Labour Vow to Smash BTL Landlords

[Diadora Van Basten]

7 hours ago, Smithee said:

It's bullshit to throw shit at good guy landlords. No matter what happens there will always be private tenants renting from private landlords, and the more decent ones the better. 

 

They're not responsible for the overall situation, the lack of affordable and social housing, they don't set government policy, don't have the power to do anything really. All they can do is try and be decent human beings while making a return on their investment.

[Diadora Van Basten]

Unless you have a final salary pension scheme or are very rich then you are going to face a major drop in your living standard in retirement. 

 

As final salary pensions are rare especially in the private sector then those without them need to take action to avoid this.

 

Traditionally the Private Rental Sector provided housing for transient tenants who were not looking to settle down long term such as students. The social sector provided long term rental accommodation and those without access to social renting bought their own home.

 

This has changed in the last few years as house prices have got out of control and banks are unwilling to lend without big deposits.

 

I would say the actual villain in this is the Bank of England. When the financial crisis hit in 2008 then house prices should have fallen more than they did but they didn’t due to Quantitative easing. 

 

If there hadnt been a recession in 1993 then I wouldn’t have been able to buy my first home in 1997.

 

I think the additional dwelling supplement is doing its job in deterring buy to let which should help first time buyers but section 24, HMO licensing, the lack of regulation of Airbnb and the ban on agent fees are just driving up rents.

 

I think with housing you have to think long term and the current generation are suffering because of bad policies of the last 30 years and hopefully the current council housing boom in the lothians will help the next generation face a less bleak picture. It probably hasn’t helped that the UK has had about 8 housing ministers in the last couple of years.

[Jamboelite]

On 06/09/2019 at 00:24, TheOak88 said:

I am alright Jack type attitude. 

 

What utter bollocks. 

 

I tell you what how about you give up half your wage for 3/4 years and clock 60-70 hrs overtime a month ? No ?

 

Well thats what i did so why should i have to take that hit ? Yeah its alright well done breaking your back but **** it tough effectively give it to someone else.

 

Again my mate covers my mortgage and insurance  nothing more so im not bleeding tenants dry.

 

Someone saying people should feel guilt? Really for seeing that my pension wasnt going to cut it and doing something about while i was capable and hopefully not be a burden to my kids in later years.

 

.

 

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Jamboelite

[Stephen Muddie]

1 hour ago, Jamboelite said:

 

What utter bollocks. 

 

I tell you what how about you give up half your wage for 3/4 years and clock 60-70 hrs overtime a month ? No ?

 

Well thats what i did so why should i have to take that hit ? Yeah its alright well done breaking your back but **** it tough effectively give it to someone else.

 

Again my mate covers my mortgage and insurance  nothing more so im not bleeding tenants dry.

 

Someone saying people should feel guilt? Really for seeing that my pension wasnt going to cut it and doing something about while i was capable and hopefully not be a burden to my kids in later years.

 

.

 

 

So the solution is to make people who won't get a pension pay for your retirement with sometimes 60-70% of their wages each month? I tell you what.. How about you do 70 hours per week whilst being priced out of even a basic flat, all whilst paying a mortgage of someone who works less hours than you, sometimes even who earns less than you do, but who benefitted from slack credit and pre-bubble pricing.

Edited September 7, 2019 by Stephen Muddie

[Mikey1874]

Slagging people isn't fair.

 

You could do that all over everything we do. We all do what we think is best. 

 

The housing market is what it is. And as someone said helpfully influences like pensions are important. 

 

The Labour proposal seems extreme. But they also say build millions of more affordable housing. So it's a bigger picture. Debating that is good. 

[TheOak88]

3 hours ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

Unless you have a final salary pension scheme or are very rich then you are going to face a major drop in your living standard in retirement. 

 

As final salary pensions are rare especially in the private sector then those without them need to take action to avoid this.

 

Traditionally the Private Rental Sector provided housing for transient tenants who were not looking to settle down long term such as students. The social sector provided long term rental accommodation and those without access to social renting bought their own home.

 

This has changed in the last few years as house prices have got out of control and banks are unwilling to lend without big deposits.

 

I would say the actual villain in this is the Bank of England. When the financial crisis hit in 2008 then house prices should have fallen more than they did but they didn’t due to Quantitative easing. 

 

If there hadnt been a recession in 1993 then I wouldn’t have been able to buy my first home in 1997.

