The Tsunami of paperwork we now have to produce to put a tenant into a property, the advent of mandatory EICR’s for all properties, change in capital gains tax and income tax rules, EPC levels set on housing stock which in many cases are impossible to achieve, the likely removal of S21 being available for possession and the woefully poor legal rights for landlords under S8 have all led me to the conclusion that it’s time for me to get out.
I have 20 properties, as they become vacant I am going to sell. I have no issues with my tenants but the cards are stacked completely one way.
The government obviously wants to adopt the german model where all properties are owned by large corporations, housing associations or land owners.
That’s fine, but as we all know, available housing stock available for rent is already at an all time low.
Well done Westminster, another cracking decision on your part. Good luck with tackling homelessness.
Can’t say anymore really.
Hi Jeremy. Hope you’re well. Interesting that you mention the EPC regulations - I’m a journalist working for the i paper looking into how the changes to minimum energy efficiency standards are affecting landlords and tenants. Might you be willing to have a quick chat with me, on or off the record, about your situation? I’m on madeleine.cuff@inews.co.uk. Thanks!
Wow that sounds amazingly good convenient and easy I’m very lucky however how do you find a tenant for the commercial and what kind of demand is there and does it change a lot between different kind of commercial license premises as I have this image in my mind of commercial shop type premises taking years to rent out?
I hear you Rob but I have one question for you which is this;
If you are pulling out at all any monies from the said property investment then I can only but presume you have a better place to put the said money like a new investment as surely you would not just pull the money out to become dead money?
I think you’re right Anne, One has to be careful not to throw in the cards based upon the ego as when one gets the calculator out then one can see that property still is earning the money the only difference really is one is earning less money and complying more with rules yet I for one I’m ready to throw in the cards as soon as someone shows me the direction of the new investment calculator which so far I cannot see nor find I just hear stories that sound like they’re coming from the ego some kind of bitterness or resentment seems to be the main driving force for a lot of people withdrawing from what I can see as I have never seen a solution to the problem that earns an equal or more money so I would see it as a very bad commercial decision to pull out of an investment without a much better investment in place, unless one is just going to spend it all and have a good time until the end of course
Well I have other properties still on the go that will keep me ticking along. The one I’m selling is in an area that I would rather not be in and the wife wants a new car lol
I noticed that you are have purchased or are purchasing new properties through a limited company and this makes me very confused because surely corporation tax at 17 or 19% plus at least 20% on top of that for your private personal self assessment for when you realise the monies from the company and if my calculations are correct then the absolute minimum one would be paying in tax surely would be 37 or 39% dependent upon the corporation tax at the time?
With this in mind I am bewildered to why everyone believes this is the way forward and they only talk about the corporation tax yet this tax is only a partial tax as clearly as a human you wish to realise the money rather than leave it all in the limited company obviously if it all remains in the limited company then it sounds like an okay deal at the moment one wishes to put money in their pockets than 20% on top of the corporation tax as a bare minimum surely would be added?
as usual you have to buy where you know. I was fortunate to buy a shop i had rented from a brewery I then did it up and rented it out. that was 35 years ago. Never been empty ,tenant of 20 years. then bought whilst keeping eye on whats happening. Pounce as you know a bargain when you see it. Some offers are rejected , move on , theres always another somewhere
I whole heartedly agree with all you’ve said Jeremy. I find it quite scary being in this industry now with all the pit falls just waiting to ‘get you’. As someone else said on here: it is easy to become an accidental criminal as everything so heavily weighted in the tenants favour with landlords having to jump through so many hoops. Ive been doing this for 30 odd years now and used to enjoy it as property is my passion. I have (and still do) some lovely tenants but also the nightmare type too. Unfortunately, even the law is on their side as you know and they can end up owing you thousands in unpaid rent, wreck your property and ruin the lives of neighbours but then ‘disappear’ leaving it all behind and the landlord with no real recourse or hope in hell of getting anything back. The maintenance of buildings is a constant drain as is the cleaning up after the majority of tenants when they leave. It is getting harder and harder to make a real profit what with all new legislation and expectations and more and more stressful and time consuming to keep going. I am, from next month starting to sell, one by one, so at least i can claim my full (albeit poxy relief on CGT). I won’t make a very big capital gain as all mine are located in a seaside town and haven’t really increased in value much over 20 odd years! It will be a fantastic feeling i am sure to be free of my huge mortgage debts and to be able to go away without fear of the many problems associated with running these rentals. Will keep a select few only as still need to survive! As you say, hope it comes back to bite them in the arse when there is little housing stock available.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned the new rules since Coronavirus hit? I.E. you can’t evict a tenant if they’re unable to pay the rent due to losing their job after company closures. What if they just happen to be bad tenants too?! I haven’t let me place yet and have had no viewings either …with all that’s happening with this pandemic and people isolating themselves, I’m not likely to either.
I also wonder if Open Rent would consider extending the length of time beyond the 3 months we are allowed for advertising if people do think it’s wise to carry on with an AST?
Agreed: what gets me is being done over, firstly tenants, then the councils, and then the taxes. I have five properties, this Coronavirus has given three already the excuse to hang on to their housing benefits - the council will not discuss it, have sent off the forms to universal credit but do not expect any joy. The tenants have a live now attitude, and are not concerned with possible consequences, and they are REWARDED by courts and councils
Agree, 100% Bitten very badly years ago by a most awful woman and her pregnant daughter on DSS. And loving every minute. Well, it paid for the fags and the booze. Oh, and the gas, electric, water, council tax was buck shee free by virtue of never paying for any utilities.
Fraud? Its not illegal if you can get away with it. House after house after house. With the council, in quite real terms, condoning if not encouraging erant, criminal, fraudulent behaviour.
Council tenants are statistically a much greater risk, not least they are more likely in the property all day, wearing things away, to put it bluntly. But no worries… the landlord will cough up when the lights fail, switches break, boiler goes down, something springs a leak. Something recklessly or even maliciously damaged? Prove it! And in the meantime, fix it, or else.
So long as you don’t state ‘No DSS,’ consider the ways & means act.
Will get shot down in flames for writing this by someone who has never been a landlord at the sharp end. Do you know what!? I don’t care.
Common sense after bitter experience (court case, you name it) speaks larger than whoever will inevitably pipe up with some dose of… ‘mock outrage on behalf of…’
Stay cynical, stay balanced… Good luck, out there.
Just thinking about your predicament.
I’m sure you’ve already found this out, but just in case, I believe you can demand the council stop paying the rent to the tenant if they do not pass it onto the landlord, and arrange for it to be paid directly to you. Not sure if this works under the new UC rules, but cannot see why it shouldn’t.
The majority of my properties are multi unit buildings. 20 years ago I remortgaged one at a mortgage company valuation of 15 x income, but the last time I tested the market I did not even get a bid at less than 10 x income on a premium quality property, much better than the other one noted above.
I know from experience, but with the old Housing Benefit set up, you could insist upon direct rent payments if the tenant was more than 4 weeks overdue with their payments to the landlord, allowing for being paid in arrears. I enforced that rule on 2 occasions. I’m not sure if the same applies to UC though.
I would suggest you phone and ask about the rules without mentioning any specific tenant, in the first instance.
