No Fault Evictions

[Jacob]

I purchased my first BTL 35 years ago and ended up with 3 BTL flats to provide a pension top up in retirement and not to take too big a financial hit when I retire.
Note to Jacob, I consider that having provided a home to 3 families for 35 years is sufficiently "long term" to satisfy even Jacob's rather odd logic, so come on Jacob how long is "long term" I now need to realise my assets to fund the monthly care for my severely disabled wife, we are both in our late 70s and beginning to struggle with the additional financial burden we now face.

Tenancy should be for life of the tenants and family.
Housing is an absolute essential and being evicted can seriously disrupt the lives of the victims even if they do manage to find somewhere else and not end up homeless.
Poor quality and insecure housing is also a major cause of other social ills.
There's a housing crisis and a house price/rent bubble growing daily.
Not your fault if you get caught out but there's no guarantee that it would be a safe investment forever.

 

[Morty]

What's it like being in the minority of 1 in this thread, let's all hope you don't end up in my position.
When my tenants vacate I will be selling if that's OK with you Jacob or do you object to that.

 

[monster]

What's it like being in the minority of 1 in this thread, let's all hope you don't end up in my position.
When my tenants vacate I will be selling if that's OK with you Jacob or do you object to that.

lol - and yet he still doesn't seem to stop and consider that maybe he has got it all wrong!

 

[Jacob]

What's it like being in the minority of 1 in this thread,

I'm not. Just seems that way - so many worried landlords on the defensive! I guess that's a good sign.

let's all hope you don't end up in my position.

I won't. I wouldn't choose to be a landlord even if I could afford to.

When my tenants vacate I will be selling if that's OK with you Jacob or do you object to that.

You should make an enormous profit on the back of 35 years house price inflation and the housing crisis, not to mention the rent. Best of luck to you!

 

[Spectric]

You should make an enormous profit on the back of 35 years house price inflation

I think a lot of people become landlords thinking they will get an easy income, I looked into this game many years ago and came to the conclusion that for me it was just not worth the hassle, I was not willing to take the risk and that it is not always as rosy as some Tv programs make out and you also end up with tax on the gains as well as the rental income. Also having done work for landlords I was stunned at how some places are left by a tenant, they needed a total refurb including in some cases new kitchens and even boilers not to mention the electrical side where sockets were smashed and ceiling roses pulled out along with large chunks of ceilings. So when you add everything up I just walked away as I did not want to have to deal with tenants full stop.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What do you think Labour should do about the housing crisis?

Stop importing people.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Also having done work for landlords I was stunned at how some places are left by a tenant,

Ome beautiful house three away from my old house had holes punched in the walls, and every socket and ceiling rose had the wiring cut behind it.
A neighbour's son., a sparky has worked on council houses that have had to be totally gutted after only being occupied for weeks by people the council are obliged to house. He has to wear reinforced gloves when working as the junkies hide used needle in the fittings.

 

[mcostello]

I have seen a rental that when the renters moved out they stripped the walls bare, tore out everything in the house and threw it on the floor. Do You think they are entitled to life time residency? Act like a pig, live in a sty outside. No mercy here.

 

[Ozi]

Just got back from post letting inspection of one of my flats. The tenants as expected left the place clean and tidy, returned the keys to the agent and would be welcome back if they return to the area after traveling. I repainted one room and washed down walls throughout but could have got away without. This is how almost all my tenants have behaved. Deposit will be returned in full Monday and hopefully the place re-let next week.

This flat has mainly let to people wanting fairly short term tenancies I think the longest has been about 18 months, all have been good tenants as shown by the fact that the ten year old carpets are after the usual quick clean perfectly good for one more let, I always buy good carpet and underlay it makes the place feel nicer underfoot and works out cheaper if taken care of, which is why it was so annoying to have one carpet destroyed and all others damaged on first letting at the place I started this thread with. Even if covered by deposit a carpet legally lasts 5 years and you can only claim the remaining portion of cost.

As I have said previously almost all people are decent.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A carpet legally lasts 5 years? I've lived in properies that had carpets decades old that were perfectly OK. The differnce being, probably, that my family lived in them and not some hoot toot that paid rent for a few months so thought they had a right to destroy them.

