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?

I don’t blame you OP. I personally think that no person, couple or company should be allowed to own more than two properties.

I’m lucky that I was able to buy my own (very small) home due to my parents helping me with the deposit. I could afford to overpay my mortgage payments every year and am now mortgage-free, but I couldn’t have afforded to rent this flat!

At least most tenant fees are now illegal. Some of them were extortionate. I was relatively lucky, but in the past I’ve had to pay for a contract to be drawn up (with the landlord’s choice of wording, not mine) and for reference checks on myself (which were never actually carried out).

@MsPeachh what do I suggest? Well you've just drip fed us that you have a lodger or someone living with you? So that was my suggestion to share the load.

Take on extra work, work weekends, increase your income vs outgoings to enable you to save.

Change your perception on not "wanting" a new build on the help to buy scheme, What you want and what you can afford are clearly worlds apart, so take the new build on the scheme, sit tight and sell in a few years to get your flat that you really want.

It's been suggested you become your own landlord and get a BTL yourself.

I also said move to cheaper areas, obviously not every has parents to move in with but that's another option.

There are options out there and many have been suggested.

But you want to have a moan about landlords then that's your right to moan but you've got lots of good suggestions here.

Maybe listen?

@SheepandCow

Where do disabled people reliant on benefits - the ones not killed by our government's quest to have a world beating Covid death rate - live? Social housing is severely depleted, private landlords rarely let to them, and they can't 'just save up'

Those benefits go from the taxpayer and into the private landlord’s pockets to cover extortionate rent... leaving not much behind for the recipient to actually live off

@dhisreadingmypostsagain
Things have moved on since the Blair days of a buy to let free for all. Buy to let mortgages are now only very rarely given to non home owners. It was too risky lending on potential future income.

What do you suggest for the people who can't 'just save up', i.e. the disabled?

[quote dhisreadingmypostsagain]@MsPeachh what do I suggest? Well you've just drip fed us that you have a lodger or someone living with you? So that was my suggestion to share the load.

Take on extra work, work weekends, increase your income vs outgoings to enable you to save.

Change your perception on not "wanting" a new build on the help to buy scheme, What you want and what you can afford are clearly worlds apart, so take the new build on the scheme, sit tight and sell in a few years to get your flat that you really want.

It's been suggested you become your own landlord and get a BTL yourself.

I also said move to cheaper areas, obviously not every has parents to move in with but that's another option.

There are options out there and many have been suggested.

But you want to have a moan about landlords then that's your right to moan but you've got lots of good suggestions here.

Maybe listen? [/quote]
So you think it is fair that a full time salary in a skilled job is not enough to afford a place already?

New builds are always houses around here and they are out of my price range. I’m happy to look for a small flat.

And people can't always just 'take on extra work'. Especially during a pandemic with mass redundancies!

People have childcare commitments, disabilities, caring for relatives, to fit around work.

Move to cheaper areas? Then they lose their job, support network, and often the childcare that enables them to work. Cheaper areas often have less employment opportunities or poor internet connection.

And, if everybody moved to cheaper areas they'd no longer be cheap...

We need a major council housing build - this time with no taxpayer funded discounted sell offs.

If you really want to buy a property then you need to start saving every available penny you can. Also widen the area and the type of property you’d live in .
I do think young people need educated on the expense of house buying . It’s all very well to say go travelling , buy the new car after securing your first job , move in with your boyfriend in a beautiful apartment .
These are all choices and if your twenties are spent wasting the money you could be saving on having a ‘ good time ‘ then you’ll be screwed when you want to get a mortgage .

Also OP, I don’t blame you for not wanting to buy a new build. They might comply with the current building regs. (e.g. no bloody asbestos), but you don’t usually get much space for your money and these properties can actually depreciate in value once they’re no longer new and shiny.

But I think you may need to consider a doer-upper. Perhaps one that’s perfectly habitable, but dated.

But, you wouldn't, would you? You'd just have moved house, the same way other people do.

