Generation Landlord - The Fastest Growing Type Of Self Employment Job In The Uk

[stolenview]

mobile.twitter.com/RBS_Economics/status/608544307457478656

Seems like very bad news for the UK. Ever widening gap between the have and have nots keeping society divided. Landlords aren't really providing anything productive, just forcing more people to rent as speculation pushes houses higher.

link here
Yes it's bad news for poor people, especially in light of the proposed
cuts to tax credits

YANBU

You don't really make much money at it actually unless property prices increase and in London they are reducing at the moment so a recent landlord would be making a loss! We sold our two buy to let flats in the 90s recession at 50% less than we paid for them and it was a huge relief to be free of all those repairs, the hours of painting I did, the cleaning, the replacement of things that broke. There are much easier ways to make money than letting to tenants.

Here we go...

"Landlords aren't really providing anything productive, just forcing more people to rent as speculation pushes houses higher."

What the actual fuck. How about providing places to live in a country with inadequate social housing, without which millions of people would be living under bridges and in tents? How about the ongoing process of providing a better living environment, maintenance, furnishings etc. than what local authorities provide? How about paying taxes on the profits like every other business or working person?

As for "pushing prices up" the property market in the UK is actually rather important to the economy - and unless we like the idea of people eating each other to survive, let's not be wishing what economic activity we have, away.

Surely landlords aren't forcing people to rent?

People rent because they can't raise a deposit, and/or meet the mortgage affordability criteria.

Lotus light not too sure why you would have sold at 50% less than you bought at just to get out of the work which could have been taken over by a rental agent for a fee. I doubt the cost would have equated to the 50% loss you sustained when you sold. How much are those flats worth now?

They do more than provide, they force people to rent! Most people would prefer to buy. Its a pyramid system.

"Lotus light not too sure why you would have sold at 50% less than you bought at just to get out of the work which could have been taken over by a rental agent for a fee."

We sold them to buy this house - our home. The fact they were sold at a 50% loss is just how the property market goes and landlords take that massive risk and tenant's. Most success life is in part about taking risk and plenty of those risks fail.

The fact it was a relief not to be saddled with all the repairs (and many many landlords do not want to pay massive fees to agents when they already almost make a loss on their place so that is not a solution although making tenants legally liable for things like new boilers and repairs and painting as is the case in some European countries might help).

The price of the flats will be higher than when we sold them but many landlords have no choice when they sell as they are moving towns for work or because of their partner's work or there just happens to be the latest property slump as we had in the 70s and then the 90s crash.

I certainly agree that if you buy a property and keep it for 40 years even with inflation you are likely to make a capital gain (taxed at 28%).

YANBU. They do push prices up and they take away from housing stock that could be people wanting a home to buy.
Gonna get even worse if the cunting Conservatives get their way with forcing housing association homes as right to buy as most of these will end up being privately rented out within a few years.

"Making tenants legally liable for thing like new boilers and repairs"

Are you pulling my plonker in trying to suggest this would be reasonable? LLs are already getting a their mortgage paid courtesy of their tenants; making them pay to do it up as well would just be taking the absolute fricking piss.

Another dig at landlords.

We own two properties, one of which we rent out. It's a (hard to come by) 5 bed renting to a single parent with 4 children. The rent is fair, hasn't increased in the 3 years we've rented it, she has carte blanche to decorate as she wishes, has a dog, repairs are attended to swiftly, both parties happy. We're providing accommodation on minimal profit that our tenant would struggle to find elsewhere without compromising her employment. If we wanted to sell (unforeseen at present) she'd have first refusal and a lower asking price for convenience on both sides.

Stolenview - round here 2 bedroom houses start at £50,000. There is a surplus of (poor quality) council housing. If people are being 'forced to rent' it is certainly not by private land lords.

Please could everyone stop talking about life in the SE as if it is typical of the whole country

Another landlord bashing thread. Yawn!

I am a landlord of one property. It is rented at a loss, well maintained, rented under market value and to two professionals who share and do not want to buy. There really isn't as much money as people seem to believe in being a landlord and it is very risky if you have bad tenants. Some people want to rent, some people have to rent. Landlords are providing a service/product just like any other business. If there was no demand there would be no business. Yes some are bad but some are not. Landlords are not responsible for the housing crisis, under supply is.

Oh, and usually on these type of threads it's is put across as if the properties landed in the LL's lap to rent out making a massive profit and paying their own mortgage. Both our properties are mortgaged, the rental a BTL. We slept on MIL's living room floor (realise that smacks of "In MY day..." but it's the truth) for a year to save for a deposit.

I'm not saying property isn't expensive but it really pisses me off that LL's are given such a bad press lately, when there are decent LL's out there.