I'm so sick of people buying multiple properties for BTL

[flashbac]

So the landlord next door has hoovered up another house on the street for BTL. A nice house that wasn't even on the market but they managed to get their mits on it. Yes I know I sound bitter because I am! I'm so fed up of investors hoovering up all the houses. There should be a limit but with most of our government being BTL landlords nothing will change.
I'm sick of the increasing gap between rich and poor.
now runs and hides because reckons half of MN have a BTL or holiday home

It would be good if these big companies became like the council homes of old , but without the option to buy these properties. Low affordable rent , a decent tenancy agreement , repairs done on time and a decent clean environment would benefit everyone. Somewhere where people could take pride in their areas and homes.
Can but dream eh?

[quote supermoonrising]@DynamoKev
People don't make these connections or else there couldn't be so much Tory

There isn’t that much Tory support. About 1/4 adults voted Tory for their last landslide. The centre-left vote was 1.5 million bigger than the right wing vote. More people in the UK hate Tory policies than support them but FPTP doesnt recognise nuance.[/quote]
I 100% agree - but there's sufficient support in a few key seats.
FPTP is an antiquated shit system that should be abolished immediately.

@peaceanddove

Welcome to capitalism.

We have one BLT property and in the process of buying a second. Disgruntled people have no idea of the sacrifices we've made to make this happen. I really have zero fucks to give - especially as I strongly suspect that this is just sour grapes, and the disgruntled would do exact the same if they were in a position to do so.

Of course, don't hate the player - hate the game.

I think that people haven't always set out to be BTL landlords it is perhaps just the only way to realise a reasonable return on an investment.

If savings rates for investors were higher then they may not feel the need to invest in property but of course that also means that the interest on lending would be so much higher too.

I think there's a lot of myths about the housing market on this thread?

There are plenty of properties in the UK for everyone to have a place to live- we really don't have a housing shortage. We only have a shortage of cheap housing.

House prices are not fuelled by the BLT brigade- there must be a demand for rental properties otherwise they would all be empty- it's supply and demand.

House prices are rising constantly because the government has set the interest rates low- when they do this the housing market always booms because people can afford to offer more because mortgage rates are lower which means people can afford to pay more!

The other reason house prices remain high in the Uk is because the previous governments have created a culture where home-ownership is seen as a goal and an indicator of success, this creates a great demand in the buyers market with people wanting to invest in their own property rather than rent long-term or live in social housing.

Historically in the UK, property was largely rented, with large investors building properties to rent to the working classes. Industrial Britain had whole towns of houses that were built by the wealthy mill owners and rented to the workers. This new idea that each person needs to own they own house is what drives the property market.

People want to own a home because they know that paying high rents isn't possible when your close to , or at , retirement age. My friend has this dilemma , a high rent to pay and she knows she'll have to work until she drops ( as she puts it)
If she had a home that was mortgage free she would be in a much better position financially and able to think about working part time etc
As it is, she can't :(
I'm
Sure she isn't the only one in this position either.

@Yogsgirl

I think there's a lot of myths about the housing market on this thread?

There are plenty of properties in the UK for everyone to have a place to live- we really don't have a housing shortage. We only have a shortage of cheap housing.

House prices are not fuelled by the BLT brigade- there must be a demand for rental properties otherwise they would all be empty- it's supply and demand.

House prices are rising constantly because the government has set the interest rates low- when they do this the housing market always booms because people can afford to offer more because mortgage rates are lower which means people can afford to pay more!

The other reason house prices remain high in the Uk is because the previous governments have created a culture where home-ownership is seen as a goal and an indicator of success, this creates a great demand in the buyers market with people wanting to invest in their own property rather than rent long-term or live in social housing.

Historically in the UK, property was largely rented, with large investors building properties to rent to the working classes. Industrial Britain had whole towns of houses that were built by the wealthy mill owners and rented to the workers. This new idea that each person needs to own they own house is what drives the property market.

Voice of common sense, thank you.

@the80sweregreat

People want to own a home because they know that paying high rents isn't possible when your close to , or at , retirement age. My friend has this dilemma , a high rent to pay and she knows she'll have to work until she drops ( as she puts it) If she had a home that was mortgage free she would be in a much better position financially and able to think about working part time etc As it is, she can't :( I'm Sure she isn't the only one in this position either.

In the not too distant future the government is going to have to find a lot of money to pay housing benefit to home these people.

Apropos of nothing this is also when a lot of BTL landlords reaching retirement age will be thinking of selling their houses to realise the the profits on their neat egg.

I think the right to buy council houses was the biggest disaster that impacted the provision of housing in this country. As long as social housing is sold off at low prices there will never be enough for people who really need it.
The late Bob Crowe on his 60K salary kept his council property all his life. There are people subletting council housing which is wrong. there needs to be an overhaul of the whole system.

@Journeyofthedragons - or alternatively big companies are investing in the housing market to provide more homes. More housing means lower prices not the opposite.

As long as landlord's charge a fair rent and maintain the property, I see nothing wrong with a buy-to-let. Many only charge enough to cover mortgage and maintenance. There is apparently a shortage of rental properties so it helps people who need somewhere to live. I've looked at Rightmove for where I live and there seems to be quite a few rentals as well as those for sale but I suppose it depends on area (I'm outskirts of London).

When such a property is up for sale, anyone can buy it, it won't be exclusively buy-to-let.

@the80sweregreat

People want to own a home because they know that paying high rents isn't possible when your close to , or at , retirement age. My friend has this dilemma , a high rent to pay and she knows she'll have to work until she drops ( as she puts it) If she had a home that was mortgage free she would be in a much better position financially and able to think about working part time etc As it is, she can't :( I'm Sure she isn't the only one in this position either.