You’d be happy to pay legal fees, estate agents’ commission, stamp duty and early repayment clauses on your mortgage every six or 12 months?

@MsPeachh nope I don't think it's fair at all, but nothing in life is fair.

You either get over the unfairness and get on with life and do what the hell you can to achieve what you want or you moan about how unfair it is?

New builds are often shoddily constructed - and, yes, stingy on space.

Osborne's taxpayer funded help to buy scheme was nothing more than a (taxpayer funded) gift to his developer mates. They built as cheaply and poor quality as possible - using taxpayer money to push up house prices, keeping the bubble artificially inflated.

@Cattenberg

Also OP, I don’t blame you for not wanting to buy a new build. They might comply with the current building regs. (e.g. no bloody asbestos), but you don’t usually get much space for your money and these properties can actually depreciate in value once they’re no longer new and shiny.

But I think you may need to consider a doer-upper. Perhaps one that’s perfectly habitable, but dated.

Totally agree @cattenberg! I know it’s unrealistic to aim for my dream “forever home” first time and right off the bat.

The area where I live has been awash with new build estates for the past 15 or so years. Not a single one of them has built a house with fewer than 3 bedrooms. No bungalows, no apartments. The only ones that build 2 bed bungalows or flats are the social housing developments do not available to buy. They are also increasingly massively over priced in comparison to what similar older properties in the area are going for. There is no affordable housing for single people to buy.

@SheepandCow I fully understand people have commitments in life but based on the OPs post and position in life I can potentially assume she has spare time and no childcare commitments.

Which makes my "increase income" comment valid, the current situation I agree makes this hard bit again we are talking longer term here.

If someone wants something badly enough they can make changes to their life to achieve it.

@MaudHatter

If you really want to buy a property then you need to start saving every available penny you can. Also widen the area and the type of property you’d live in . I do think young people need educated on the expense of house buying . It’s all very well to say go travelling , buy the new car after securing your first job , move in with your boyfriend in a beautiful apartment . These are all choices and if your twenties are spent wasting the money you could be saving on having a ‘ good time ‘ then you’ll be screwed when you want to get a mortgage .

You’re totally right, but I know a lot of my peers feel that they will never afford to get on the ladder no matter how hard they save so they think “fuck it, may as well go on that holiday and get some sort of joy out of life”.

It's all well and good blaming landlords but the biggest reason that young people can't afford to buy is the introduction of the minimum wage.

You have to wait until you are 25 before you are paid the full minimum wage which is a pittance anyway.

You have no hope of saving until you are 25 and you are probably paying debt accrued because of crap wages, so before you know it you are 30 with no savings and still renting.

Reform to the minimum wage is a key element is enabling people to be able to buy.

@Smallsteps88

The area where I live has been awash with new build estates for the past 15 or so years. Not a single one of them has built a house with fewer than 3 bedrooms. No bungalows, no apartments. The only ones that build 2 bed bungalows or flats are the social housing developments do not available to buy. They are also increasingly massively over priced in comparison to what similar older properties in the area are going for. There is no affordable housing for single people to buy.

This. It's terrible. Especially harsh on the disabled, but it's perhaps one big reason why so many people rush into and/or get stuck in unsuitable or even outright abusive relationships.

It's no good for the elderly either. Lots want to downsize but there's nowhere for them to downsize to!

@Newmumatlast

On the fence about this. I get it if its high rent and making homes in the area unavailable for people to buy. But I don't get it where the renter can't afford to buy anyway, the rent is not high but reasonable (albeit more than mortgage because, to be frank, the landlord will have costs involved and will want to make a bit of profit), and the person wouldn't have qualified for a council house/the council didn't want the house anyway (its always open to a council to buy stock)

A landlord won’t usually have a proper mortgage. He or she will have a buy to let mortgage, which is interest only. They will just put in a deposit of 25 percent and any increase in equity will be theirs. Buy to let mortgages are very cheap so there’s a lot of profit.