 

I think the additional dwelling supplement is doing its job in deterring buy to let which should help first time buyers but section 24, HMO licensing, the lack of regulation of Airbnb and the ban on agent fees are just driving up rents.

 

I think with housing you have to think long term and the current generation are suffering because of bad policies of the last 30 years and hopefully the current council housing boom in the lothians will help the next generation face a less bleak picture. It probably hasn’t helped that the UK has had about 8 housing ministers in the last couple of years.

I think this is a decent post mate. But I disagree that council housing is the way forward for young people.

 

Yes it will help as presumably the rent on the council accommodation will be cheap allowing people to save a deposit. 

 

But the goal has to be to allow young people onto the housing ladder before they are 30. 

 

Can’t remember the exact stats off the top of my head but currently about 25% of men under 30 in the UK live with their parents.

[luckydug]

22 hours ago, TheOak88 said:

Its not about building more council houses that will be owned by the local authority. It will help a bit but the goal is to help more young people 18-35 year olds move into home ownership. 

I can never understand the obsession in this country for home ownership.

A house is for living in if you have a roof over your head for a reasonable cost should be enough for people. 

So much of the problems people are discussing on this thread dates back to that bitch Thatcher.

She forced the council's to sell their properties at ridiculous discounts.

Not only that but then stopped the council's using the proceeds to create more social housing to fill the void.

We now have situation where offspring of those council house purchasers have either sold those houses for massive profits or renting out at exorbitant rates.

Council rents in my area are mostly no more than £400 a month yet the same houses privately owned are about double that.

The original reason given for selling council houses was to give council tenants the chance to own their own place but there should have been a buy back option to stop children grandchildren lining their pockets at the council's expense.

The above is the root cause of the housing problems in this country imo.

 

 

[luckydug]

20 hours ago, Del Monty said:

The greedy eyed monster making a few appearances in this thread...

👍

[Stephen Muddie]

1 hour ago, luckydug said:

I can never understand the obsession in this country for home ownership.

A house is for living in if you have a roof over your head for a reasonable cost should be enough for people. 

So much of the problems people are discussing on this thread dates back to that bitch Thatcher.

She forced the council's to sell their properties at ridiculous discounts.

Not only that but then stopped the council's using the proceeds to create more social housing to fill the void.

We now have situation where offspring of those council house purchasers have either sold those houses for massive profits or renting out at exorbitant rates.

Council rents in my area are mostly no more than £400 a month yet the same houses privately owned are about double that.

The original reason given for selling council houses was to give council tenants the chance to own their own place but there should have been a buy back option to stop children grandchildren lining their pockets at the council's expense.

The above is the root cause of the housing problems in this country imo.

 

 

I agree, yet successive governments, red and blue have done nothing to address the situation. Quite the contrary in fact, successive governments have done everything they can to prop prices, pandering to the masses. Add in uncontrolled immigration increasing demand, lack of affordable new builds stifling supply, a global recession suppressing wage rises and here we are - a sort of pre-storm calm.

Tide has turned now, transaction levels are at historic lows. The stories of "working hard and buying first property aged 19" are almost zero. Homeowners are no longer the target demographic of vote hungry liar politicians. Hence, we see the likes of JM pandering to the masses with policies AGAINST the old favoured demographic. 😉

Edited September 7, 2019 by Stephen Muddie

[TheOak88]

1 hour ago, luckydug said:

I can never understand the obsession in this country for home ownership.

A house is for living in if you have a roof over your head for a reasonable cost should be enough for people. 

So much of the problems people are discussing on this thread dates back to that bitch Thatcher.

She forced the council's to sell their properties at ridiculous discounts.

Not only that but then stopped the council's using the proceeds to create more social housing to fill the void.

We now have situation where offspring of those council house purchasers have either sold those houses for massive profits or renting out at exorbitant rates.

Council rents in my area are mostly no more than £400 a month yet the same houses privately owned are about double that.

The original reason given for selling council houses was to give council tenants the chance to own their own place but there should have been a buy back option to stop children grandchildren lining their pockets at the council's expense.

The above is the root cause of the housing problems in this country imo.

 

 

I assume you rent then? 

 

I think this thread has outlined why most want to buy rather than rent.

 

1. Landlords tend to charge very high rent, higher than someone would pay for a mortgage. 

 

2. It’s an investment. You can build up equity and use that to move to a better property or allow it to help fund your retirement. 