 

[NorthernSteve]

I grew up in financially deprived conditions, I went to a state school and failed - badly. I am not naturally gifted, I am not as intelligent as many, and I don't posses movie star looks (as you can see from my photo), so my option to get ahead was to work harder than anyone I knew. That's what I did for the past 40 years. During this time I have provided employment for hundreds of people, paid their wages at times when I was unable to pay my own. I invested in people, helped them grow and prepared them for career growth whether that be within the company I owned or outside of it. A bigger company liked my company and decided that they wanted to maximise the value inherent in my company by incorporating it within their own. The cultural fit was good, they treated staff well, as I did. I sold the business and realised the fruits of my labours, the risks I had taken and the lower than previous salary I paid myself throughout the life of the business. I then invested the money realised into houses. I bought run down houses, to replace a pension I was unable to contribute to whilst reinvesting in the business, houses that were unmortgageable. I spent blood, sweat and tears renovating them and provided the best houses in my locale for rent. I treat tenants well, deal with issues without delay. I have upgraded all but 1 house to EPC C.
Business is not a dirty word, neither is profit, they are not juxtaposed as it often assumed to employee welfare, they are achieved through putting the conditions in place to allow your people to grow and achieve and in so doing everyone grows and achieves.
If someone who has done non of these things, never taken these risks, never delayed gratification, never worked the hours, never watched as their employees grew and prospered, never paid tax that pays the benefits for numerous families at a time, never housed anybody, tells me that my money is unearned and that I owe a debt to society, I know that it is they that have contributed less to society than me, yet it is often also they that still believe that I owe a greater debt than they do. These people roam amongst us, criticising those that do, whilst they do not. It is for this reason that this country is in the mess it is in, not because of hard working, prudent people, who do not rely on the state.

 

[Morty]

I couldn't have put it better, you are not alone, I retired last year aged 76 tired of pampering to the Jacobs of this world who are backed by vote seeking politicians.

 

[Cabinetman]

I grew up in financially deprived conditions, I went to a state school and failed - badly. I am not naturally gifted, I am not as intelligent as many, and I don't posses movie star looks (as you can see from my photo), so my option to get ahead was to work harder than anyone I knew. That's what I did for the past 40 years. During this time I have provided employment for hundreds of people, paid their wages at times when I was unable to pay my own. I invested in people, helped them grow and prepared them for career growth whether that be within the company I owned or outside of it. A bigger company liked my company and decided that they wanted to maximise the value inherent in my company by incorporating it within their own. The cultural fit was good, they treated staff well, as I did. I sold the business and realised the fruits of my labours, the risks I had taken and the lower than previous salary I paid myself throughout the life of the business. I then invested the money realised into houses. I bought run down houses, to replace a pension I was unable to contribute to whilst reinvesting in the business, houses that were unmortgageable. I spent blood, sweat and tears renovating them and provided the best houses in my locale for rent. I treat tenants well, deal with issues without delay. I have upgraded all but 1 house to EPC C.
Business is not a dirty word, neither is profit, they are not juxtaposed as it often assumed to employee welfare, they are achieved through putting the conditions in place to allow your people to grow and achieve and in so doing everyone grows and achieves.
If someone who has done non of these things, never taken these risks, never delayed gratification, never worked the hours, never watched as their employees grew and prospered, never paid tax that pays the benefits for numerous families at a time, never housed anybody, tells me that my money is unearned and that I owe a debt to society, I know that it is they that have contributed less to society than me, yet it is often also they that still believe that I owe a greater debt than they do. These people roam amongst us, criticising those that do, whilst they do not. It is for this reason that this country is in the mess it is in, not because of hard working, prudent people, who do not rely on the state.

WOW! Crikey well said, don’t know who gave you the impression that you’re not gifted or as intelligent as others but obviously wrong.
I have run businesses and know what hard work worry and aggravation from bureaucracy etc you have suffered.

