Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

A bit of a sweeping statement there..Not everyone who rents is a deadbeat.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

I rent and I hope I'm not one.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

By your criteria anyone who gets paid to provide a service is therefore a vulture :confused:

---------- Post added at 21:37 ---------- Previous post was at 21:35 ----------

So you work to make money? You vulture! ;)

---------- Post added at 21:38 ---------- Previous post was at 21:37 ----------

Many/most landlords are using interest only mortgages.

---------- Post added at 21:45 ---------- Previous post was at 21:38 ----------

One of our tenants had his contract come up for renewal. He explained that he couldn't afford to pay any more so we left his rent at the same amount for the next three years as he's a very good tenant.
We've also rented out another flat to a HB tenant without a credit check simply because he desperately needed a ground floor dwelling due to his brain injury and was getting kicked out of his last place.
Not all landlords are vultures :(

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

@Ramrod, I agree entirely with you. I'm lucky to have a good one.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Apart from their hard earned money?
On top of that, after the process of finding a property, which can take a lot of time and effort (losing properties when you are out-bid or finding that there is a insurmountable defect), we have to pay stamp duty, solicitors fees, estate agents fees (in many cases), mortgage set up fees and surveyors fees. Thats to 'simply' buy the property. Then we have to refurbish (or gut and re-do) the property in order to bring it up to a decent, livable standard. That involves negotiating with builders, plumbers, electricians, getting quotes, overseeing building work and paying for it. Then we have lettings agents fees, landlords insurance, yearly electrical & gas certificate costs. Ongoing refurb costs.....etc. This assumes that I get a decent tenant who doesn't damage the property which would mean more hassle and cost.
You think this is easy? It's a job. It's simply another way of earning a living and might, if I'm lucky, contribute to my pension when I retire. But in order to realise that profit (which is pretty negligable whilst I'm actually being a landlord) I have to sell the properties at a profit at some point in the future. Selling costs money in fees and of course the govt will take capital gains tax from my profit as well.
So explain to me again how I'm investing nothing other than my self interest? :dozey:

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

No. That'll be the "vultures" that are busy buying up council estates for a pittance, demolishing them, then arguing with the local council when the local council has the temerity to insist that a given percentage of the properties they build on the land be sold at an"affordable" price.

It will also be the vultures that are buying up houses, dividing them into studio flats and renting them out for a fortune.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

I think there should be protections to stop people buying up dozens and dozens of housing but the real problem is with the lack of supply, the renter/landlord system works well if it's a real option rather than the only one.

At the very least the government should make it easier to build without facing a dozen legal challenges (applies to infrastructure as well) but really allowing local authorities to build would be a good idea too. It's not as if it wouldn't be easy to shift the homes.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

@Ramrod, elecectrical certification is 5 yearly. Only gas is yearly.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Thats your only take from his post :dozey:

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Not at all. I agree with him and working in the building trade know all the hoops and expenses landlords have to go through.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Saw a client last night who rents from a private landlord.

Out of curiosity I asked how long they had been there? 6 years.

How often has the rent gone up? NEVER.

Funnily enough the landlord prefers a good tenant (couple with young family) who pay every month on time and doesn't hassle them as they look after the property.

t's what we call a WIN-WIN

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Not all landlords are bad and not all renters are bad..Can we accept that and actually discuss this issue rather than getting all defensive about it?

All I wanted to know was if the original idea I posted has any feasibility and so far everyone has piled in attacking landlords and renters..and yes I did suggest that absentee (foreign) landlords that sit on housing and never rent out are making the situation worse.

Can we ever provide affordable housing to rent or should we look for ways to help young families get into their own home?

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

The ones that are bought purely for investment and never rented out, tend to be at the top end of things. They are never going to affordable.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

But that's part of the issue. If the higher end prices are rising disproportionately then people can't move "up" so they stay in "lower" properties and extend and work on them. And that makes those "lower" properties more expensive both supply and because they are extended/improved

This knocks on down the chain to the bottom.

Re: How to keep house prices low for generations to come
 

Again no one actually answers questions I pose.