To not feel sorry for landlords?

[CuriouslyMinded]

Honestly, so many people seem to have Buy To Let mortgages that they can't really afford and I can't help but think that if the interest rates are making life that difficult that they're struggling to feed their kids or whatever the latest headline is, then they should just sell their extra properties. There are first time buyers are desperate to get on the ladder for one thing, and also tenants don't deserve to have their rent increased by cash strapped landlords, and no one really needs to own more than one home. It's just so greedy. I don't feel sorry for them at all. I do appreciate that tenants need somewhere to live and not everyone can afford to buy, but part of the reason it is so difficult to buy a home is because so many people have overstretched themselves to own multiple properties that they don't even take care of half the time. The whole system is flawed and awful. Rant over!

Woah. A lot of hate here.

Myself and my husband worked our arses off to accumulate properties since the crash in 2008 (despite what others here think - we haven't come from money). The plan was so that I didn't have to go back to work when we had children.

Now, we are legally unable to evict tenants who are not paying rent despite us still having to pay a mortgage on every one of them with higher interest.

It's an absolute nightmare and not a wonder landlords are selling.

I’m not a landlord but I do think, regardless of what your moral standpoint on landlords is, if, as we do in this country, rely heavily on private landlords to house a significant percentage of the population, it cannot be financially unviable to be one. We will be up shit creek.

Why do it, then? Why do you feel the need to borrow money to pay for a house to let out to people if it's such an expensive pain in the arse? And why is considered acceptable for tenants to pay so much more than they would if they were paying the mortgage? It's a broken system, and landlords have no defence
Why assuming that I borrowed extra to buy it? I didn't. It was my home before.

Tenants are actually not paying more than they would now if they bought it.

I'm not looking for empathy. I don't need it. I'm happy to have it and my tenants are happy to rent it. It's a win-win.

I just get annoyed with the so commonly sprouted assumptions that landlords are making so much money from it and that tenants are paying their mortgage. Some might, the majority don't.

Alright Ghandi, calm the fuck down. No one is requisitioning your many spare houses.

(Yet.)

This made me chuckle.

Now, we are legally unable to evict tenants who are not paying rent despite us still having to pay a mortgage on every one of them with higher interest.

Why not?

I think many landlords wouldn't own houses if private pensions weren't such a mess.

My tenants have been with me since 2015, and in the property 12 years before I bought it. They are a professional family in a very sought after commuter town for London.

For whatever reason, they seem to be unable to buy their own home. They look after the property and it is always immaculate.

I put the rent up for the first time ever earlier this year but it is still approximately £400/month under market value.

Not all landlords are greedy buggers.

Why assuming that I borrowed extra to buy it? I didn't. It was my home before.

Presumably you borrowed more on your current home then, forgoing the equity you'd built up in the now-rental. Unless you're living in a tent.

Hopefully you've done your sums and it makes sense. In which case, why moan? If it doesn't, I'm not sure why you're not selling. Are you being forced to be a landlord?

We let a property to students in our local university city. I bought the house when I was single and when DH and I married we bought another one together.

it’s ticked along for 20 years, not making us a a great deal of money each year but growing in value. This summer it has failed to meet the standards required to get a licence due to a change in rules by the council concerned. It cost us over £20,000 to change something that was fine when I lived there and has been fine for the last 20 years. It’s not suddenly become dangerous. We invested in the property and continued to offer it to the local rental market. There is a shortage of student accommodation so I don’t feel guilty about having it - what student would be buying their own property and where would they live after their first year in halls if there wasn’t properties like mine available?

*Alright Ghandi, calm the fuck down. No one is requisitioning your many spare houses.

(Yet.)*

@Presil

100% agree @CuriouslyMinded If we are talking about people who buy additional homes that they've just bought to let out/for investment. I struggle to have a shred of empathy or sympathy for them if they're struggling.

'Accidental landlords,' or people struggling to pay their mortgage I feel for... But people buying extra properties to let out - and make money from, (whilst hoping to make 10s of 1000s of £££ from when they sell them,) well, IDGAF if they're struggling.

No-one should be allowed to own more than one home.

all I see here is people ranting on about landlords! Do not tar all landlords with the same brush. I am a landlord and I can assure you that my tenants are so happy to have me as their landlord that three of them have started in my one bedroomed flat and stayed till one of the two bedroomed flats became available. I have even had a long term tenant who moved to a different village to live with his girlfriend. relationship did not work out and nine months later he phoned me up and told me the tenant who moved into his flat was moving back with mum cos he lost his job and could he get his old flat back. I charge the same rent as council and my flats are in better condition because registered landlords are more regulated than social landlords. we actually have been doing tests for years that social landlords have only just started doing in the past couple of years. I have a waiting list as do most good landlords. All my flats have new bathrooms and kitchens with double glazing and central heating. one even has air conditioning due to late afternoon and even sun building up the heat in the lounge!! None of them have any damp, unlike many council houses. I dont use an agent so I dont pay exhorbitant agency fees.

