ALWAYS err on the side of caution where matters of safety are concerned - e.g. if you have a solid fuel burner, it's now mandatory to have a carbon monoxide alarm. None of my properties have anything other than an gas boiler, but I would always install a carbon monoxide alarm as standard.

At present if a new housing development is scheduled over a oarticular number of houses - then a % has to be social housing.

That % needs to be raised, and the number of properties being built needs to be lowered

This would create further affordable ( though more expensive than true council properties) housing

Housing also needs to far more carbon neutral in social housing sector, therefore creating a more economical housing costs for those that usually most need this

@ivykaty44 Totally agree. I think the proportion of social housing built actually varies between council, but I might be wrong on that.

I would rather have more "pure" council properties built than rent-to-buy and/or shared ownership.

Accidental

It’s a district matter so will vary by districts around each county!

It needs to be brought up with district councillors that we can all vote for...

Housing association doesn’t get sold of like district council properties do and are much stricter, giving tenants 5 year contracts, not life
Also making tenants over pay thier rent weekly until they have 6 weeks buffer. But the rents are much more expensive than district council properties

In fact prospective tenants may even not bother bidding on properties that are HA as they know they can’t eventually purchase them....then complain that they are on a “waiting list for years”

Genuine cases go all out to bid on anything and get housing

I don’t think Gorgon has thought it through at all.

Corbyn supporter, are we Gorgon?

Thanks for that detailed analysis, @CraftyGin!

I was out - so sorry for not answering sooner.

@GorgonLondon What do you imagine would happen if no one owned properties to rent out? If everyone was only allowed to own the home they live in?

Could you please follow this thought to its logical conclusion? Presumably renting is illegal in this scenario (as you are only allowed to own the home you live in).

How does the 18 year-old who is starting a new job, has no credit history, no proof of income over x months get a mortgage, or even enough deposit to put down? Where do they live in your scenario? Not trying to aggravate, just genuinely curious how your utopia works from a practical perspective.

How funny that you can't possibly imagine a different way in which the system of property ownership could work.

So that, for example, a proof of current salary and a guarantor could be accepted by mortgage companies.

That would work perfectly well.

Just as it does now when people, you know, rent somewhere. And rents of course are far higher. than mortgage repayments. But the tenants get absolutely nothing out of it at the end. But you do, as they've paid off your mortgage - how lovely for them.

Not to mention how much more affordable property - particularly the type of properties that young people just starting out would want - would be in this scenario.

I mean, as a multiple-property-owning, profiteering landlord who has made a business out of monetising other people's need for a roof over their heads, how convenient that you would characterise a different way of doing things as a 'utopia'.

It's not like you have a vested interest in things remaining as they are, is it?

Corbyn supporter, are we Gorgon?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH.

Oh my god, that's fucking hilarious.

Have an explore of the site and see if you can find the advanced search button, @HolyPieter. That might enlighten you a bit.

In the meantime, thanks for putting a smile on my face for the first time today - it's been a pretty shit day so far, but that has at least amused me.

Actually, I take that last post back.

You're on the same thread as I am, and you've just said that you're going to vote for UKIP.

I was a renter in several different lets for many years, firstly as a student, then as a trainee in a job in a town I didn't want to live in longer term, then as a temporary home before going travelling. All by choice. I didn't for a moment want to buy my own home.

Now have a joint mortgage with husband. When I inherited some money a couple of years ago, I decided to buy a very small flat on which I have a 12 year mortgage. It had been on the market for many months. I have two teenagers, minimal savings for them and thought it might be a help in the long term, to be either a place for them to live or help them get on the property ladder.

My tenant is my work colleague who was delighted to be able to move out from her parents' home as she could afford the reduced rate rent. I make no profit at all currently, but we are all benefitting.

Gorgon, proof of current salary and guarantor work for renting by because the credit risk is small compared to a mortgage. I don't think the banking regulators would allow that sort of underwriting criteria. And if your parents have sufficient assets to guarantee your mortgage they could just give you the money to buy the house in the first place.

" you could have countless 'amateur ' LLs owning one or two properties, which creates a number of problems,"

Isn't there a landlord in the southeast who has hundreds of properties and is widely hated, but people still have to rent from him because nobody else will? Proving that the size of a landlord's portfolio is no guarantee they're a decent person or even meet their legal obligations.

@MrsWobble If there was a huge shake up of the system, then I'm sure that fairer and more reasonable rules could be brought in around mortgage lending.

If we are expecting people to pay rent for years/decades, then there is no reason that they shouldn't be able to pay off mortgages.

It's just that they can't get them in the first place, and part of that is due to hugely inflated prices thanks to people treating other people's homes as a profiteering opportunity.

It's also due to not being able to save a deposit as rents are so disgustingly high - far higher than mortgage repayments would be on the same property.

My parents have a mortgage-free property that could be used as security to guarantee a loan. That doesn't mean that they have half a million in cash to just give me.

I love the notion that all landlords are getting their mortgages paid. When we were landlords, we lost £200 per month.

Oh dear, you weren't very good at it, were you?