Property developers

[Winegal]

Accidentally caught homes under the hammer while on a days leave, AIBU to be unreasonably angry about it, all these people with loads of cash building up a "portfolio" ie buying houses perfect for first time buyers, that need a little bit of work people could do as and when they could afford it.

Just saw one, bought a perfect 3 bed family home for 95 grand then basically said he would be selling it after a bit of work for 165 grand.

I really think there should be a maximum number of properties that anyone can own in the UK, especially as we are short of homes as it is.

AIBU?

Or more than 1 sandcastle

Kayte do you really think what this is about?! Do you genuinely think it is fair that a couple on above average salaries should be unable to buy a small modest home?

And that isn't what socialism is.

I don't think owning a home is a human right, 100 years ago 90% of people didn't. I do think having a home is a human right and nobody should be homeless in a civilised society. As for property developers working hard - well, they don't, do they? They pay as little as possible for other people to tart them up to a poor standard, then graciously allow tenants to pay for them over and over again.

That's capitalism for you . There's still a handful of communist states to choose from but personally I don't think that's a preferable set up.

OP is being very unreasonable.

The developers are taking a risk and adding value to these otherwise vacant properties (often derelict eyesores). They are then selling them on or being rented out for people to actually live in them.

*a lot of first time buyers don't want to start ripping out kitchens and bathrooms and rewiring old houses.

Wrong. Almost everyone I know has bought their first house this way

Unless you know every FTB that ever lived, it is ridiculous to say the pp is wrong.
Especially since they are not, and you are!

I think ultimately, owning your own home is a pretty basic human right in a first world country

It isn't a human right anywhere, basic or otherwise, and its absurd to suggest so.

What risk are they taking?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you had to pay cash at auction not mortgage?

@Winegal my picture was mainly aimed at some of the comments on this thread tbh. Life can be unfair sometimes, there's no point being resentful and jealous, try to change your life yourself.
Tbh I don't know any couples on above average salaries that are unable to buy their own home eventually, possibly choosing a different area or one less bedroom or no garden. I'm in Scotland though so maybe it's very different here.

I think you have to pay a hefty cash deposit, but can have a mortgage lined up for the remainder, payable within a month.

I’ve see one HUTH episode where the buyer paid his 10% but could not secure a mortgage within the 30 days, so lost the lot.

Loads, bluelady. Your investment can go down as well as up.

Nobody doing this kind of development will ever lose money. Cheap house, cheap botched renovation, guaranteed high return because there's a housing shortage. No risk there.

Some do lose money.

Some might make a small “profit” but they haven’t paid themselves any wages for the labour they put in.

Bluelady thousands of property developers lost money in 2008/9 and before that in the last recession. They went bankrupt.

There will be another crash soon enough and the same thing will happen.

If they rent those properties out they won't lose money. It appals me that all the housing most suitable for ftb is being hoovered up like this. If they do lose money I won't be shedding any tears for them.

Our street was traditionally one where young couples would buy because it's more affordable than elsewhere in the local area - stay settled if they had one child, or move up the ladder as second babies arrived and whatever. Perfect "starter homes" without the glossy new developer brochure and new house price premium.

It's been destroyed by the fucking property developers who inevitably do a really shit "refurbishment" (translation: break out the magnolia trade paint and cheapest flooring going) and whack it on the rental market - or shove it back on for sale hoping that the Magic of Magnolia is going to suddenly justify adding 50k to the sale price. It's absolutely killing the community around here. The quality of a few of the refurbs - it's quite likely to kill the new residents to be honest - I've heard some shocking stories (guy next door is a handyman who quite often gets desperate new tenants/owners knocking on his door asking for his help so we hear what's been botched) - dangerous electrics, banisters not properly attached to walls, windows not fitted securely - poor family a few doors down bought a lovely glossy looking house and have had to drop about another 20k to actually make it safe enough to live in.

If ftb’s are willing to put in the work, they can go to the auction too. A professional developer will not bid more than the property is worth.

These developers are turning uninhabitable properties into places where people can live, so relieving pressure on housing.

I am in awe of people who can flip a house for £5000. DH and I will never have the skills to be able to do that.

Even if their properties are rented they will and did lose money. It depends on how overstretched they are. If the bank ask them to pay back their debt and they haven't enough liquidity to do so, they will go bankrupt. Just as property developers have in every recession. Property values, rental and capital, go down as well as up.

In my parents street (Victoria villas) there was a decrepit 60s bungalow built in the large garden of another property. A developer paid £1.2 million for it and put in plans to knock down and replace with a block of 8 flats. However, they never got permission as the flats would have blocked the neighbors view of the river, and also 8 flats were considered to be overcrowding the site. In the end they had to build a 2 floor single home with a flat roof, that they sold in the end for £1.4 million. Including the fees, cost of clearing the site and the build (high high spec) they must have lost hundreds of thousands. So developers DO sometimes lose money if they are not careful.

But the family that sold the tiny half falling down bungalow must have been laughing all the way to the bank!

There are plenty of people who don’t have the skills or inclination to do up a house. Better to get some of those dives back in use. If you want a dooer upper then nothing stops you bidding on them.

They deserved to lose that money. It's a rookie error to buy a plot without planning permission.

Terrible how some people use their initiative to make money isn’t it

21stCenturyMrsBennett the state of housing in this country is a disgrace. I dont think it is unreasonable that in the UK (the 5th largest economy) people can work and not afford to put a roof over their head.

I think YAB a lititle U. A lot of the people on that programme seem to be retirees trying to ensure they get a decent pension or working class folk trying to improve their lot. I don't begrudge these folk anything.

However I do think that the investors with 100k or 1000s of properties could do with some limits or set market rates for rental.