Any landlords on here?

[mel b3]

You've made a lot of mistakes edd , and it's not the responsibility of the local authority(Council tax payers) to bail you out . If you'd done things right and made many extra thousands of pounds in rent , you wouldn't have given any of it to the local authority ( Council tax payers).   The council isn't screwing you . As a professional landlord , you should know the rules of the game , and got any agreement with the local authority in writing.

I think it's wrong that the government pay rent to benefit claimants , who then fail to pay that rent to landlords , but , part of the reason it's like this , is because of dodgy (criminal ) landlords.

The best things that you can do in future , are  , don't rent to dole dossers or scumbags(or accept the issues that come with them) , always charge the going rate ( so that you have enough profit to cover any potential losses) , and as soon as any Tennant shows signs of being anything other than perfect , start proceedings to put them out on the street as soon as possible, and follow it through. 

A workmate has around a dozen rental properties. Any repairs that need doing , are organised within minutes of the call from the tenant,  and his rent is collected by his wife , in cash , from the front door of the rental properties ,  every Friday evening.  It's hard work for them , but that's the way that they protect their investments .

[CharlieT]

Edd

The best landlord insurance, covering rent losses and legal fees, is worth its weight in gold. Whilst it doesn't do away with the hassle rotten tenets cause, it sure does away with spending hard earned money on legal fees and non payment of rent. They also give sound advice.

[Smudger687]

47 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

Specifics are no problem, first was paying £485, going rate is £750. I offered £600 they couldn't or wouldn't pay the extra.

Second was paying £500, going rate £750 I offered £600.

Most recent was paying £750, going rate £1000. I offered £850.

They were all offered 3 months notice before any increase.

 

So on those 3 alone I was short by £765 a month. I don't know many that could or would accept that situation.

 

And as far as it being brutal for renters then it's generally a lack of thought, forward planning or ability to save or spend wisely. Not always the case I know.

The only reason I own houses is because I worked hard and didn't waste money. Never had cars on finance, never had expensive holidays, worked 90+ hours a week for a long time and invested my money. It wasn't easy and sometimes I was adding money to the rent to cover the mortgage.

Am I doing it for the benefit of my health? Or to be charitable? No I am certainly not. But does that make me the bad guy and in the wrong for applying the relevant rent?

What about when I had to subsidise the rent? Should the tenants have felt sorry for me and paid over the odds?

The council sold off (almost) all of their property to private associations. The council have a duty to provide housing. Surely they should look after private landlords instead of screwing them?

I feel a story in the local paper explaining just what the tenants were told and how I will now never accept anyone claiming benefits ad the council deliberately abuse the system to support the tenant and screw me.

 

Edd

 

 

 

 

You own 3 rental properties and you're complaining about how hard life is for you? 
 

You don't have a clue, do you mate?

[eddoakley]

13 minutes ago, Smudger687 said:

You own 3 rental properties and you're complaining about how hard life is for you? 
 

You don't have a clue, do you mate?

I own more than 3 and I'm not complaining about how hard life is. I'm complaining about how easy it is for people to abuse the system to screw over someone who has worked hard to achieve something that they can't and how they are supported by the council in screwing me.

All 3 of the tenants that I have mentioned have claimed benefits to pay the rent. They have not paid the rent. They have been told by the council to not move out regardless of the fact that they received the proper notices and have no right to be in the property. Just because I might have more than other people doesn't give anyone the right to rip me off.

 

Edd

[Vince Green]

So many landlords throwing in the towel and getting out now.

But it does sound like you have some low grade tenants.

The trouble is often the council. Don't tell me guess. I bet its a labour council?

In which case they will regard you as the enemy

[eddoakley]

31 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

You've made a lot of mistakes edd , and it's not the responsibility of the local authority(Council tax payers) to bail you out . If you'd done things right and made many extra thousands of pounds in rent , you wouldn't have given any of it to the local authority ( Council tax payers).   The council isn't screwing you . As a professional landlord , you should know the rules of the game , and got any agreement with the local authority in writing.

I think it's wrong that the government pay rent to benefit claimants , who then fail to pay that rent to landlords , but , part of the reason it's like this , is because of dodgy (criminal ) landlords.

The best things that you can do in future , are  , don't rent to dole dossers or scumbags(or accept the issues that come with them) , always charge the going rate ( so that you have enough profit to cover any potential losses) , and as soon as any Tennant shows signs of being anything other than perfect , start proceedings to put them out on the street as soon as possible, and follow it through. 

A workmate has around a dozen rental properties. Any repairs that need doing , are organised within minutes of the call from the tenant,  and his rent is collected by his wife , in cash , from the front door of the rental properties ,  every Friday evening.  It's hard work for them , but that's the way that they protect their investments .

I'm not asking to be bailed out by anyone. I'm disgusted that the local authority actively encourage tenants to screw the landlords because they have nowhere to house them after selling off their properties. 

