To hate landlords?

[MsPeachh]

Last month, I had to move suddenly. I found the flat I’m in now, it had just been bought by my landlord and I’m the first person in after the former owner moved out. It’s an ex-council house that the owner had purchased under “right to buy” and now I have to pay a third of my salary to a private landlord for what was originally meant to be affordable housing.

I’m a scientist in my late twenties with good qualifications and I feel total despair that I might never be able to afford my own home, and I will be lining someone else’s pockets via rent for the rest of my life. Let alone what anyone in a position less fortunate than mine is supposed to do.

To make matters worse, I looked up my landlord’s info on Companies House and I discovered that they have 22 properties in my area! It’s a village on the outskirts of a town where lots of people move when they are ready to move out of the hustle and bustle and settle to raise kids. And more and more of these properties are being snapped up by this landlord. It makes me sick, honestly. I know a lot of people become landlords accidentally in later life due to remarrying etc and ending up with two houses between one couple, but this landlord sucking up 22 houses in such a small area disgusts me. I feel like I’m completely losing hope for the future of people my age and younger as house prices keep soaring and soaring.

AIBU?

@SuperbGorgonzola its ok for your area now but one day it would change. Just like it changed for londoners; used to be more affordable in the 80s but now very expensive. Imagine how it would be like if londoners who used to own modest homes in London for 700k start moving into your neighbourhood.I think you may support a more interventionist approach to housing when your children compete with londoners who have £500k equity for houses. Its what londoners have been experiencing for the past 20 years. Funny how @itsadress and myself are both londoners!

@Yohoheaveho

Why not cut out the middleman and their cronies and actually build housing for the people because we have govt by the rich for the rich it's not about serving the people, it's about serving the people up as cash cows for the middleman and their cronies to milk for profit

Well said. Only interested in giving money to their mates and friends. Sod the little people! So true.

@MsPeachh

Last month, I had to move suddenly. I found the flat I’m in now, it had just been bought by my landlord and I’m the first person in after the former owner moved out. It’s an ex-council house that the owner had purchased under “right to buy” and now I have to pay a third of my salary to a private landlord for what was originally meant to be affordable housing.

I’m a scientist in my late twenties with good qualifications and I feel total despair that I might never be able to afford my own home, and I will be lining someone else’s pockets via rent for the rest of my life. Let alone what anyone in a position less fortunate than mine is supposed to do.

To make matters worse, I looked up my landlord’s info on Companies House and I discovered that they have 22 properties in my area! It’s a village on the outskirts of a town where lots of people move when they are ready to move out of the hustle and bustle and settle to raise kids. And more and more of these properties are being snapped up by this landlord. It makes me sick, honestly. I know a lot of people become landlords accidentally in later life due to remarrying etc and ending up with two houses between one couple, but this landlord sucking up 22 houses in such a small area disgusts me. I feel like I’m completely losing hope for the future of people my age and younger as house prices keep soaring and soaring.

AIBU?

Genuine question...

Whose pockets do you think you are 'lining' when you have a mortgage to purchase your own home.

Ever seen how much money banks make?

@Oliversmumsarmy

My ds is at college and has a part time job but barely makes enough to cover driving lessons (especially now as his hours are cut due to pandemic). Who are all these people that managed to save thousands of pounds for a house deposit by the time they reached 18 whilst earning under £5 an hour in a part time job that fit round college

Dd and Ds have been working for years. Saturday jobs, birthday and Christmas money and dd was working every hour she could at 17 and certainly not on £5 per hour. She was supposed to stay on at college till she was 18 according to the government but had, had enough
She opened her own business and did agency work on the side that paid well. Kept an eye on people at events who were supervisors and managers and said she could do the job so put herself up fir supervisor then manager roles
At 18 she was on a minimum of £15 per hour (sometimes £20) doing agency work which was usually 12 hour days 3 x days per week and could make anything from £2-400 per day in her business on other days.
She is also qualified in a couple of ECAs, one of which she can charge £35 per hour for a private lesson.

When you can be working anywhere between 10-12 hour days 4-7 days per week at a minimum of £15 per hour it starts to add up.