 

3. Pride of ownership. People want to decorate their house the way they want and make amendments to it to suit their style. Can’t do that to a rented property. 

 

4. Stability. Landlord can decide they want to sell your house at any time. At which point you likely have a couple of months to find somewhere else to live. If you have family and kids etc this could be stressful. 

 

5. Inheritance. A meaningful sum of money to pass onto your kids when you are gone. 

[Governor Tarkin]

13 hours ago, Smithee said:

It's bullshit to throw shit at good guy landlords. No matter what happens there will always be private tenants renting from private landlords, and the more decent ones the better. 

 

They're not responsible for the overall situation, the lack of affordable and social housing, they don't set government policy, don't have the power to do anything really. All they can do is try and be decent human beings while making a return on their investment.

 

Top post, Smithee.

[Governor Tarkin]

28 minutes ago, TheOak88 said:

I assume you rent then? 

 

I think this thread has outlined why most want to buy rather than rent.

 

1. Landlords tend to charge very high rent, higher than someone would pay for a mortgage. 

 

2. It’s an investment. You can build up equity and use that to move to a better property or allow it to help fund your retirement. 

 

3. Pride of ownership. People want to decorate their house the way they want and make amendments to it to suit their style. Can’t do that to a rented property. 

 

4. Stability. Landlord can decide they want to sell your house at any time. At which point you likely have a couple of months to find somewhere else to live. If you have family and kids etc this could be stressful. 

 

5. Inheritance. A meaningful sum of money to pass onto your kids when you are gone. 

 

All good points.

 

I borrowed heavily against my first flat to put myself through college and then uni' in my 30's. Couldn't have done it otherwise.

[Brighton Jambo]

On 05/09/2019 at 20:26, Tynieman said:

 

You're making money by letting out somewhere to a person(s) who, in all likelihood can't afford to buy.

 

It's not about how hard you work, it's how you make money.

 

I don't think the previous poster deserved your reaction 

 

Many feel what you do is wrong. It doesn't mean to say you're a bad person.

 

It's all about making money when in fact the whole property situation needs looked at.

Utter nonsense, people rent for all sorts of reasons.  I did a secondment with work a couple of years ago and as I was away all week needed to rent a flat during the week.  Likewise when I was a student I needed to rent a flat.  When I first moved for work I didn’t want to buy as I didn’t know the city and wanted to rent for a year or two.  

 

What would I have done if there wasn't properties to rent.  Your assertion that people who rent are people who can’t afford to buy is an overly simplistic and dramatic opinion.  

[luckydug]

1 hour ago, TheOak88 said:

I assume you rent then? 

 

I think this thread has outlined why most want to buy rather than rent.

 

1. Landlords tend to charge very high rent, higher than someone would pay for a mortgage. 

 

2. It’s an investment. You can build up equity and use that to move to a better property or allow it to help fund your retirement. 

 

3. Pride of ownership. People want to decorate their house the way they want and make amendments to it to suit their style. Can’t do that to a rented property. 

 

4. Stability. Landlord can decide they want to sell your house at any time. At which point you likely have a couple of months to find somewhere else to live. If you have family and kids etc this could be stressful. 

 

5. Inheritance. A meaningful sum of money to pass onto your kids when you are gone. 

I rent now.

I used to have my own flat but sold it and moved in with my girlfriend who is now my wife.

I could have let the flat but wanted a fresh start. 

Our house is a council house with a very reasonable rent and although we could have bought it I didn't fancy tying ourself down to a mortgage again.

My wife and myself are  happy just to  have a house to live in and don't feel the need to play houses bingo.

A house should be for living in not making money on.

I really feel sorry for young people now they have no chance even an ex council house would cost about 150k. 

People on an ordinary wage would have to set aside half their income to pay the mortgage. What happens if interest rates rise substantially ?

With the way things are at the moment who would bet against it.

More social housing is the answer imo.

 

 

[Thommo414]

2 hours ago, TheOak88 said:

I assume you rent then? 

 

I think this thread has outlined why most want to buy rather than rent.

 

1. Landlords tend to charge very high rent, higher than someone would pay for a mortgage. 

 

2. It’s an investment. You can build up equity and use that to move to a better property or allow it to help fund your retirement. 

