Homes under the Hammer

Some years ago when I moved in with my partner later to become my dh, I rented out my home for 3 years. This was me making sure I still had my home until we were married and I had a certain security. It was in top condition with a new hob and oven. Estate agent collected the rent and ‘supposedly’ checked the property. Two tenants skipped owing rent. Kitchen cupboards were hanging off. Kitchen flooring was torn and it took two days to clean the oven. I could go on and on. I kept records. Paid a plumber to fix a dripping tap, that was £50 etc etc. Put in a tax return and did it all by the book. My profit for the 3 years was £2,700. If a new tenant was going in I left a nice pot plant on the kitchen table. I truly was a decent landlady. The heartache caused by disrespectful tenants nearly broke me. My oil tank was upended on bricks so the could get the last of the heating oil. It should have been left half full which was how they got it. I had to sell it. I wasn’t hard enough emotionally and the final straw was when they skipped owing rent and leaving about £2k damage (it was a young family) Never again

Well said Eloethan

Meanwhile in Scotland.....................

Right to Buy was abolished in 2014

25,000 homes (after deducting demolitions) have been added to the Social Housing stock in Scotland to date,
under a £3 billion plan which is on target to provide 50,000 new social housing homes by 2021.

Where there is a will there is a way.

I remember that very well Annie. Funnily enough I was in Mid Wales only a couple of weeks ago and the country home of a very well known Tory MP was pointed out to me. Apparently he's very well liked locally because he's supported a lot of local groups and charities.

Chewbacca, the seventies and eighties we had Meibion Glyndwr, a Welsh National movement fighting to preserve Welsh culture and Language, they set fire to holiday homes in Wales owned by English people.more groups were formed and Tory politicians homes in Wales were targeted

Health, housing, education, water and energy are things that everyone needs - they are not luxuries that a person can do without.

I agree with those who feel that the housing market is out of control and that many landlords charge exhorbitant rents for sub-standard accommodation. It is bad enough having to pay a huge deposit on a house and large mortgage repayments for years to come. It is even worse not being able to afford a deposit or obtain a mortgage, instead having to pay a huge chunk of your income to pay someone else's mortgage.

As many people are saying, we need decent, reasonably priced social housing. A civilised society should not tolerate people living in cramped and unhealthy accommodation and being exploited by greedy landlords. We are going backwards instead of forwards.

Grrr! I know that Welsh coastal areas have suffered that problem for a long time Annie and I seem to remember that it resulted in a lot of very bad feeling way back in the 1970s and 1980s that made national news. Don't know What the answer is. Whilst it's all perfectly legal, it does seem morally wrong to me.

So difficult Chewbacca, I am sure there is much anger in your area. It happens everywhere , it is the same here, holiday homes, which are second homes, then locals who buy one small house to rent , we have many holiday homes

Chewbacca I think I would be very angry. Its certainly not fair.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

The world would be a better happier place if people weren't so greedy though. I couldnt be like that.

Flexiblefriend absolutely, if she's canny enough and has the money to invest then I don't have a problem with people making money. It's about time people stopped the 'private landlord bad, poor renter good' scenario. There are good and bad in both. Blame Thatcher and the Tories for selling off Council housing and preventing councils from reinvesting the money in new housing, but don't blame private landlords who are filling the gaps successive governments have left!

Annep, it’s what businesses do, if there had been a serious water shortage back in the summer bottled water companies would have put up prices.

We so much need more social housing

I do get your point Anniebach. But I would disagree with any business charging exorbitant prices to geg rich. Or taking unfair advantage as landlords are doing because there is a housing shortage. Morally its wrong. And the government is having to pay much of this because of their policies. Which in my view is money wasted.

She's trying to maximize the return on her investment I don't see that as a bad thing. Maybe she doesn't have a pension and needs an income in her old age but whatever the case she's not a charity.

Playing devils advocate, should all businesses have a cap on their profits ?

exactly. I think theres asuch a high demand and lack of public housing and thats why they can charge so much. I think its better to be fair and caring. Its like paying the minimum wage because you can even though you could pay more and the worker is worth more. But I'm sure everyone wont agree.

Private landlords take a big risk with property. If they get a bad tenant who doesn't pay their rent they can lose thousands of £s. It takes months to evict a bad tenant and some leave the property in a terrible state.

The rents landlords get have to cover their losses on other properties.

There was a TV programme not long ago about Bad Landlords and Rogue Tenants (or something like that ) that showed both sides of the story.

I really don't see anything wrong with someone investing their money in property, doing it up and either making a profit by selling it or renting it out for as much as they can get. Why should it be capped? if it was too expensive people wouldn't or couldn't afford the rent and would rent somewhere else. If no one rented her property she'd lower the rent. It's a simple case of supply and demand.

Minimoon nothing that needs done is ever done quickly!

The lady is still being greedy imo. No conscience. I think a cap should be set on the yield. 20% is too much. Its taking advantage of people in need. And yes Charleygirl right to buy policy introduced by Thatcher is wrong. Public housing should never be sold off especially at such a high discount.

The right to buy is still with us, that is one reason why we have such low council housing stock.

The lady in question was charging more than the agents estimated.
The property was purchased for a low price as the freehold had to be purchased separately.
Once renovated and furnished it looked to be good quality accommodation.
People will always pay a premium for a good rental.
The profit the lady is making is based on her ROI.
So to sum up this lady is a sharp cookie who purchased an ugly duckling turned it into a swan and is reaping the benefits.
Two of my AC are in rented flats, we always advise them to pay a bit more for a nicer environment.
I agree we need more social housing and I believe Thatcher selling off our council homes was a huge error.
However in the absence of a good stock of social housing we need to rely on private landlords and this lady appears to be providing high quality flats.

Isn't the government talking about capping private landlords rents?
I'm sure I heard something about it on the news lately. Whether it will happen anytime soon, remains to be seen.