We do need more social housing but we have to be realistic about where the money is coming from to pay for it.
Not all tenants are eligible for social housing

Ugh we are accidental landlords as my husband owned a property he was unable to sell and he moved in with me. We tried for a really long time to sell. Only option In the end was to rent out. Had the same tenants for 5 years. It’s a chain round our neck. Tax position isn’t favourable, we have money (equity) in the property that we could really do with. We couldn’t evict them. If they ever leave we will likely try and sell again, but that will be costly as have to service mortgage, councils tax and other utilities. Plus will need some capital to update. The lack of social housing due to government decisions and lack of investment has created a big problem. Not all landlords are baddies.

I ended up on an absolutely dreadful Mortgage deal Simply because I am a single woman with a dependent child who only really restarted my career full time properly in the last five years. And according to the computer, that was a reason to decline me for mainstream mortgages. I had a 25% deposit.

I have an immaculate credit record I have access to over £30,000 on my credit cards which I don’t use. I pay my bills on time every single month and I’ve been in my job for two years. I’ve been in the industry for 25. And it was still virtually impossible for me to get a Mortgage .
Imagine the issues, the majority of renters would face.

Are private pensions, a mess ? Mine went up 5% last year. Seems okay what am I missing?

I would love to sell my rental. I’d sell for the outstanding mortgage amount, £90k less than I bought it for ten years ago.

You won’t be able to mortgage it, as banks are valuing at zero until cladding works are fixed. For the year that’ll take, you won’t be able to open your windows and it might be a fire hazard.

Oh and there’s a £350 per month service charge.

It’s £100k for a three bed apartment in walking distance to Leeds train station.

PLEASE buy it from me. And if you don’t want to, don’t berate all landlords 🤷

Being a landlord is not a gold mine, it just looks like it until you’re one. I’m not a landlord but I’m renting out my flat in the interim while I work away from home for one year. I was hoping that it could be a win/win, that someone who’s looking for a short term 12 months let while they’re trying to buy or whatever could have my flat and I can use the rental money to pay for my own rent in the city I work for atm. But after agency management fees, taxes, service charge, ground rent and other costs (eg when my tenants call a plumber, need a locksmith because they’ve looked themselves out etc) there’s really not much left. I definitely can’t cover my own rent with the rental intakes of my property as I had planned.

And why is considered acceptable for tenants to pay so much more than they would if they were paying the mortgage? It's a broken system, and landlords have no defence.

It's acceptable because they didn't have to find a huge deposit.
It's acceptable because they're not paying stamp duty
It's acceptable because they didn't pay solicitor fees
It's acceptable because they don't pay for repairs
It's acceptable because they don't pay for maintenance
It's acceptable because they're not paying emergency plumber /electrician fees.

Tenants are not simply paying the mortgage.

100% agree @Buzzardandsparrowarefriends I say this all the time. Social housing should not be a home for life. Change that and it solves the problem. MIL is living in a 4 bedroom house (admittedly she does pay the bedroom tax) on her own that she has had for over 30 years, it's madness.

Being a landlord is not a gold mine, it just looks like it until you’re one.

Must be why they use rent increases and tenants deposits to offset the costs from their investments 😐

Well inflation was 8% so your pension hasn’t even kept up with that?

I'm a landlord, and I'm not asking for sympathy. I've been a tenant in the past too. Our houses that we rent out are lovely, well maintained, and tenants can put pictures up, decorate etc if they want. They pay a fair market rent as if they didn't we wouldn't pass the lenders tests for the mortgage. Our tenants are not in a position to buy right now, so they need to rent. It's a win win situation. If the boiler breaks or something needs repairing they don't have to worry about it. Yes the properties we own are an investment, they provide us with part of our income, but we are also providing a service - it's a business transaction. Social housing should be there I agree for those who need it but I see that as a separate issue.

We are not all out to play with people’s lives my partner moved in with me we can’t afford the mortgage on his flat as I’ve been made redundant and now work with him. We can’t sell it’s on the market for under what it should be but no interest. We’ve had to rent to cover the mortgage but with yearly maintenance cost we are still losing money we can’t afford.