To be honest I've had as much hassle with ''professionals'' as I have with people who's rent has been paid by benefits. If someone is of the mind to rip you off they will regardless of their employment status. With benefit claimants they get a whole local authority behind them at no cost and with no possibility that there will ever be any comeback on them.

Edd

[eddoakley]

2 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

So many landlords throwing in the towel and getting out now.

But it does sound like you have some low grade tenants.

The trouble is often the council. Don't tell me guess. I bet its a labour council?

In which case they will regard you as the enemy

''low grade'' maybe but decency should remain and as you say, being viewed as the enemy by a council who you are actually helping.

 I'm very aware of the pitfalls and the rules of the game. I'd rather make a small profit in lots of places than bigger profits in less places. Mitigate the risk. As mentioned earlier 2 tenants of 5/6 and 8+ years, not much difficulty.  They took 8 and 9 months to get out as they were backed by the council.

My rent covers the mortgage payment and leaves some for other expenses but I doubt there are many landlords that can say that the rent makes enough after tax to cover months and months of being ripped off.

Edd

[Smudger687]

20 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

I own more than 3 and I'm not complaining about how hard life is. I'm complaining about how easy it is for people to abuse the system to screw over someone who has worked hard to achieve something that they can't and how they are supported by the council in screwing me.

All 3 of the tenants that I have mentioned have claimed benefits to pay the rent. They have not paid the rent. They have been told by the council to not move out regardless of the fact that they received the proper notices and have no right to be in the property. Just because I might have more than other people doesn't give anyone the right to rip me off.

 

Edd

You don't have a monopoly on hard work, and you've done pretty well out a system that has allowed you to purchase multiple properties and then offload the mortgage payments onto the people you put into those same properties. It's people like you that have priced people like me (and probably your own tenants) out of getting on the housing ladder.

Well, as they say with any investment, there is no guarantee of return, and you could lose more money than you put in. I guess this is one of those instances. 

[eddoakley]

Just now, Smudger687 said:

You don't have a monopoly on hard work, and you've done pretty well out a system that has allowed you to purchase multiple properties and then offload the mortgage payments onto the people you put into those same properties. It's people like you that have priced people like me (and probably your own tenants) out of getting on the housing ladder.

Well, as they say with any investment, there is no guarantee of return, and you could lose more money than you put in. I guess this is one of those instances. 

I don't feel that there is justification to be bitter against me because you aren't able to buy a property.

What 'system' has 'allowed' me to own multiple properties? The system of going to work, saving and buying something with it?

It's nothing to do with ''offloading''. I work to save a deposit, at least 25% for BTL where 5% or even 0% deposits exist for first time buyers. I pay a higher interest rate on the mortgage than residential mortgages.  I pay extra Stamp Duty or Land tax. I pay tax on any profit. I pay to maintain my properties and keep them in good order for the people who rent them. I soak up the losses when tenants fail to pay or leave properties damaged.  It's a business like any other. 

Should a customer of my building company have work done and then decide not to pay because I have more money than them? 

And as far as ''no guarantee of return'' then as I don't actually have any mortgage to pay on this particular property then I wont be losing more than I put in. But I guess you will be offended that I was able to buy this property in cash?

We obviously have different opinions of morals and right and wrong so I think I'll step out of the discussion at this point.

 

Edd

1 minute ago, eddoakley said:

I don't feel that there is justification to be bitter against me because you aren't able to buy a property.

What 'system' has 'allowed' me to own multiple properties? The system of going to work, saving and buying something with it?

It's nothing to do with ''offloading''. I work to save a deposit, at least 25% for BTL where 5% or even 0% deposits exist for first time buyers. I pay a higher interest rate on the mortgage than residential mortgages.  I pay extra Stamp Duty or Land tax. I pay tax on any profit. I pay to maintain my properties and keep them in good order for the people who rent them. I soak up the losses when tenants fail to pay or leave properties damaged.  It's a business like any other. 

Should a customer of my building company have work done and then decide not to pay because I have more money than them? 

And as far as ''no guarantee of return'' then as I don't actually have any mortgage to pay on this particular property then I wont be losing more than I put in. But I guess you will be offended that I was able to buy this property in cash?

We obviously have different opinions of morals and right and wrong so I think I'll step out of the discussion at this point.

 

Edd

Just thought I'd add that I also have to pay a registration fee each year to be a landlord as well as a licence. Insurances too. Safety certs for gas and electric. And if I used an agent then I'd pay their fees too. 

Not complaining, just pointing out that it's a business. I run a few and know full well that there are overheads. But what I don't appreciate is being ripped off by unscrupulous customers who are firstly committing fraud by claiming housing benefit and not passing it on, but who are also then backed by the council and told to carry on ripping me off.