 

3. Pride of ownership. People want to decorate their house the way they want and make amendments to it to suit their style. Can’t do that to a rented property. 

 

4. Stability. Landlord can decide they want to sell your house at any time. At which point you likely have a couple of months to find somewhere else to live. If you have family and kids etc this could be stressful. 

 

5. Inheritance. A meaningful sum of money to pass onto your kids when you are gone. 

1, 3 and 4 are the main reasons I hate renting. 

 

1. After the bills of rent, utilities etc are out the way and food is on the table for 4 of us, there's no money left apart from maybe enough for one small pleasure (a cinema trip for example). Of course we earn enough we could comfortably afford a mortgage, especially on the house we live in but coming up with a deposit is made incredibly difficult.

 

3. The decor in my house isn't the best and if I could redecorate, I would. That includes the walls, windows, doors etc. Even if I had permission, I'm not doing all that to bump the value up for when I leave to see no return.

 

4. Me, the Mrs and 2 kids aged 5 and 3 could be put out on our arses with a very short notice whilst the landlord (who has paid the mortgage) can welcome 140k into his bank account.

 

As I grow older then points 2 and 5 might be more important but not so much now.

[IronJambo]

9 hours ago, luckydug said:

I can never understand the obsession in this country for home ownership.

 

The answer to this is in this thread. Do you really want to be paying 4 figures a month for rent from your pension? I want to live comfortably after I've retired and that involves having as little expenditure as I can along with having as big an income/pension I can. A large part of keeping costs down means that owning the roof above my head is essential.

[alanjambo]

On 04/09/2019 at 18:17, Diadora Van Basten said:

That’s not my experience at all nearly all tenancies are ended by tenants.

 

For landlords void periods are expensive so they prefer to keep tenants for the long term.

 

This is correct.

 

The new style leases mean that it’s actually very difficult for landlords to evict tenants. Unless they’re looking to move back into their home or are selling it, it’s hard to serve notice. Even if tenants don’t pay any rent and are trashing the place, they can’t just be given notice to leave.

 

There are absolutely some unscrupulous landlords out there, and rental prices are ridiculous. There are a lot of landlords who do care about tenants though and the regulations that the Scottish government has brought in this last decade has meant tenants have finally, and rightly, got more rights than they used to.

[Psychedelicropcircle]

Folks thinking the BTL landlords would be thrilled if they built lots of houses 😂 

[Diadora Van Basten]

14 minutes ago, Psychedelicropcircle said:

Folks thinking the BTL landlords would be thrilled if they built lots of houses 😂 

I would there is still a demand from transient tenants for housing. 

[fabienleclerq]

On 03/09/2019 at 23:21, Thommo414 said:

See I actually read your original post and dare I even say empathised with it a little bit. I'm glad to hear you're not exploiting people and charging what is actually a decent rate given the area. 

 

And no, it wouldn't be particularly fair to have it sold from underneath you.

 

Should I have called all landlords "scum"? Probably not but whats done is done I suppose. As I outlined in my original post however, I'm literally paying for this place 3 times over but yet I know I won't get anything cheaper where I can raise a family (and that includes downsizing) unless I move out to some backwater shitehole which still won't even be that much different.

 

My situation might colour my judgement on this subject but it just riles me to see what some of these pricks are getting away with.

 

At least we got to the bottom of your rage, you want to live somewhere more expensive than you can afford. 

 

I'd love to live in Edinburgh but I can't afford the house I want there so I don't. I've worked since I was 15, moved out at 17 and seen how much rent I was paying and thought **** that and saved a deposit. 

 

I know about ten Polish folk who came here started in shite jobs (too good for the locals I presume) who saved a deposit and are now home owners. Some folk just want things handed to them without sacrifice. 

 

Why should we be taking properties off people who earned them? For people who want it handed to them? Why not start with the estate owners if we are going full communist! 

[Jambomb]

12 minutes ago, fabienleclerq said:

 

At least we got to the bottom of your rage, you want to live somewhere more expensive than you can afford. 

 

I'd love to live in Edinburgh but I can't afford the house I want there so I don't. I've worked since I was 15, moved out at 17 and seen how much rent I was paying and thought **** that and saved a deposit. 

 

I know about ten Polish folk who came here started in shite jobs (too good for the locals I presume) who saved a deposit and are now home owners. Some folk just want things handed to them without sacrifice. 