 

[Jacob]

I grew up in financially deprived conditions, I went to a state school and failed - badly. I am not naturally gifted, I am not as intelligent as many, and I don't posses movie star looks (as you can see from my photo), so my option to get ahead was to work harder than anyone I knew. That's what I did for the past 40 years. During this time I have provided employment for hundreds of people, paid their wages at times when I was unable to pay my own. I invested in people, helped them grow and prepared them for career growth whether that be within the company I owned or outside of it. A bigger company liked my company and decided that they wanted to maximise the value inherent in my company by incorporating it within their own. The cultural fit was good, they treated staff well, as I did. I sold the business and realised the fruits of my labours, the risks I had taken and the lower than previous salary I paid myself throughout the life of the business. I then invested the money realised into houses. I bought run down houses, to replace a pension I was unable to contribute to whilst reinvesting in the business, houses that were unmortgageable. I spent blood, sweat and tears renovating them and provided the best houses in my locale for rent. I treat tenants well, deal with issues without delay. I have upgraded all but 1 house to EPC C.
Business is not a dirty word, neither is profit, they are not juxtaposed as it often assumed to employee welfare, they are achieved through putting the conditions in place to allow your people to grow and achieve and in so doing everyone grows and achieves.
If someone who has done non of these things, never taken these risks, never delayed gratification, never worked the hours, never watched as their employees grew and prospered, never paid tax that pays the benefits for numerous families at a time, never housed anybody, tells me that my money is unearned and that I owe a debt to society, I know that it is they that have contributed less to society than me, yet it is often also they that still believe that I owe a greater debt than they do. These people roam amongst us, criticising those that do, whilst they do not. It is for this reason that this country is in the mess it is in, not because of hard working, prudent people, who do not rely on the state.

What do you think should be done about the housing crisis?

 

[paulrbarnard]

What do you think should be done about the housing crisis?

You could help by buying a few properties and renting them out

 

[Jacob]

You could help by buying a few properties and renting them out

Wouldn't help at all if I didn't build them to start with.
In any case even if I could afford it I'd be in the same market as everybody else - buying development land or property at very high price with a high rent the only way to get a return.
The market that is way out of balance. It's a bubble with big property speculators in control. The question is how to deflate it without causing another crisis i.e. rapidly falling property prices, negative equity and so on.

 

[Spectric]

The question is how to deflate it without causing another crisis i.e. rapidly falling property prices, negative equity and so on.

All bubbles will eventually burst, as you say a controlled deflation would be much better than just a bang but to many people milking the system and just making hay whilst the sun shines without thinking about a safe exit.

 

[AJB Temple]

Whilst I think Jacob over eggs his provocative arguments, I do feel he has a point. There is not enough housing for socially disadvantaged or low earning people and this does create or fuel other problems in society. Castigating private landlords is not the answer, and political policies disadvantaging them will just result in them looking for alternative investment vehicles instead of rental properties. Nor can we regulate, as labour seems to want to do, developers into creating low cost housing for rent. Developers (I’ve run a company in this field) need to satisfy funders and shareholders and must deliver a satisfactory risk/return balance, or else funds will seek better yields elsewhere such as commodities or bullion.

Social housing needs to be primarily state owned, funded and maintained. I can’t see how we will achieve better capacity without this. As it happens I grew up in a council house that my parents eventually bought under the Thatcher scheme. There is definitely a stigma attached to coming from a council house / council estate background, that holds some kids back and spurs others into self improvement action. Without inadequate beat policing some estates can be a breeding ground for trouble. This just shows that government and local authorities need to have joined up thinking that looks at social housing more broadly: homes, schools, medical facilities, playgrounds and youth clubs, social services and policing to name a few factors that are inter-related.

Current right wing vs Muslim / asylum seeker troubles are worrying but they are also a symptom of the wider problems that politicians need to confront. Just saying “get tough on crime” is a band aid on a gaping wound.

 

[NorthernSteve]

What do you think should be done about the housing crisis?

Probably continue doing more than my fair share, bear the risk of tenants damaging properties and not paying rent, whilst getting vilified by those who don't contribute and penalised for doing so by a successive governments. Until such time as I have had enough, I will then sell up, and leave the country I once loved to find a more sensible regime elsewhere where I can set up a woodshop and be left alone in peace to do as I please. It is the government's not my responsibility to house people. That's what I pay taxes for them to do - amongst other things they do not.

 

[Geoff_S]

Wouldn't help at all if I didn't build them to start with.
In any case even if I could afford it I'd be in the same market as everybody else - buying development land or property at very high price with a high rent the only way to get a return.
The market that is way out of balance. It's a bubble with big property speculators in control. The question is how to deflate it without causing another crisis i.e. rapidly falling property prices, negative equity and so on.

Could you start with some lodgers maybe?