 

Edd

[mel b3]

36 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

I'm not asking to be bailed out by anyone. I'm disgusted that the local authority actively encourage tenants to screw the landlords because they have nowhere to house them after selling off their properties. 

To be honest I've had as much hassle with ''professionals'' as I have with people who's rent has been paid by benefits. If someone is of the mind to rip you off they will regardless of their employment status. With benefit claimants they get a whole local authority behind them at no cost and with no possibility that there will ever be any comeback on them.

Edd

I think it's a disgrace that the local authority help tenants to rip off landlords , but I also think that it's a disgrace that rent is paid from government and local authority funds , into the hands of private landlords (via benefits), allowing them to build a multi million pound portfolio,  at the expense of the rest of us , but , that's just the way it works. You can't expect all of the profit without any of the hassle.

Keep your eye on the ball , and you'll end up very well off indeed(as the reality is that the rest of us are paying your mortgages) . Wich is more that can be said about most of the  people that rent from you.

You're free to be a landlord , and you're free to make as much money as you want , but you can't expect sympathy when you've got it wrong , and aren't making the massive profits that you expected mate.

I know that might sound harsh , but it's just the reality of the situation. 

Mel 👍.

[Sweet11-87]

regaring my previous comment 20% and 3 months notice seems very resonable and fair from a landlord given that the market is very unreasonable and unfair imo.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Sweet11-87

[harrycatcat1]

One thing that I've not seen on this thread is the need for a guarantor. I've had very little trouble since introducing this about 15 years ago. I insist on the guarantor owning their own property. At the first sign of trouble I contact the guarantor to sort it out.

[Vince Green]

It's often reported on landlord forums that councils have encouraged tenants to break the law by stop paying rent or not vacating at the proper time.

This is wholly unacceptable behaviour and compounds the problems when the tenant gets taken to court for arrears or to be evicted.

Then they wonder why landlords won't rent to people  on benefits

[harrycatcat1]

4 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

It's often reported on landlord forums that councils have encouraged tenants to break the law by stop paying rent or not vacating at the proper time.

This is wholly unacceptable behaviour and compounds the problems when the tenant gets taken to court for arrears or to be evicted.

Then they wonder why landlords won't rent to people  on benefits

Some insurance companies won't insure houses unless they have working tenants. 

[Smudger687]

1 hour ago, eddoakley said:

I don't feel that there is justification to be bitter against me because you aren't able to buy a property.

What 'system' has 'allowed' me to own multiple properties? The system of going to work, saving and buying something with it?

It's nothing to do with ''offloading''. I work to save a deposit, at least 25% for BTL where 5% or even 0% deposits exist for first time buyers. I pay a higher interest rate on the mortgage than residential mortgages.  I pay extra Stamp Duty or Land tax. I pay tax on any profit. I pay to maintain my properties and keep them in good order for the people who rent them. I soak up the losses when tenants fail to pay or leave properties damaged.  It's a business like any other. 

Should a customer of my building company have work done and then decide not to pay because I have more money than them? 

And as far as ''no guarantee of return'' then as I don't actually have any mortgage to pay on this particular property then I wont be losing more than I put in. But I guess you will be offended that I was able to buy this property in cash?

We obviously have different opinions of morals and right and wrong so I think I'll step out of the discussion at this point. 

Higher mortgage rates and taxes are irrelevant, you're still offloading it onto the tenant so it's moot. 

Landlords, like your good self, really do live in a different world. You've contributed towards inflated house prices while simultaneously sneering at those that now can't afford them. You complain when your attempts to offload your mortgage repayments onto your tenants like a bloodsucking leech don't go to plan, and yet somehow still think that you have the moral high ground. 

Stop whinging.

[Munzy]

I’ve never rented to anyone claiming housing benefit but I did have an issue a few years back with a self-employed builder who stopped paying.

I don’t think it’s specifically an issue with local authority housed tenants, it’s an issue with scum bags, whatever their financial circumstances.

In my opinion you made a mistake in failing to increase rent by a small amount every 24 months at least - If you don’t do that you quickly get left behind and as in these cases the rises are too high for the tenant.

I think it’s quite pathetic to blame one’s inability to get on the housing ladder on private landlords. So many have exited their positions because of the long list of regulatory and taxation penalties imposed these days. The demand from private landlords is not having the impact on house prices many think IMHO.

If someone can’t afford a mortgage this is specifically due to an issue with previous credit history, a lack of earnings or a lack of deposit funds. Address this first before claiming you would be able to buy if there were no private landlords!

[harrycatcat1]

35 minutes ago, Smudger687 said:

Higher mortgage rates and taxes are irrelevant, you're still offloading it onto the tenant so it's moot. 

Landlords, like your good self, really do live in a different world. You've contributed towards inflated house prices while simultaneously sneering at those that now can't afford them. You complain when your attempts to offload your mortgage repayments onto your tenants like a bloodsucking leech don't go to plan, and yet somehow still think that you have the moral high ground. 