 

Why should we be taking properties off people who earned them? For people who want it handed to them? Why not start with the estate owners if we are going full communist! 

That’s exactly it!

 

if you want to get on housing ladder you can, plenty properties available for £50kish, but just not in the centre of Edinburgh!

[Thommo414]

2 hours ago, fabienleclerq said:

 

At least we got to the bottom of your rage, you want to live somewhere more expensive than you can afford. 

 

I'd love to live in Edinburgh but I can't afford the house I want there so I don't. I've worked since I was 15, moved out at 17 and seen how much rent I was paying and thought **** that and saved a deposit. 

 

I know about ten Polish folk who came here started in shite jobs (too good for the locals I presume) who saved a deposit and are now home owners. Some folk just want things handed to them without sacrifice. 

 

Why should we be taking properties off people who earned them? For people who want it handed to them? Why not start with the estate owners if we are going full communist! 

Please don't make assumptions about me or my character, thanks

[Thommo414]

2 hours ago, Jambomb said:

That’s exactly it!

 

if you want to get on housing ladder you can, plenty properties available for £50kish, but just not in the centre of Edinburgh!

Please enlighten me as to where this promised land is

[fabienleclerq]

5 minutes ago, Thommo414 said:

Please don't make assumptions about me or my character, thanks

 

Don't think your in a position to greet about assumptions after calling folk scumbags darling. 

[Thommo414]

Just now, fabienleclerq said:

 

Don't think your in a position to greet about assumptions after calling folk scumbags darling. 

I think you'll find i retracted that comment after hearing about some of the guys on here who seem to actually do some good for their tenants. You're looking for a fight though, I won't be indulging you.

[fabienleclerq]

12 minutes ago, Thommo414 said:

I think you'll find i retracted that comment after hearing about some of the guys on here who seem to actually do some good for their tenants. You're looking for a fight though, I won't be indulging you.

 

Point still stands, you made an assumption and don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot. 

 

There's nothing to fight about, you want to live in a more expensive area than you can afford to buy in (I was the same). I moved to a "backwater shithole" and have a nice house. 

 

There is affordable houses out there, you might need to compromise on location though. 

[Thommo414]

6 minutes ago, fabienleclerq said:

 

Point still stands, you made an assumption and don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot. 

 

There's nothing to fight about, you want to live in a more expensive area than you can afford to buy in (I was the same). I moved to a "backwater shithole" and have a nice house. 

 

There is affordable houses out there, you might need to compromise on location though. 

Correct. I did make a generalisation based on experiences I and others around me have had with landlords. I was called out for it, rightly, by people who didn't deserve my comments so I apologised for them. I think that's fair enough, no? We all say silly things and live to either double down on or regret them, the latter in my case.

 

I also don't want to live in an area I can't afford. I get by living in Edinburgh, like many others. I work hard to make an honest living and provide for my family. I don't want to be financially forced out of a city that I was born in and have lived in for 24 years, as well as uprooting my kids, removing them from schools, friends, family etc. If i didn't have those commitments in my life, I'd probably be more open to the possibility of living somewhere else until my situation improves.

 

As I said in another post, a mortgage is no issue, I can afford paying one of those, I pay about 3x What the mortgage of the house I currently live in would cost in rent. The issue is that in doing so, it makes the possibility of saving up for the deposit much much harder.

[Bridge of Djoum]

On 09/09/2019 at 16:21, Thommo414 said:

Correct. I did make a generalisation based on experiences I and others around me have had with landlords. I was called out for it, rightly, by people who didn't deserve my comments so I apologised for them. I think that's fair enough, no? We all say silly things and live to either double down on or regret them, the latter in my case.

 

I also don't want to live in an area I can't afford. I get by living in Edinburgh, like many others. I work hard to make an honest living and provide for my family. I don't want to be financially forced out of a city that I was born in and have lived in for 24 years, as well as uprooting my kids, removing them from schools, friends, family etc. If i didn't have those commitments in my life, I'd probably be more open to the possibility of living somewhere else until my situation improves.

 

As I said in another post, a mortgage is no issue, I can afford paying one of those, I pay about 3x What the mortgage of the house I currently live in would cost in rent. The issue is that in doing so, it makes the possibility of saving up for the deposit much much harder.

Do what I did... make money from a dishonest living. 

[IronJambo]

On 09/09/2019 at 21:21, Thommo414 said:

.

