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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think all buy to let people are just in it to get someone else to work to pay off their mortgage?

683 replies

madhurjazz · 03/09/2016 07:13

I wish people would say it as it is. Buy to let in my mind is just about getting someone else that can't afford a deposit / without a stable job to do all the hard work to pay off the mortgage of someone else. It does feel like a massive step backwards in equality.

Very few actually want to rent, the vast majority are stuck doing so as speculation keeps pushing ownership out of reach.

OP posts:
RebelandaStunner · 15/09/2016 08:04

We are definitely in it for the money! Eh? Why else do it?
They're half of our pension plan.
Some we have bought in cash, some with remortgage and pay it off quickly.
All have risen in value (except the one we bought this year, but pretty sure it will)

I have an acquaintance who went on and on about how a house should be a home not an investment and against BTL/LL. Then she came into some money and guess what she invested in? A rental property Hmm

MuseumOfCurry · 15/09/2016 08:08

I have an acquaintance who went on and on about how a house should be a home not an investment and against BTL/LL. Then she came into some money and guess what she invested in? A rental property

Typical.

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 08:08

So because she's s hypocrite doesn't make it less morally wrong

Lweji · 15/09/2016 08:13

morally wrong Hmm

Morally wrong is to explore tenants, not bother with repairs, etc.
Or not treat landlords properly, pay on time, etc.

H0m3made468 · 15/09/2016 08:47

Depending on your individual circumstances BTLet can be a better investment compared to other types of investment eg shares, pension, gold, antiques etc
However all types of long term investments rise and fall

BTLet comes with responsibility and tax implications

If someone has worked hard for several years why are you concerned how to spend their savings or inheritance ?

If you have a spare room in your house you can rent that out too

I do not think that BTLet is immoral

NNChangeAgain · 15/09/2016 09:10

I am genuinely intrigued as to how someone with such strength of feeling about BTL LL can function in everyday society.

How do you deal with situations in which you get to know someone, a friend, or colleague, only to discover several months down the line that they let out a property they own? What do you do, when you find out they engage in such morally reprehensible behaviour?

Life must be one long disappointment - people who you liked, and trusted, disappointing to you in such a way.

RebelandaStunner · 15/09/2016 09:17

We allow pets, let them decorate, keep the places to a decent standard, prefer longer lets, Never put the rents up while the same tenants are in, repair things quickly, have all the checks, insurance and paperwork in place, have always given deposits back promptly and leave them alone in their home.
Immoral? Bollocks!

Original poster
madhurjazz · 15/09/2016 09:44

*I have an acquaintance who went on and on about how a house should be a home not an investment and against BTL/LL. Then she came into some money and guess what she invested in? A rental property

Typical.*

Not very typical, most of the btl people never acknowledge that ethically it sucks and they are exploiting a situation to make financial gains.

OP posts:
Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:06

What particularly grates is when it's ex council houses that are being let out .... Bought for peanuts somewhere along the lines and now being let out to the very people they were always intended for but with massive profits along the way for those it was not intended for.
The only way to literally win at this game is to get in the ladder yourself whatever the cost and then pay that mortgage off as fast as you can, even if you over pay by £1 per month do it, it saves you £3 and you're out the rat race a day earlier

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:08

Lweji*
I've been renting for 4 years now, most landlords are sharks. They genuinely don't seem to get what their side of the bargain is and think once the house is let they just sit back and count the fivers

MuseumOfCurry · 15/09/2016 10:11

Not very typical, most of the btl people never acknowledge that ethically it sucks and they are exploiting a situation to make financial gains.

Sure, only those BTLers who were previously down on their luck and hated landlords, and then had a windfall and their advisor told them to stick it in property.

MuseumOfCurry · 15/09/2016 10:13

^What particularly grates is when it's ex council houses that are being let out .... Bought for peanuts somewhere along the lines and now being let out to the very people they were always intended for but with massive profits along the way for those it was not intended for.
The only way to literally win at this game is to get in the ladder yourself whatever the cost and then pay that mortgage off as fast as you can, even if you over pay by £1 per month do it, it saves you £3 and you're out the rat race a day earlier^

Yes. Selling the council house stock at a discount was clearly a one-time cash gift to the buyer, who would obviously going to go on and sell it to the highest bidder at some point. No idea what they were thinking.

Cocklodger · 15/09/2016 10:18

My money is protected and secure. I own five, including the one I live in. I'm a good landlord. When I was fucked over by an estate agent (house was in a state of disrepair, broken boiler etc) I went above and beyond to correct it and right things he the tenant. Can't have done too bad as he canceled the place he was going to live in and signed another contract with me. Its swings and roundabouts really. I've also had to take people to court, collectively, for 150,000 for deliberate damage (HUMAN shit all over the floor!! Angry ), unpaid rent, financial losses caused, legal fees... it goes on and on and on.
I'm disgusted by landlords that take advantage. I'm disgusted by letting agents that take advantage I'm disgusted by tenants that take advantage.
I do not take advantage. I take money to provide a needed service, like millions of other people across thousands of other scenarios

Cocklodger · 15/09/2016 10:19

If one of the other people who think BTL landlords are morally corrupt would like to come up with an alternative solution I'm all ears.

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:27

But your services aren't wanted or required by I'd say at least 50% of people in rented accommodation, do you not get that? They are held to ransom

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:27

And there's plenty of solutions but it doesn't suit the powers that be to provide them.

Cocklodger · 15/09/2016 10:29

Held to ransom is extreme. Their circumstances don't allow them to buy, so if I was to stop renting to them, what would they do???

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:31

They'd be able to buy if it wasn't for you, you might not like that but it's true

NNChangeAgain · 15/09/2016 10:34

But your services aren't wanted or required by I'd say at least 50% of people in rented accommodation, do you not get that?

Sorry, I don't understand? You mean that 50% of people in rented accommodation don't require their home? What do they do? Live in a tent on the local park and pay the landlord for what? Fun?

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:36

They'd like to own their own home, you know like you do

Purplebluebird · 15/09/2016 10:36

Waah I hate renting!!

NNChangeAgain · 15/09/2016 10:37

They'd be able to buy if it wasn't for you, you might not like that but it's true

No, that isn't true. They would be able to buy if the housing market was regulated differently. But thats not within the BLT LL's power to change.

At the moment, if BTL LL all stopped letting their homes just because its morally wrong, there would be social chaos.

NNChangeAgain · 15/09/2016 10:38

They'd like to own their own home, you know like you do

I don't own my own home. I had to sell to pay off debts following a failed marriage.

And, just because they'd LIKE to own their own home, doesn't mean they CAN - which means that although they may not WANT to rent, they NEED to rent.

Pisssssedofff · 15/09/2016 10:39

I rent my house and I'm a landlord, I want to be in neither of those situations, I do at least have the good grace to acknowledge that renting is most people's idea of a temporary stop gap at best and given any sort of choice in the matter they would rather not.
BTL is immoral, you cannot justify it no matter how hard you might try, at least own it even if you don't care.

Cocklodger · 15/09/2016 10:39

So someone without the funds, income or credit rating to buy would be able to buy if I gave them their months notice??? No they'd be scrambling around to find a rental deposit and moving into someone else's rented home Confused