Yes, I am. But in the spirit of mumsnet (parents supporting parents) let me tell you my story.
I purchased a flat when someone divorced me because he couldn't contain his roving eye. It was my sanctuary for many years and in that place I rebuilt.
It wasn't fancy but I loved it, and it was my sanctuary, my castle. When I met DH years later I found it hard to walk away from my beloved flat, but I was pregnant and so it made good sense to move in with him in his larger house.
Then I got seriously ill with a disease that is unpleasant, degenerative and incurable. It's the sort of disease that people run off abroad to be euthanised for, and I lost everything; my health, my job, my fierce independence. Apart from anything else, I have always been the sort of person who loves to feel free and not held down by any restriction, so it was a hard adjustment to make.
I was pleased at first that the flat was in negative equity because it meant I wasn't forced to let that go too. It has been for many years the only place in the world that meant anything to me, and although my dh's house was ok it never felt like mine and didn't have as much character. It was decorated his way and with his furnishings, and I was too ill to be creative enough to change it. So with everything else falling apart around me, this treasure was not altogether lost. I rented it to a lovely couple and enjoyed their enjoyment of the place.
I researched the basics and knew I have to give 24 hours notice before going in for repairs etc, and even then can only do so with permission. I knew I had to protect the tenants deposit legally, I got myself insured, I printed out templates for all the documentation I needed. Then I handed the keys over and left the tenants in peace. Whenever there was a problem I was on it immediately as though I still live there, because I care about the property and I want the tenants to enjoy it there as much as I did.
But over the years the law changes. Sometimes I find out in the news, like in the case of legionella testing and carbon monoxide alarms (which incidentally I always provided before it was the law to do so), sometimes I find out as I go along, like in the case of losing money through tax returns.
I feel some responses to me asking about the tax change, which by the way doesn't actually start until next year and won't complete until 2021, has been a little bit harsh actually. Perhaps I should give up and sell? But where will I get that extra £30-40 thousand for the negative equity now that I can't earn? Or perhaps now is the time to pay someone to do it for me if I am doing that much of a bad job. I suppose because my disease is degenerative that day will come, but I had hoped to be able to at least do the majority of it for a while longer.