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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be annoyed when people view our house as a buy-to-let

38 replies

NoWayPedro · 27/04/2013 13:57

DP and me are selling our house; it's a nice starter home for a couple or someone with a small family. We live in the South-East and its not cheap, not that it is anywhere these days. I realise we are v lucky, several of our friends (teachers, IT professionals etc.) can't afford to buy and would love to live in our house.

As much as I want to move, I really don't want to sell to a but-to-let. They swan in, all 'I'm buy to let don't you know' blah blah and only ask questions around how cheap the maintenance would be for the most possible returns.

Really pisses me off - AIBU?

OP posts:

Original poster

NoWayPedro · 27/04/2013 13:58

*buy

OP posts:

IllegalYoniFarm · 27/04/2013 13:59

Well obviously YABU because if you want to sell it, it doesnt matter who buys it, get the agent to do the viewings then you will be none the wiser!

Fluffy1234 · 27/04/2013 14:00

YABU.

helenthemadex · 27/04/2013 14:01

as long as you get what you are asking for it why do you care who buys it

at the moment it is your home and has been for a while but you want to sell it because it no longer suits your needs so yab a bit u

Jinty64 · 27/04/2013 14:02

YABU. I would love to sell our flat and I don't care who buys it or what they want to do with it.

TidyDancer · 27/04/2013 14:04

Of course YABU. Why on earth does it matter? You're selling the house, it won't be yours anymore.

thisisgettingboringnow · 27/04/2013 14:04

yabu as long as you get what price you want it doesnt matter what happens to the place.

verytellytubby · 27/04/2013 14:04

My last flat was sold as a buy to let. I didn't give a fuck as I was desperate to sell and get a garden. They paid the asking price, there was no chain so it was a completely stress free move.

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/04/2013 14:05

First rule of selling is leave your feelings of it as your home at the estate agents door it is now merely a product that you need to sell in the best way possible to the highest bidder. This is a business transaction and how well you complete in could have an impact for years on your family as it will determine your onward purchase.

Original poster

NoWayPedro · 27/04/2013 14:06

I'm annoyed people who buy-to-let push both the rent and house prices up so other people can't afford it - like most of my friends. Perhaps I won't have a choice in who buys it.

OP posts:

Original poster

NoWayPedro · 27/04/2013 14:08

Fair point lonecat

OP posts:

CloudsAndTrees · 27/04/2013 14:09

Of course YABU. You need to let go of the emotional attachment you have to the house if you are going to sell it.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 27/04/2013 14:10

YAB a bit U.
You view it as your home. You want people to come in and say :
"Oh I love the kitchen/bathroom- so well appointed. That's a brilliant idea"
and visualise themselves living there.

The B2L buyers are thinking "What can I get this for and how little can I get away with doing to make it rentable"

There are 2 houses To Let in our road of 40 houses.
Previously the houses have sold quite quickly. The housing market seems quite flat in our area.

Jinsei · 27/04/2013 14:13

YABU, but I love sellers like you! :) We bought our house for an absolute bargain because the owner had only had offers from BTL buyers and didn't want to sell to them. The agent insisted that she would reject our offer because she had already rejected several higher offers, but she accepted it - she later explained that it was because she liked us and wanted to sell to a family.

It was an expensive preference for her, but absolutely fine by us!! :)

Tryharder · 27/04/2013 14:29

My parents bought a house very cheaply because the owner (who also owned the one next door) didn't want to sell to developers who would have built about 5 houses on the one plot (small bungalow, lots and lots of land).

I agree with you by the way, at least the principle of it! However, you should do what you do to get the best price possible.

Finola1step · 27/04/2013 14:30

You can't be too emotional in the house selling process. Get the agents to do the viewings. Agree to only be present on any second viewings. The good thing about a buyer who is going to let out is that they have no emotional attachments to a property they need to sell in order to buy yours. So there will no pulling out the day before exchange because they have decided that they don't want to move after all and such nonsense.

TheChaoGoesMu · 27/04/2013 14:31

I sold my last house as a buy to let. I didn't care who bought it, I needed to sell it.

TheRealFellatio · 27/04/2013 14:37

Ok so if you are annoyed with BTL landlords on principle then I do hope you will remember those principles, and turn them down, even when they offer you a good price with a quick sale and no chain.

Finola1step · 27/04/2013 14:40

Forgot to add.. Completed my house purchase in December. Took over a year and three houses to actually see one through to completion. All because of other people in the chain mucking about, changing their minds, getting their finances wrong and so having their mortgage offers withdrawn. The housing market is tough everywhere. Chains are falling apart very easily. A buyer who is in the buy to market is far more likely to have the money sorted and would therefore be a much safer bet for you than a first time buyer whose mortgage company can suddenly start asking awkward questions.

CandidaDoyle · 27/04/2013 14:41

We encountered a seller like yours Jinsei, I had dressed my DDs in the best handed knitted cardis that granny had made, which really endeared the vendor. They then fell over themselves to accept our very cheeky offer (which was still double what they paid, so l didn't feel too guilty)

TheRealFellatio · 27/04/2013 14:43

also, if you've sold to a BTL investor that puts you in a very strong position as a purchaser as they may let you stay in your old house and pay nominal rent on a month by month basis while you look for somewhere else, and you can approach a new property as a cash/no chain buyer, and therefore negotiate a better price for a quick, trouble free transaction.

NinaHeart · 27/04/2013 14:45

I do know how you feel as I felt that way when I sold my last house. and a local vicar wanted to Buy to Let (and keep my lovely curtains - no chance)

It was bought in then end by a family of three women (two sisters and their mum) who apparently, turned out to be dreadful occupants. I'm not sure my old neighbours (who are still friends) ever really forgave me!

So you don't know that the people you sell to won't turn out to be rotters.

Unami · 27/04/2013 14:52

YANBU

It's completely up to you who you want to sell your house to. Buy-to-let landlords do a great deal to elevate house prices beyond the means of ordinary people and families. As you say, many of your friends would love to live in a house like yours, and while they personally may not be able to afford it, selling to a buy-to-let landlord will only take it off the market for anyone else looking for a family home too.

I was listening to a radio program about the problem of so many homes in areas like Cornwall being sold as holiday homes and basically destroying the community. People had proposed various measures to disinsentivise the purchase of holiday homes such as local taxes, but then someone suggested that the blame also lay, in part, with the people selling their houses - as they could choose the sell their homes to local families for a lower price if they so wished to, but chose not to. I think there's probably a great deal of truth in that.

Buying and selling a house is not a value-free exchange. If you consider the exchange to have social and ethical implications beyond your personal interests, then there is really no reason to discount them, other than convenience or profit. If that's what matters most to you, then fine, but YANBU to have reservations.

Oodsigma · 27/04/2013 14:56

We've just sold my Grandads house to a couple rather than BTL for £5k less. The couple were chain free too.

We didn't have to buy anything else with the money though so not the same pressure as when you are trying to move up the ladder.

pippop1 · 27/04/2013 14:56

Look at it another way. If your potential new buyers are not doing buying-to-let but are planning to live there, what you are saying to them is ""This house is not good/big enough for me, but actually it's OK for you".

That's not that nice either.

Selling and buying houses is v stressful.

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