43 Properties And Ready To Retire

To say that I’m jaded with how the property rental business has been vilified and increasingly taxed, legislated against and reviled by public opinion over recent years is an understatement. I’ve had my fill and need to get out.

I’ve been following Mark Alexander and his wife both here, and on Facebook, growing increasingly envious of their lifestyle now they have left the UK. In fact I’m planning to do pretty much the same thing as they have done and emigrate to Malta.

I met with Mark and his wife in Malta a few months after they first went over there. I paid for a few hours of consultation time and realised that wasn’t really enough. Mark has so much experience and knowledge I wanted to suck as much information out him as possible. Therefore, I came up with a cunning plan and took them to a nice restaurant and had a good three or four hours getting to know them both a lot better. That was a great investment, although it might have been cheaper to pay for the extra consultancy than the amount of food and drink we managed to consume!

I purchased most of my properties in the mid 90’s though to the mid naughties and I haven’t yet decided whether to sell up. However, if I do I might as well pay CGT on gains since April 2015 as opposed to paying CGT on gains from when they were first purchased! Apparently, this is automatic as soon as I become resident in Malta, providing I stay out of the UK (except for holidays) for at least five years.

The other idea I’m toying with is handing over the management of my portfolio to LettingSupermarket.com, as Mark did before he went to Malta. I appreciate this is very different to selling up, because decisions still need to be made and work still needs to be done. However, it seems a decent half way house if I am am able to work say 20 hours a week as opposed to the 60+ I spend running my business and managing everything myself. I predict my income will probably drop by about 20% if I do this. I arrived at this figure on the basis that I will have to pay other people to do things I could do better myself. If I’m over-rating the value of my own abilities then so be it and I will be much better off. I’ve crunched the numbers and I think I’ve thought this all through very deeply, perhaps even too deeply. I hope to be on my way to Malta by the end of next month and if you’re reading this Mark, it would be great to meet up for a few beers when I get settled in.

I’ve been to Malta several times since, and have just got back. The grand opening of the Valletta 2018 City of Culture event was spectacular. You missed it Mark, but it seems you are having a good time in the Russian snow. I am very pleased to see from Facebook that you are feeling better following your health scare a few weeks ago. On that note, I’ve heard the hospitals in Malta are very good but I have private medical cover here and would probably do the same there.

Apart from having to endure family and friends wanting to visit me all the time for a free holiday, and having 300 days of sunshine every year, am I missing anything?

Les

Note Added By Mark Alexander

It will be great to meet up when you’re settled Les, the first round is on me 🙂

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