Rules for non UK citizens buying houses in the UK?

[RogerP]

T...... Buy to let does not increase house prices generally - the prices paid by landlords is mainly a function of the rental return ,,,,,

It increases prices. Every additional bidder at a sale pushes the price up.
Rent return has become a detail - capital value being a bigger return. So much so that keeping a property empty can make more economic sense - why bother with messy tenants when you have capital growth of 10% or more? Hence the boom in second homes - a very expensive way to have a holiday but not if you factor in the capital appreciation.

Unfortunately this is all very true.

Unfortunate for those born in small villages as the rent to buy/second-home mob push up the cost of local property to the point where youngsters can't buy in their home village and the place gradually becomes deserted outside holiday times and weekends.

 

[RogerS]

T...... Buy to let does not increase house prices generally - the prices paid by landlords is mainly a function of the rental return ,,,,,

It increases prices. Every additional bidder at a sale pushes the price up.
Rent return has become a detail - capital value being a bigger return. So much so that keeping a property empty can make more economic sense - why bother with messy tenants when you have capital growth of 10% or more? Hence the boom in second homes - a very expensive way to have a holiday but not if you factor in the capital appreciation.

Unfortunately this is all very true.

Unfortunate for those born in small villages as the rent to buy/second-home mob push up the cost of local property to the point where youngsters can't buy in their home village and the place gradually becomes deserted outside holiday times and weekends.

It is not necessarily so. This country is so small that many villages end up as dormitories for commuters. So the demand is there but supply still small and so up go prices. Basically too many people in this country and we've done our bit by not having any kids.

Or as more usually happens, as in our village, the local judge buys up lots of smaller properties as Holiday Lets...which remain empty for much of the year.. and so ripping the guts out of the village.

 

[RogerS]

Reading all the negative comments regarding 'nasty' buy-to-let shows no unbiased figures to back up the claim that they are fuelling house price rises. Anyone would think, reading the emotive rhetoric from some quarters that BTL made up a huge proportion of house sales. So just what is the proportion? 75% ? 60%? Nope. 50% then...has to be given all the gnashing of teeth in this thread. Nope. The answer? Less than 10% ...stats from HMRC

 

[Phil Pascoe]

This is the problem with statistics - that could mean none in ten areas, and 100% in the eleventh. Some areas of Cornwall have 50% - 60% second homes and btl's, others of course have none.

 

[Woodmonkey]

So if buy to lets stopped tomorrow then there would be 10% more houses available? That sounds like quite a lot to me Roger, that would certainly help around here.

 

[RogerS]

So if buy to lets stopped tomorrow then there would be 10% more houses available? That sounds like quite a lot to me Roger, that would certainly help around here.

I really don;t follow your logic. At the end of the day, a house is lived in unless it is a holiday let or second home. Does it matter if it is rented out? No it does not. It does not follow that removing buy-to-let purchasers from the market will lead to a lowering in prices. Where is your (or anyone else's) evidence to support this? Newspaper articles are not evidence although they are a useful pointer to the any original stats. But even then you have to see who commissioned the stats and what their hidden agenda might be.

phil..p...we are talking about the country as a whole.

 

[Jacob]

.... It does not follow that removing buy-to-let purchasers from the market will lead to a lowering in prices. Where is your (or anyone else's) evidence to support this? ....

Simple economics. The fewer buyers there are the lower the price. It's very easy to understand if you just make a little effort Roger. Say a buyer-to-let makes the highest bid at an auction, if he wasn't there then the next lower bid would have won.
Property has become first choice for many with surplus cash. It causes many problems - one particular one is the scarcity of start up cash for small businesses. Why take any risk when property is rock solid (perhaps) and keeps going up in value effortlessly?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

RogerS - I know we're talking about the country as a whole - but the problem doesn't affect the whole country.

 

[RogerS]

RogerS - I know we're talking about the country as a whole - but the problem doesn't affect the whole country.

