Selfish bastards on Homes Under The Hammer

[SquishyBones]

Watching this shit show as I was bored and a family bought a house. The woman then proudly explained that they already own 700(!!!) houses in the area already and are hoping to own 1000 by the end of the year. How the fuck is this even allowed?? AIBU to think selfish bastards like this should be stopped and there should be a cap on how many properties a person can own? Even 10 houses per person would be ridiculous but would stop the likes of these people

Haven’t they sold them now?

property developers, hate them

No not sold them, they “currently” own 700 properties ... renting them out.

It's a business, they're not hoarding properties to keep them empty.

It is pure greed. You just know they give as little back as possible because the whole attitude of it reeks of one upmanship and disregard for any concept of society. (I am by no means poor).

Didn't see that one, but would they be buying to rent? Not sure why that's immoral.

How is being a landlord pure greed ? They are providing a service.

surely they’re private landlords, rather than property developers?

Housing in the U.K. is in a horrible state, it’s driven by greed.

I agree. I don’t even think people should be allowed to buy a second home. Would stop this crazy house price situation where only the rich can afford to buy and the rich/poor divide gets larger.

If it’s the Kent couple, they gave eviction notices to 200 tenants who were on benefits apparently as they were concerned about non payment of rent.

Wow, that's a lot. Was it in a student area? They will still have to pay for maintenance etc

I agree op - property should no longer be part of an investment portfolio.
However I think we should stop foreign investment before stopping U.K. citizens/ residents owning a second property!

It shouldn't be allowed to own that many. Definitely should be a limit and heavily taxed after the first one.

@GertrudeCB

How is being a landlord pure greed ? They are providing a service.

Providing a service!

That sounds like one of those ‘helpful’ people who bought up all the toilet roll and sold it back to others for £1 a roll. That sort of service you mean?

Why is property any worse than another type of business OP ? We live in a capitalist world
Get over it

Agreed. Utter cuntery.

oh was it a repeat,?
horrible couple.

hopefully they will get their comeuppance someway or another.

they are playing monopoly

Not everyone wants to own though - renting suits some people.
Mumsnet is strange about housing - the amount of posters that think landlords are evil and social housing is mind blowing

@Thisisworsethananticpated

Why is property any worse than another type of business OP ? We live in a capitalist world Get over it

The next few years are going to be a great time to expand the portfolio, for anyone buying up properties as investments.

We do need rental properties though, both short term and long term. We rented when our job relocated until we could sell our old house and buy a new one. Currently renting whilst house is sold (divorce). If properties are well maintained and rents fair I don't have an issue.

Was it this couple @SquishyBones? If so, he is a thoroughly nasty man
www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/3/the-landlord-rules-not-the-tenant-fergus-wilson-tell-panorama

It’s not illegal. However, I would doubt they had that many. Also if she got reported to the Revenue and Customs they might investigate. The people with, I think, 1,000 properties were the Wilsons in Ashford. They were very unpopular but I think they sold a lot of them

Large investment companies own lots of residential properties. They provide housing for people who cannot afford to buy. I doubt councils will be in a position to build social housing anytime soon, many have borrowed to by shopping centres and office blocks that have dropped in value

The now unwanted properties could be developed into housing to save concreting over more of our countryside

So if people weren’t allowed to buy to let, are folks assuming the government will step in, buy all the properties and rent them out?

Does it really matter if it’s seventy landlords for seven hundred properties or one?

Personally I prefer a landlord with many properties because most of them have it sorted and treat it like a business. They have maintenance guys, know when to redecorate or refurb etc and don’t fuck about when your washing machine plays dead.

Why is property any worse than another type of business OP ? We live in a capitalist world yes and the basis of the economy is supply and demand. The less property there is to buy the higher the costs go and the more untrainable it becomes. Replace the idea of this being houses and imagine if it was food ....

Not everyone wants to own though - renting suits some people not buying this!. The rising rents and uncertainty means most people are desperate to get on the property ladder.