Are earnings too low / living costs getting too high??

[Rifte]

Undoubtedly there are some unscrupulous landlords out there looking to squeeze every single penny that they can out of their tenants, but there are also some decent ones as well.

I would put myself into that bracket.

Sure my main motivation of being a landlord is to get someone else to pay off most of my expenses so I can keep my property portfolio, but I simply refuse to increase the rent of my properties at the moment (and haven't for the past four years) because I am more interested in having great tenants in my houses that treat them like a home. I would sooner forfeit an extra 100 quid a month (and I could easily push it up, in fact my agents ask that I do every year) to get families in who feel invested in my place. They are less likely to move on (no added tenancy setup costs) and they are more likely to look after the place (cheaper maintenance for me and also adds to my property's value). Simple fiscal sense.

I was lucky enough not to have a douche bag landlord when I rented and I try to do the same now. At the end of a day it is a business I have in the UK, but it does not mean that I cant run it in the best possible way that I can.

a lot of the landlord hate on here is usually one or a combination of a few things :

1)Personal experience with a poor landlord
2)Jealousy that other people have done something that aspire to do
3)Anger that they believe that the system has worked against them, and this gets targeted towards those at the coal face (the landlords) rather than the system that has in their minds allowed it to happen.

 

[krooton]

Clearly you must like it here, though? Otherwise you would go home? This is how it works in this country, stop moaning about it or go home if this country is such a problem to you?

I have been living here for the past 15 years, all of my adult life, taking all yer jobs and wimmins

Didn't realise that the British way was to bend over, suck it up, and accept being royally screwed.

 

[krooton]

Undoubtedly there are some unscrupulous landlords out there looking to squeeze every single penny that they can out of their tenants, but there are also some decent ones as well.

I would put myself into that bracket.

Sure my main motivation of being a landlord is to get someone else to pay off most of my expenses so I can keep my property portfolio, but I simply refuse to increase the rent of my properties at the moment (and haven't for the past four years) because I am more interested in having great tenants in my houses that treat them like a home. I would sooner forfeit an extra 100 quid a month (and I could easily push it up, in fact my agents ask that I do every year) to get families in who feel invested in my place. They are less likely to move on (no added tenancy setup costs) and they are more likely to look after the place (cheaper maintenance for me and also adds to my property's value). Simple fiscal sense.

I was lucky enough not to have a douche bag landlord when I rented and I try to do the same now. At the end of a day it is a business I have in the UK, but it does not mean that I cant run it in the best possible way that I can.

a lot of the landlord hate on here is usually one or a combination of a few things :

1)Personal experience with a poor landlord
2)Jealousy that other people have done something that aspire to do
3)Anger that they believe that the system has worked against them, and this gets targeted towards those at the coal face (the landlords) rather than the system that has in their minds allowed it to happen.

My personal experience of private landlords has thankfully been good, it's the ones that don't give a monkey's and farm it all off to estate agents that suck, they want more money, have more costs due to estate agent fees, and therefore have massive rents.

 

[Glaucus]

cheap and reasonable roof over your head should be a basic human right, we are not even close to that in the uk. I however by saying that do not mean nice big houses should be dirt cheap. However one simple change would be to go inline with the rest of Europe where if you own land then you can live on it in mobile accommodation, that would be a good start.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Housing developers aren't interested in affordable houses. They would rather build large 3/4 beds with en-suites as they get more money for it.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Some landlords are good, some bad, par for the course with things in life really. Don't forget there are a lot of bad tenets out there too

 

[Rifte]

My personal experience of private landlords has thankfully been good, it's the ones that don't give a monkey's and farm it all off to estate agents that suck, they want more money, have more costs due to estate agent fees, and therefore have massive rents.

This is true. I am lucky enough at present to be able to afford any shortfall my properties have, but some landlords have no option but to put up rent.

It will be interesting when the rules relating to mortgage interest deduction as an expense change over the next few years and if this backfires in the face of the government when landlords start to increase their prices to counter the impact.

 

[moon man]

it was so easy not so long back ,2001 bought a modern 3 bed semi in west yorkshire for 44k 5% deposit, paid off in under 10 years sold at over double , cash buy next and mortgage free in cornwall ,i wouldnt have a chance of doing that if i was starting out now

 

[dr_volki]

Undoubtedly there are some unscrupulous landlords out there looking to squeeze every single penny that they can out of their tenants, but there are also some decent ones as well.

I would put myself into that bracket.

Sure my main motivation of being a landlord is to get someone else to pay off most of my expenses so I can keep my property portfolio, but I simply refuse to increase the rent of my properties at the moment (and haven't for the past four years) because I am more interested in having great tenants in my houses that treat them like a home. I would sooner forfeit an extra 100 quid a month (and I could easily push it up, in fact my agents ask that I do every year) to get families in who feel invested in my place. They are less likely to move on (no added tenancy setup costs) and they are more likely to look after the place (cheaper maintenance for me and also adds to my property's value). Simple fiscal sense.