I was working from the age of 14 - anything I could do, I did. I even typed up coursework for friends who had a PC but couldn't be bothered to type so paid me to do that instead. I also saved any money I got for birthdays and Xmas. My parents couldn't afford my university fees so I found out about a scholarship, applied, worked every hour I could to get the required grades, and got the scholarship. When I wasn't at classes or revising, I worked. Other students went out to get drunk but instead of spending money at the bar, I was making money at work. Not much but still better than spending money. I was bored, yes, but I wanted to get a foot on the property ladder and I couldn't see a different way to get there.

I managed to buy my first property at 27. I had budgeted for everything and at some point I had four jobs. When I had built some equity in my flat, I remortgaged and used the equity to buy another flat which I let out.

Some people told me I was boring because I rarely went out whereas they did every weekend. But when they were still living at home, skint, I was living in my own flat. Not for everyone but I chose to do it and wouldn't change it.

Its ok for your area now but one day it would change. Just like it changed for londoners; used to be more affordable in the 80s but now very expensive

Exactly, everyone moans about Londoners raising prices in their areas but it's because more & more are having to move further out (some will be going back to family). People forgot some of us were born here & would also like to stay near family.

The area of London I grew up in & all the areas around it were completely affordable bar a few pockets. Most people on my road were immigrants (incl my parents) & most had only 1 parent working. These were nice sized 4+ bedroom semi detached houses that I couldn't hope to own now probably 1.6m plus & cost maybe 40k max in the 80s.

Imagine how it would be like if londoners who used to own modest homes in London for 700k start moving into your neighbourhood.

@the80sweregreat

My siblings are 'boomers ' and bought houses on very average wages in the 70s. They have lovely homes now. They had to save up of course , but it seemed easier back then somehow and prices did go up a huge amount in a short time so they could keeping on moving up and on wards. They know how hard it is for today's young , but it's the inequality that must hurt the young the most here. They may never have any of these advantages at all. I'm not knocking 'boomers' here by the way , it's just how it is at the moment.

Exactly this. I’m glad they were able to buy nice homes on average wages, everybody should be able to. It’s not something that should be reserved for the elite.

It’s why I mentioned that I’m a scientist in my OP, simply to illustrate that even those with “good” jobs are struggling. And still I have people telling me in this thread that perhaps I should make “different choices.” Where would society be if all the scientists working on covid and cancer and other diseases leave the field simply so they can buy a house?

Anyway, covid has shown that those who are least likely to be able to afford their own homes, like supermarket workers and carers, are actually indispensable. They deserve a decent, stable place to live too.

Ignore the last copied paragraph.

hopingforonlychild yes, I would say that there can't be a one size fits all answer to housing in the UK.

Landlords can't get away with as much up here as tenants aren't as desperate. Private rental isn't that much different in price to social really. Landlords tend to buy the fixer uppers in the city centre terraces that need full refurb etc. They come on for say £60k, get £15-20k spent on them to bring them up to date then can be rented out for £425, and they'll be popular with the 20 somethings.

@Mybobowler

YANBU. Landlords are parasites and the older I get, the more firmly I believe this. I have spent tens of thousands of pounds paying off the mortgage of the person who owns my home. It's such a waste of my money - I hate it. Partner and I are in our early thirties, above average income, one child. We have no hope of buying a house.

I'll get roasted for saying this but could you not have saved for a deposit first, bought a place and then had a child? Children are very expensive and lots of people have to put their plans for a family on hold in order to buy a place.

Guess you're saying you don't like capitalism then, or maybe you don't like successive governments' housing policies. House prices are a problem, but they are not caused by your landlord. They are caused by decades of stupid political decisions, made to bribe voters. Property prices, and rents, are based on supply and demand.What are landlords taking advantage of? They still have to buy the property and usually have to get a mortgage on it, so they are also paying high prices. The rate they charge for rent is usually based on what the mortgage lender states is the expected "yield". There is no option to charge less than this, otherwise the mortgage will not be granted. That is what happened to us and meant we had to raise the rent.