Well you certainly sound angry and jealous in your posts. How old are you? Things aren't given on a plate. You need time to build a deposit. Depending on where you live paying rent is not much different to paying a mortgage. In Europe more people rent than own, yet in the UK owning a home seems to be more favoured.
I know plenty who start off in shared ownership or saved for a small deposit before moving up. Don't take your frustrations out on others you think are more fortunate because you are not where you want to be. Only you can change that, it's not up to anyone else.

He or she will have a buy to let mortgage, which is interest only.

Not universally so. Interest only is much more commonly available for BTL mortgages than residential ones, but plenty of BTL purchasers use repayment mortgages.

@Butterfly44

Well you certainly sound angry and jealous in your posts. How old are you? Things aren't given on a plate. You need time to build a deposit. Depending on where you live paying rent is not much different to paying a mortgage. In Europe more people rent than own, yet in the UK owning a home seems to be more favoured. I know plenty who start off in shared ownership or saved for a small deposit before moving up. Don't take your frustrations out on others you think are more fortunate because you are not where you want to be. Only you can change that, it's not up to anyone else.

Not jealous... just frustrated that I am not afforded the same opportunities as this landlord was because I wasn’t born at the right time. Average house prices have rocketed compared to wages: from around four-times average earnings in the mid 1990s to more than eight-times now. No amount of “jealousy” would change that.

@Butterfly44

Well you certainly sound angry and jealous in your posts. How old are you? Things aren't given on a plate. You need time to build a deposit. Depending on where you live paying rent is not much different to paying a mortgage. In Europe more people rent than own, yet in the UK owning a home seems to be more favoured. I know plenty who start off in shared ownership or saved for a small deposit before moving up. Don't take your frustrations out on others you think are more fortunate because you are not where you want to be. Only you can change that, it's not up to anyone else.

She doesn't sound jealous. A little hopeless perhaps but that's understandable.

Things aren't given on a plate
Except that they were. Right to buy, 100% no deposit interest only buy to let mortgages...

Yes in continental Europe more people rent. But they have secure tenancies and rent controls. (Like we used to).

When my Mum died she left me some money. No point putting it in a bank as virtually no interest. I only have less than 4 years left on my mortgage do don't really need to pay that off. I decided I wanted to share most of it between my 3 children. I decided to put down a 30 percent deposit on 3 houses. They are basically 1 for each of my children. They are too young to live in them yet but when they want to leave home I will give them one each. They shook a dice and highest number got first pick. I have rented them out in the meanwhile and keep them in good repair. They are all 3 bedrooms and roughly equal in value. I charge enough to cover the mortgage, and stuff like gas and electrical certificates and a small profit each month that I plough back into the houses. Year before last year first house had a new kitchen. This year second house got a new kitchen. One house also had a new boiler and gas hob this year. I have had to add a considerable amount to profit from my salary to pay for all of this. Tenants have been in first house bought for 6 years and I have only increased tent by £10 per month in all of that time. I think I am a good person as well as a good LL. I have been invited to a tenants wedding. Not something they would do if they hated me or thought I was a bad LL. My benefit comes mainly in knowing my children won't have the struggle to get on housing ladder that you are having. Once they take over the house they will have to decide whether to live in it or sell or to move somewhere else, their choice. If I had banked the inheritance by the time my children wanted to buy a house there would not be enough to put down even 10 percent. I don't think I am doing anything wrong. No one is forcing you to rent your home. If you don't like LL, then leave when contract expires. Oh, and person who thinks LL are always inspecting the property. I don't do that. I only check once a year when had engineer does new certificate and tenants sign new lease. They can hang up pictures and paint it how they like providing they leave it painted white on every room when they leave. I also allow cats, because I love cats. They could have a rabbit in garden too if they wanted. You can't make sweeping generalisations about people based on their occupation or status.

I bought 3 houses at market value from venders. I got no right to buy or government money.

I pay repayment mortgages on all of my properties.