I was lucky enough not to have a douche bag landlord when I rented and I try to do the same now. At the end of a day it is a business I have in the UK, but it does not mean that I cant run it in the best possible way that I can.

a lot of the landlord hate on here is usually one or a combination of a few things :

1)Personal experience with a poor landlord
2)Jealousy that other people have done something that aspire to do
3)Anger that they believe that the system has worked against them, and this gets targeted towards those at the coal face (the landlords) rather than the system that has in their minds allowed it to happen.

there's always both bad and good tenants and landlords.
i had a relatively bad one in my first room i rented. but my current landlord is pretty good.

but the same goes for tenants. i usually do quick easy repairs myself or replace bits that came with the house when i can. couple of instances i've had to call the landlord were for completely broken fence and boiler repair (plumber wouldn't repair it without the landlords approval). anything else i just do myself, like replacing the lawn mover when it broke.

i did find that when i do get the landlord involved in getting things replaced, he'll just up the rent in return

 

[Rifte]

i did find that when i do get the landlord involved in getting things replaced, he'll just up the rent in return

Maybe I am naive but my mind is blown by this, and you say this current landlord is pretty good? You must have had some diabolical ones previously.

 

[drs101]

Maybe I am naive but my mind is blown by this, and you say this current landlord is pretty good? You must have had some diabolical ones previously.

mine just wanted to put the rent up by £500 per month, having to move this weekend, to be fair we were paying under market value but things are getting out of hand in terms or rent in London, and now just to move is costing about 5k, I no longer understand how people with low wages can survive anymore.

 

[Rifte]

mine just wanted to put the rent up by £500 per month, having to move this weekend, to be fair we were paying under market value but things are getting out of hand in terms or rent in London, and now just to move is costing about 5k, I no longer understand how people with low wages can survive anymore.

Would be interesting to know your landlord's justifications for this, presumably up until now he has been able to balance his costs with your rental income?

Unless he is trying to force you to move out so he can do something else with the property?

 

[dr_volki]

Maybe I am naive but my mind is blown by this, and you say this current landlord is pretty good? You must have had some diabolical ones previously.

only had 2 so far.
can't really argue with my current landlord putting up the rent, it's pretty much the going rate for the area. But he didn't do it for the first 3 years and he leaves us be.

however my previous landlord, well he's another story.
rent was to be paid cash in hand every month.
he'd randomly turn up and let himself in.

there was a plumbing issue once in this house. which meant they ripped out pretty much the whole kitchen and had the floor out for over a week, when it was a relatively cold winter. did we get our rent decreased or different accomodation? nope.
in fact the landlord tried to make us pay up for the cracked hob, which the builders did when they took it out, but we couldn't prove and the letting agency always stood with the landlord. so then we moved out.

it has probably to do with me still being in switzerland and my now wife moving out on her own, without me proving i have a job as i was moving a month or 2 later. so we kinda had to take whatever she could get.

so yes my current one is pretty good

 

[MikeTheNative]

only had 2 so far.
can't really argue with my current landlord putting up the rent, it's pretty much the going rate for the area. But he didn't do it for the first 3 years and he leaves us be.

however my previous landlord, well he's another story.
rent was to be paid cash in hand every month.
he'd randomly turn up and let himself in.

there was a plumbing issue once in this house. which meant they ripped out pretty much the whole kitchen and had the floor out for over a week, when it was a relatively cold winter. did we get our rent decreased or different accomodation? nope.
in fact the landlord tried to make us pay up for the cracked hob, which the builders did when they took it out, but we couldn't prove and the letting agency always stood with the landlord. so then we moved out.

it has probably to do with me still being in switzerland and my now wife moving out on her own, without me proving i have a job as i was moving a month or 2 later. so we kinda had to take whatever she could get.

so yes my current one is pretty good

Your previous Landlord was dodgy and doing things incorrectly. You could have taken him to the cleaners if you went to court.

 

[dr_volki]

Your previous Landlord was dodgy and doing things incorrectly. You could have taken him to the cleaners if you went to court.

yes, i'm now wiser for it.
but we both were 19 / 20. so needs must.

 

[CircleFaust]

i have not had a payrise in 6 years i think it is
cannot even remember anymore. inflation has never stopped so i've taken pay cuts essentially every year
house prices are still stupid high for most people

 

[subbytna]

High prices due to over demand due to population increasing?

 

[Avenged7Fold]

Not just population increasing but more demand from people who already own property due to how appealing it can be to let out property.

Whether you agree with buy to let or not, its introduction did create opportunity for house owners to take more houses off the market and compete with first time buyers. It was good for property investors as house prices boomed and its easy to see it at least had a significant effect on the market by most house pricing graphs over time.

 

[drs101]

Would be interesting to know your landlord's justifications for this, presumably up until now he has been able to balance his costs with your rental income?

Unless he is trying to force you to move out so he can do something else with the property?

his justification was the buy to let tax changes and that he will no longer make enough money, fair enough i guess but as a tenant with no other option to rent the situation in London is becoming unsustainable for many people even people that earn relatively good money.

 

[Rifte]

his justification was the buy to let tax changes and that he will no longer make enough money, fair enough i guess but as a tenant with no other option to rent the situation in London is becoming unsustainable for many people even people that earn relatively good money.

Really shocked still because the changes are only a 25% deduction this year (minimal). I wonder how much he will increase it when the interest payments are capped at 20%.