Stop whinging.

Look at yourself, your whinging.

[ShootingEgg]

4 hours ago, eddoakley said:

Specifics are no problem, first was paying £485, going rate is £750. I offered £600 they couldn't or wouldn't pay the extra.

Taken this from a big agent and this what they say for increase

"A typical rent increase is around 3-5% annually"

So that is a given year, not a 'ive not for 4 years so I'll put it up 20% this year as 5*4 ' etc. So ideally you should be upping it by 5% max. That would mean £485 would go up to 499..

you are asking them to find over 1300£ a year more. Maybe they genuinely cannot afford that. 

I rent out a property and I get £200 under market value for it, but that covers the mortgage and any additional tax owed. I could put it up but my tenants are good as gold so I have no need to up the rent. 

[harrycatcat1]

No criticism of the OP but I've never put any rents up, the pittance you get extra is not worth the hassle if they go. You have to advertise the property, clean it up and show time wasters around. This takes about a month so you have lost a month's rent anyway.

Any of mine that come empty now I sell. Its just all too much hassle.

[Rim Fire]

As i said i rented 2 of my houses for several yrs and never increased the rent then when i told them i was selling up they did find it hard to find another property anywhere as low as i was charging them as for the third property they are still paying the same as when they first went in i owned all 3 out right so what they was paying was to keep them in good condition they have been paying a low rent for about 8 yrs now so its given them a chance to save 

[Agriv8]

I don’t believe it’s fair blaming landlords for pushing up house prices.

councils have sold or passed there housing stock to housing associations or owners they can’t afford to build or replace.

the system is Brocken on that we can all agree how is a private landlord with 3 properties and running this as a business any different than a multinational doing the same for big profits.

If private landlords did not fill this need for rental properties who would? But if you were in the op position and worked to procure three rental properties I suspect your veiw point would be different.
 
Just have to remember there are two sides to the fence just as most subjects. 
 

Agriv8

[eddoakley]

26 minutes ago, Rim Fire said:

As i said i rented 2 of my houses for several yrs and never increased the rent then when i told them i was selling up they did find it hard to find another property anywhere as low as i was charging them as for the third property they are still paying the same as when they first went in i owned all 3 out right so what they was paying was to keep them in good condition they have been paying a low rent for about 8 yrs now so its given them a chance to save 

Did they leave at the right time and continue paying rent until they did?

When I put rents up a year ago most were understanding as they knew they were still below the going rate. The 2 that couldn't then had to find somewhere. They couldn't find anywhere for the same price that I had offered.

The most recent, the one that's really annoyed me, simply will not find a property to match and definitely not locally.

Do you know of any 5 beds in Cwmbran from less than £1k pcm??

 

Edd

[Bobba]

13 hours ago, Vince Green said:

It's often reported on landlord forums that councils have encouraged tenants to break the law by stop paying rent or not vacating at the proper time.

Added to this, the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has recently announced that he is actively looking at trialing rent caps in the private rental market.

[Hicky]

Landlords aren't pushing up house prices estate agents are and ruthlessly so. If the market will accept a 10% rise in a few months you bet they'll whack it up for the exact same standard of house on the same road, I think it will slow down due to the increase on cost of living but I have yet to see it. Also estate agents are now pushing the bull**** mantra that their inhouse FA will get the best deal....the easy way to work them out is ask in writing if they're all/open market....if not walk away.

I've experienced this(multiple times) and friends are currently(having lost out on a house after offer 10% the asking price and being able to exchange immediately).

I rent a property out, I have to give two months notice, it has to be " a reasonable" increase, there are no parameters for this and the tenant has the right to go to the council and refuse the increase if deemed unfair...I assume at some point the council has some intermediary power however it has ****all to do with them as my tenant isn't DSS.

 

I have a good long standing relationship with the tenant and issues are resolved quickly if it isn't her fault. She pays below market value at a price I'm happy with as I don't want to screw a good relationship over....for 3 years its been a happy arrangement. 

[Stuarta]

After renting out two properties for many years I sold them when I retired. I was self employed and they were my way of investing to secure a decent pension when I retired and not give my investment to a financial advisor or banker. I kept the properties in top condition but still had the odd issues occasionally, once I had to go to court to get an eviction order when they failed repeatedly to pay the rent and the local council told them to stay put.

when I sold up the family in the larger property asked me if I would sell the house to them, I saved the estate agents fees and passed this on to them along with the other costs I would have incurred. 

I think I went above and beyond what a decent landlord should reasonably be expected to do and and treated my tenants with respect, this was not always how the properties or myself were treated by the tenants or the council. I put up with this as it goes with the job.

To any landlord on here I will say, stick with it, it is a business and an investment and just reap the rewards when you sell up.