 

As I said in another post, a mortgage is no issue, I can afford paying one of those, I pay about 3x What the mortgage of the house I currently live in would cost in rent. The issue is that in doing so, it makes the possibility of saving up for the deposit much much harder.

Not being funny but I doubt you're paying 3x what a repayment mortgage would be on the same property in today's value.

 

Regardless,  the only way out is to buy whatever you can afford just to get on the ladder and then things will improve. You can't just mope about it and complain about the rent trap when you're amongst those that feed it.

[Thommo414]

52 minutes ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

Do what I did... make money from a dishonest living. 

Bit of an odd bump but okay

 

19 minutes ago, IronJambo said:

Not being funny but I doubt you're paying 3x what a repayment mortgage would be on the same property in today's value.

 

Regardless,  the only way out is to buy whatever you can afford just to get on the ladder and then things will improve. You can't just mope about it and complain about the rent trap when you're amongst those that feed it.

Today's value, no. The mortgage of its last sale, yes. The value has risen less than double so the mortgage would still be comfortably less than the rent. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get on the ladder and make my life that bit better as you say but getting out of the "rent trap" as you put it is very difficult. I'm feeding it but out of need rather than want 

[IronJambo]

4 hours ago, Thommo414 said:

Bit of an odd bump but okay

 

Today's value, no. The mortgage of its last sale, yes. The value has risen less than double so the mortgage would still be comfortably less than the rent. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get on the ladder and make my life that bit better as you say but getting out of the "rent trap" as you put it is very difficult. I'm feeding it but out of need rather than want 

If my parents or my in-laws died I wouldn't be renting their house out based on what they paid. It would be market value based on today although I wouldn't be raising it every year or any year for an ongoing tenant.

 

Help to buy or shared ownership isn't a bad start. I get that deposits aren't easy to come by though and it really depends how much someone wants to make it happen. 5% is sufficient for most of the above. Loads of people say they can't raise money but are driving lease cars and have every sky channel in UHD. I'm not saying that's you, but quite often it's not about what people earn but what they spend. 

[Unknown user]

On 09/09/2019 at 20:36, Thommo414 said:

Please enlighten me as to where this promised land is

 

Lassie I know bought a flat right in the centre of Falkirk for 27k last year, I know of another in the same block that went for less this year. 

[Thommo414]

17 minutes ago, IronJambo said:

If my parents or my in-laws died I wouldn't be renting their house out based on what they paid. It would be market value based on today although I wouldn't be raising it every year or any year for an ongoing tenant.

 

Help to buy or shared ownership isn't a bad start. I get that deposits aren't easy to come by though and it really depends how much someone wants to make it happen. 5% is sufficient for most of the above. Loads of people say they can't raise money but are driving lease cars and have every sky channel in UHD. I'm not saying that's you, but quite often it's not about what people earn but what they spend. 

Of course you wouldn't rent it for the price that was previously paid as that would be ridiculous. The point I'm trying to make isn't so much about the value of the house in general but the rent in comparison to the mortgage that is currently being paid. Like I say, the value has increased but even at that, it would still be considerably cheaper than the rent at present.

 

I get what you mean about people that are overspending but that's not me. My financial situation has changed about 3/4 times in the last year and I'm trying to minimise everything I can (phone contracts etc). The issue is that in the jobs I've had, hours can be hard to come by and are completely out of my control. I'd work 50/60 hour weeks if I could but if I get told there's only 20 then I'll only be getting paid for 20.

 

I really am trying to get out of this situation but who knows how that one will go

[Thommo414]

23 minutes ago, Smithee said:

 

Lassie I know bought a flat right in the centre of Falkirk for 27k last year, I know of another in the same block that went for less this year. 

Thank you Smithee, that's the kind of information I can work with. 27k seems to good to be true though surely?

[Unknown user]

21 minutes ago, Thommo414 said:

Thank you Smithee, that's the kind of information I can work with. 27k seems to good to be true though surely?

 

It's small and above a kebab shop, but there are others in the area up to 50k that probably don't reek but do still need modernisation and TLC. The Melville St, Glebe St, Vicar St square is the area I know.

I actually had to change the front door code for her when junkies kept getting into her stair - one of the stair doors on those streets now has the code C1874X 😁

[westbow]

BTL isn’t that great an investment so l don’t know where greed comes into it. To make that game work well you would need multiple properties. To have multiple properties you need ££££££ spare cash or equity.