I'm an accidental LL. My previous tenants left my house in such a state I haven't had full rent for year , including the pandemic when the new tenants couldn't pay full rent, which I agreed to.
I do repairs as soon as possible.
Not all LLs are rubbish. I make about £50 a month after expenses.
I understand it must be frustrating when you want to buy and you can't , but you have to pay to live somewhere.

then that is a great incentive. if you want a garden, work hard to be in the top 5%
So you have to be in the top 5% earner to enjoy just about more than you can get being in the bottom 5%.

I certainly would have picked working PT in a non stressful job and spend more quality time with my family, more time doing my hobbies if I could have got a nice home with full security that way.

@itsadress I understand in the past, rich people used to move to surrey and other Home Counties now. I think it has changed now, plenty of rich people like staying in london after kids. Might change after the pandemic but i dont see it, was at highgate woods over the weekend and it was utterly packed. Also very idyllic really.

@SuperbGorgonzola

smallstep88 that's not true. They may inherit a house just like plenty of owner occupiers or they might run it as a business but of course they buy it. The tenant pays them a fee for the use of it.

We’ll agree to disagree.

@dontdisturbmenow thats you. Most people I know don't think like that. But then again, People who think like that wouldn't move to London. Its not a place for an easy life! But tons of opportunities of progression and long term growth.

I'll get roasted for saying this but could you not have saved for a deposit first, bought a place and then had a child?

I'm not sure why you'd get roasted, Barry - each to their own choice of course, but it's usually a choice all the same

The right to buy should never have happened. Maggie just wanted rid of houses the Govt didn’t want to look after anymore.

@hopingforonlychild yes I think so, I'm pretty sure my school geography book referred to the inner zones as slums 🤣.

Off topic but I wonder if there is a cycle & London will now ebb somewhat although it's complicated now by such high house prices & concentration of wealth.

@maddiemookins16mum

The right to buy should never have happened. Maggie just wanted rid of houses the Govt didn’t want to look after anymore.

Yes, short term gain for long term problems with housing , but made many people v rich in the 80s and 90s! :(

@Mybobowler

YANBU. Landlords are parasites and the older I get, the more firmly I believe this. I have spent tens of thousands of pounds paying off the mortgage of the person who owns my home. It's such a waste of my money - I hate it. Partner and I are in our early thirties, above average income, one child. We have no hope of buying a house.

Same situation almost. I blame the government though. If people are allowed to do it they will. The government support this type of behaviour because they don't build affordable housing and there are no limits to how many houses people can own.

@itsadress many parts of the SE are now on par with London as people were moving out pre pandemic. What i noticed (I may be wrong) is that the movers are overwhelmingly white British. The people of BAME/foreign backgrounds tend to want to still be in London. I think there are actually enough high earners of immigrant backgrounds/overseas backgrounds to drive demand so that the house prices are still maintained. And of course young people would still want to stay in london to be among likeminded people and for the social aspect after the pandemic is over.

Also of course, I am not sure that companies would really switch en masse to wfh so people might have no choice but to stay in zone 1-6 london for their jobs if their companies want them back in the office.

I'm renting my house out while living with DP. If it doesn't work out, I'll move back in. Am I a parasite? What do you suggest would be prudent? Sell the flat and then if it doesn't work put myself in the situation that you are complaining about?

@dontdisturbmenow also btw in other countries, there are people who work very hard to get comprehensive health insurance. My parents, for example, pride themselves on having private healthcare insurance which ensures them the best care if they get ill and they pay high premiums which only people of high incomes can afford. They are somewhat peeved that I can get free healthcare in the uk without even showing proof that i work and they kept telling me to get private health insurance instead of relying on the government.

So do you support disbanding the nhs then? i mean, why remove the incentive for people to work hard to achieve comprehensive healthcare for themselves and their families. We shouldn't deny people the joy of working for their own healthcare!

@Dirtyblondewideroots

I'm renting my house out while living with DP. If it doesn't work out, I'll move back in. Am I a parasite? What do you suggest would be prudent? Sell the flat and then if it doesn't work put myself in the situation that you are complaining about?

I’ve mentioned it right there in the OP that I understand certain circumstances might mean letting out a property is a wise choice 🙄 not sure my LL needs 22 properties, though.

@dontdisturbmenow as it stands now, you don't need to work a day in your life to access the NHS. Do you believe that there is no incentive for people to work as they don't need to save for their future healthcare needs.