I am in exactly the same position. I am three years off retirement age in a rented property. No hope of retiring anytime soon, I'll also have to work till I drop. . I will have to continue to pay rent forever. There is no easy solution to this.

I have had a mortgage in the past when I was married, but house was sold when we split and I didn't earn enough to get a mortgage. Came out with very little equity, so no money saved, hence having to rent.

The Victorian and Edwardian terraces were built by well-to-do business people for rent. A couple of my relatives inherited several streets but as elderly widows themselves they had huge problems managing 40-odd ageing properties in need of maintenance all let on protected tenancies (which could be handed down to the next generation) at rents that were already 10 or 20 years behind the costs of living. There was a celebration every time a tenant vacated and a property could be sold. But then (60s and 70s) the houses cost was a few hundred pounds... rarely over £1500.

@the80sweregreat - not necessarily a bad thing for pensioners not to own their own home. If on pension credit, housing benefits will pay their rent and their landlord will be responsible for all maintenance. For many it works well.

@endofthelinefinally

I think the right to buy council houses was the biggest disaster that impacted the provision of housing in this country. As long as social housing is sold off at low prices there will never be enough for people who really need it. The late Bob Crowe on his 60K salary kept his council property all his life. There are people subletting council housing which is wrong. there needs to be an overhaul of the whole system.

At least Bob Crowe kept that house available as social housing. And probably paid for it several times over based on the amount it cost to build.

Change the limit on personal ownership (including foreign investors) and watch the number of properties owned by limited companies absolutely rocket.

I know what you mean OP, it is frustrating. Even though they will come on in a minute and talk about how they are not doing anything wrong and they are lovely landlords and how their poor tenants would have nowhere to live without their kindness and generosity blah blah.

If they were so kind and generous, they'd be charging under their mortgage rate to allow the tenant to save money to get a house of their own. Not ask the tenant to pay a good amount over the mortgage so the landlord can make a profit. There are towns in Scotland that are mostly owned by one company for rental purposes. Try to buy a house there and you'll likely be outbid by one. It's ridiculous, but it will never change. The rich are greedy.

people who profit from other's inability to be approved for a mortgage is frustrating
Not everyone who rents does so because of an inability to be approved for a mortgage.

I don't think you're wrong at all. There should be a cap on how many BTL properties someone can buy, especially in one area. I'm actually surprised there isn't a cap already!

The pp who has just scrimped and saved to realise her dream of owning a BTL property...well, I don't think one is the end of the world. It's clearly not you the op is annoyed by. My dad has just done the same although he's has not been scrimping! Just very lucky with his pension deal really. He is renting it to family.

I'm not sure what the rates are for benefits to cover rent for anyone who is a pensioner and renting a place?
I agree that a few people might be ok , but many might have to top up any help they are entitled to ? There must be a limit surely ?
Private rentals are always more than council rents too.

How is building more homes the answer when they just get snapped up by pension funds or Buy to Leave overseas investors?

I doubt pension funds are leaving them empty, those properties will be let out relieving general pressure on the housing market.

What is your evidence that buy-to-leave is a problem? The last time I was on a thread about this, this had been looked into by academic researchers on behalf of the mayor of London, and they found it was an illusion created by the fact that there was a window of a couple of years between a development being completed and it becoming fully occupied. The problem didn't actually exist, in London, despite widespread belief that to the contrary.

I keep hearing about vast numbers of properties in London being purchased by investors from China and Russia. I don’t think this should be allowed because it will be pushing up prices even more.

Now that more people can work from home it means people from London are now looking to move out of London to other areas. There have been a lot of people from the London area move to my town and the areas around it. As a result we’ve seen massive increases in both rental and property prices. Local people are being priced out.

My point is that I strongly believe that this is driving up rental costs on BTL properties and making it harder for people to afford a home. People have more protection from these price hikes if they own their own home as opposed to renting. In my town it costs £700+ to rent a 2 bed house. When I was renting just a few years ago I was paying less than £500 per month. A posted on our local Facebook page recently that her landlord increased her rent by £100. She was worried about how she would afford such a big increase.

It needs more regulation. I think rent increases should be limited in the same way that they are for social and affordable housing.

Allow maybe two homes to provide for people who are temporarily out of area, moved in with a partner, inherited etc. But multiple property ownership for the purpose of renting out should be heavily regulated and (other than genuine social housing provision) highly taxed. People who can afford multiple houses aren't poor. Rogue landlords currently reduce entire areas to complete shitholes by renting to anyone and allowing houses and flats to become run down, sublet, used for all sorts of dodgy businesses etc. It's ok saying oh the landlord wasn't to know they were growing skunk at number 34 but if it's their business/investment they really should know. They don't care as long as the taxpayer's money keeps coming in (another debate about the morality of housing benefit being allowed to pay a mortgage for a landlord who already owns multiple houses but not someone who has fallen on hard times and is struggling to keep their one property). If they aren't running their empire properly they shouldn't be doing it.

@dangerrabbit

i consider BTL and buy to leave to be the root causes of the housing crisis

No the root cause is the developers who buy up the land, then don’t build for years, then when they do release in small tranches to get prices

@the80sweregreat

I'm not sure what the rates are for benefits to cover rent for anyone who is a pensioner and renting a place? I agree that a few people might be ok , but many might have to top up any help they are entitled to ? There must be a limit surely ? Private rentals are always more than council rents too.

As I understand it currently the rent gets covered by benefits or another if they have no savings/income but the pensioner will be living pretty much in poverty.

This will be a huge problem for society in about 15-20 years.