According to Jacob and Mignal and a few others it does! Buy-to-Let is the spawn of Satan in their eyes.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I don't really get this debate myself. Some read the guardian, others read the daily mail. You'll never agree on anything....whats the point in arguing? Isn't it just a bit of a waste of time?

 

[bugbear]

I don't really get this debate myself. Some read the guardian, others read the daily mail. You'll never agree on anything....whats the point in arguing? Isn't it just a bit of a waste of time?

It's not about persuasion...

the nicest thing about a protest song is that it makes you feel so good. - Tom Lehrer

BugBear

 

[MIGNAL]

RogerS - I know we're talking about the country as a whole - but the problem doesn't affect the whole country.

According to Jacob and Mignal and a few others it does! Buy-to-Let is the spawn of Satan in their eyes.

Maybe but I take greater exception when people obtain houses by committing fraud.
You haven't uttered one single condemnation in respect of that type of fraud. You were in denial. You must approve. Then again I suppose Tory white collar crime largely goes unpunished. Few exceptions of course: Ducks, Brown paper bags, Archer.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I don't really get this debate myself. Some read the guardian, others read the daily mail. You'll never agree on anything....whats the point in arguing? Isn't it just a bit of a waste of time?

It's not about persuasion...

the nicest thing about a protest song is that it makes you feel so good. - Tom Lehrer

BugBear

Well. horses for courses I guess...I'd just rather be in the shed making something myself.

 

[finneyb]

Politicians of all parties are touting the high speed rail line as a (partial) solution - there are far, far more effective ways to invest for the public good.

Terry

Agreed. There is evidence that HS2 will only serve to suck talent out of the regions into London further exacerbating the problems of inflated housing costs and lack of regional jobs . As of now Liverpool to London can be done in just over 2 hours arriving Euston at 9.04am and at least hourly after that - of course you will need a mortgage for the ticket but HS2 will be more expensive.

We need a new way of working - rather than commute more need to work from home a lot of BT staff already do this with high speed internet readily available in most places. BT thereby save office space costs esp in London and the individual saves commuting time and cost.

Brian

 

[Woodmonkey]

Well. horses for courses I guess...I'd just rather be in the shed making something myself.

So I take it you're stood at your lathe turning while writing that post then Bob? Now that's multi-tasking!☺

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

stopped for a cuppa

My ebony fingerboards turned up by courier just now. Look great for apple and pear stems. Gunna give them a whirl later with a bit of luck.

 

[MIGNAL]

Politicians of all parties are touting the high speed rail line as a (partial) solution - there are far, far more effective ways to invest for the public good.

Terry

Agreed. There is evidence that HS2 will only serve to suck talent out of the regions into London further exacerbating the problems of inflated housing costs and lack of regional jobs . As of now Liverpool to London can be done in just over 2 hours arriving Euston at 9.04am and at least hourly after that - of course you will need a mortgage for the ticket but HS2 will be more expensive.

We need a new way of working - rather than commute more need to work from home a lot of BT staff already do this with high speed internet readily available in most places. BT thereby save office space costs esp in London and the individual saves commuting time and cost.

Brian

HS2. Forget it. Stupid project IMO. I think they (we) would be better served using the dosh to electrify many more parts of the network i.e. throughout the entire country.

 

[Drudgeon]

I very much agree, in fact, I cannot find a single person that thinks HS2 is a good idea.

The reality will be that the cost of using HS2 will rule out anyone earning less than 100k, so just another thing to benefit the wealthy (w) bankers.

 

[finneyb]

HS2. Forget it. Stupid project IMO. I think they (we) would be better served using the dosh to electrify many more parts of the network i.e. throughout the entire country.

I worked on HS1 project. I couldn't see the logic in that either - however what came out of the woodwork was that the EU policy was for a high speed rail network from the extremities of the EU area.

We shall see if HS2 happens or not.

Brian

 

[MIGNAL]

Aren't all the main political parties in favour though?