I'm a buy-to-let landlord AMA

[accidentallandlord]

I own four flats in and around London - AMA.

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.

There was a BBC show about 15 years ago called, “How I made my property millions.” In one of the episodes, they features a well-known couple from Kent. They’d buy a property and add value by renovating it. This and a rising market, meant they had equity in the property which they released and put to the next property. They did this over and and ended up with massive portfolio.

There was never any suggestion that they treated their tenants badly, and they bought all their properties fairly on the open market.

TBH, I am a fan of small government, and if there is an ethical landlord, I prefer that to the council or housing association, because of the more personal touch and simpler bureaucracy.

There was never any suggestion that they treated their tenants badly, and they bought all their properties fairly on the open market.

There have been plenty of accusations of them not treating tenants fairly

And they have been known to buy houses by going direct to the builders of new houses and negotiating a 'job lot' discount to buy lots at a time
Which means local buyers don't stand a chance

@GorgonLondon "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."

One of the many, many complications of your idea is that there is no "system" per se. Banks largely set their own lending criteria, and - for obvious reasons, as profit-making entities - will not take unnecessary risks i.e. low deposits (in case of negative equity) or people without job security (usually at least 3 months in a job, plus 6 months' bank statements are necessary).

So that doesn't really answer my question that if you have made renting functionally illegal, where does the young person, who may not even want to permanently locate to x location, live in the meantime? I had to do a secondment to Edinburgh for work - I never intended to be there more than 6 months. Under your rules, would I have had to buy a flat, or stay in a hotel for 6 months?

What about students?

People will always want to rent, regardless of whether or not they need to.

@CraftyGin You raise an interesting point about accessibility. There is no bureaucracy (or at the very least, minimal) in getting hold of me. All tenants have my phone number, my home address and my email address. I am technically contactable 24 hours. Obviously I sleep, and am occasionally away so I have provided all tenants with out of hours emergency numbers in case they can't get hold of me.

I remember renting myself back in the day through a massive company, and when I had a leak and had no idea what to do, I got an answering service, and it was three days before I actually managed to get hold of anyone. I have heard horror stories about tenants being without heating for months on end.

The longest any of my tenants was without heating was for a week, and I was FURIOUS with the repair company who kept ordering the wrong part. It was the middle of winter, and my tenant was in her early 20s and had a terrible cold - I told her to book a hotel for a few days, whilst I fought with the company for compensation. I got about £200 compensation from the repair company, and put up another £200 myself which funded a few nights in the warm for her until the boiler was fixed. And still, I felt bad, because she had to leave her home.

I'm not perfect, but I try really hard for my tenants to make sure they get the best service I can give, and give them the best value for money as the market allows.

I have made mistakes too, but never - I hope - from greed or arrogance.

Just resurrecting this @accidentallandlord, in case you are still checking the thread. I am also a landlord ( initially accidental like you when I had to manage my dad’s two properties because he was too ill)
My question is: have you managed to find a set of reliable and competent tradesmen? That’s something I’ve struggled with, especially plumbers. Any tips gratefully received .

@whataboutbob This is interesting because this has probably been one of my greatest challenges.

In the early days, I tried to build up a bank of reliable tradespeople, but because with only 4 properties, I (thankfully!) never provided them with anything more than dribs and drabs of work, they would generally start off enthusiastic and become less and less reliable.

I have recently asked our letting agent (the people who find us tenants) NOT to manage the properties, but to give us access to their contractors, which so far seems to be working well. Their prices are slightly higher than the tradespeople I identified, so for bigger jobs, I try to get one of my "old crew" to quote for it too, and if they can do it cheaper and quickly, I will go with them. If it's just general maintenance, sub £200 jobs, for the sake of convenience and quickness, I will get the letting agent's contractor to do the work.

Not sure if that counts as a tip, but it might be worth asking your local letting agent, particularly if you use them regularly to find a tenant. They also hold keys for us, which is helpful as we no longer live in the area.

Thanks @accidental landlord it's good to have your perspective. Finding competent and reliable tradesmen has so far been the toughest aspect of bring a landlord. And with only 2 properties my prospects are poorer then yours! My agents for the student flat have contractors who I have tried to avoid as they seem expensive ( the agents rake a 10 percent cut. But lately in desperation I had to call on them due to the landlords nightmare of leaking shower and wrecked flooring as they could do it at very short notice. I'm hoping to get better at maintenance and managing small problems myself so I'm going on a plumbing course next month.

Hi OP
You said earlier your 4 properties are in central london and now worth £1.2m, i’m interested to know where you can buy flats in central London for around £300k each?
Thanks

Would you object to a good, reliable tenant occasionally sub-letting her flat through airbnb?

@Goldangel East London - a 1-bed in Bethnal Green, the others a mix of 1 and 2 beds nearer Bow.

I guess it depends on your definition of Central London but they are all Zone 2.

Some ex-local too, which makes them less expensive than privately built housing stock too.

@Rebecca36 Yes as it would invalidate the terms of my mortgage. It wouldn't be personal though or any reflection on the tenant.