 

I just got a letter from my bank saying that my deposit account has gone from 0.35% to 0.2%. I still would not invest in property because of the general arse ache involved. 

 

With boiler repairs, gaps between tenants and nightmare tenants, it is easy to flip a small profit into a loss. Factoring companies are not to be trusted either - from my experience they make their money from “repairs”.

 

It used to be an investment where as long as the property washed its face (outgoings same as income) the property value would increase. Fine in retrospect but no guarantees there.

 

I get that after 20 years or so you own the property and you can bequeath it to whoever minus inheritance tax. There are better ways to make money, in my opinion.

 

 

 

[Jambomb]

14 hours ago, Thommo414 said:

Thank you Smithee, that's the kind of information I can work with. 27k seems to good to be true though surely?

My son recently bought a 2 bed flat in Grangemouth for £45k, he had a budget of £55k and seen decent places in Bonnyrigg, Grangemouth, livingston all within budget.

 

get on the bottom rung and build up.

[ri Alban]

On 13/09/2019 at 22:31, Smithee said:

 

Lassie I know bought a flat right in the centre of Falkirk for 27k last year, I know of another in the same block that went for less this year. 

Usually these are bought back for about £4000 for council redevelopment. Too risky.

[Unknown user]

1 minute ago, ri Alban said:

Usually these are bought back for about £4000 for council redevelopment. Too risky.

 

There's not a single council flat in the block, and I know from a guy trying to sell his to them that they only buy flats in largely council owned blocks. 

The tenements stood for 100+ years without ever being owned by the council, and I know of a few in the last couple of years that have changed hands. Don't know ether the usually is coming from at all!

[ri Alban]

4 minutes ago, Smithee said:

 

There's not a single council flat in the block, and I know from a guy trying to sell his to them that they only buy flats in largely council owned blocks. 

The tenements stood for 100+ years without ever being owned by the council, and I know of a few in the last couple of years that have changed hands. Don't know ether the usually is coming from at all!

In general. But it must be real dump or very undesirable if it's going for that price. Fine if you're a local.

[Unknown user]

7 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

In general. But it must be real dump or very undesirable if it's going for that price. Fine if you're a local.

 

There's a decent market for sub 50k property in central Scotland, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Livi.

Obviously they're not palaces, but the OP's asking about getting on the property ladder cheaply - it is possible. 

[Mikey1874]

On 07/09/2019 at 14:26, TheOak88 said:

I assume you rent then? 

 

I think this thread has outlined why most want to buy rather than rent.

 

1. Landlords tend to charge very high rent, higher than someone would pay for a mortgage. 

 

2. It’s an investment. You can build up equity and use that to move to a better property or allow it to help fund your retirement. 

 

3. Pride of ownership. People want to decorate their house the way they want and make amendments to it to suit their style. Can’t do that to a rented property. 

 

4. Stability. Landlord can decide they want to sell your house at any time. At which point you likely have a couple of months to find somewhere else to live. If you have family and kids etc this could be stressful. 

 

5. Inheritance. A meaningful sum of money to pass onto your kids when you are gone. 

 

In Edinburgh (2017/18) 800 households asked for help from Council after being made homeless from private rented housing. 

[Diadora Van Basten]

4 hours ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

In Edinburgh (2017/18) 800 households asked for help from Council after being made homeless from private rented housing. 

I think some people see it as an opportunity to get a council house. 

[Stephen Muddie]

On 06/09/2019 at 14:25, The Fonz said:

FWIW I don't think that you (or any of the other posters with 1 small flat they let out) are the bad guys in this, as you say you've paid for these properties and are looking after you/your families best interests. I also don't agree with any policy where you'd have to sell you flat at below market value. 

However, you talk about buying your first house at 19 years old which only highlights the generational gap when it comes to housing in 2019.

 

No 19 year old today would be able to afford to buy a flat and even those in their 20's and 30's that are stuck renting will most likely never be able to save up enough for a deposit, despite the fact that their mortgage payments would likely be less than their rent. Yes, you've obviously worked hard for what you have, but would that hard work reap the same rewards today- no chance. 

As I said it's a much wider issue and isn't caused necessarily by guys who rent out one flat, but any BTL only widens the divides between the have's and have not's. 

 

 

Great post.