NewYorkie

I would prefer to sell to my tenant, but if she can't/won't buy [at a very attractive price], then it will be on the open market, and she and her family will have to find somewhere else to live. The only obstacle, as far as I can see, is her deposit, because the mortgage payments would be less than half her rent [which is increasing by 9% in January].... Read More

To my knowledge, anything over £325k gifted within the 7 years before your death, is subject to taper relief.... Read More

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IHT must be paid before Grant of Probate, but until Probate is granted, beneficiaries often don't have access to funds. But not to worry, you can take out a loan or pay HMRC over 10 years at extortionate interest. However, if your estate included a pension pot, there would have normally been some money free of IHT to pay towards the IHT bill. But now, your pension provider will have to pay IHT on your pension pot, and your beneficiaries will also have to pay tax on whatever is left. Criminal!... Read More

The government is betting the shop on growing the economy, but everything it's done so far is anti-growth... and anti-British

There was an excellent article in the Sunday Times by Matthew Syed... 'The West is living in a fantasy land of free money. Our friends watch on horror, our enemies in delight.'
https://www.thetimes.com/article/153f0f46-3be6-4b90-8131-e8d0315a9f90?shareToken=49594f5fead725eec006abad91eecb78... Read More

It's not only small businesses which have been attacked with the NI increase, it's also the large corporates, where we are already seeing large-scale redundancies e.g. car makers, who are also having to cope with the net zero quota nonsense.

There are no jobs for those who have been accustomed to decent earnings for skilled work.

Consequently, the welfare budget, which is already under pressure through all the long term sick, feckless scroungers, and immigrants, will see a dramatic increase, with fewer workers to pay for it.

This is certainly a government of change... for the worse!... Read More

They did, but not to the same standard.... Read More

I'm now 70 and have been selling since 2016, when I was earning a decent salary and my rental income was about to hit £55k with high mortgage values. S24 did it for me, and then I got covid badly at the very start of it, and a feckless tenant ended my 25 year PRS love affair with a £20k bill. I now have one BTL remaining because the tenant has been pretty good over 7 years and her daughter has a young child.

Why, when the rental income barely covers my costs, and there are plenty of better places to invest for better returns for zero effort, should I have to expose myself to tenant hassle [she's started to complain about little things since I increased her rent to near market rent!], the risks of the RRB, and the constant vilification from Labour, shelter, et al?... Read More

My sister put her first [and only] BTL in the capable hands of the council for 3 years. She had spent a fortune refurbishing it to a high standard, and against my advice, went with the council because she and her husband had no time to manage it.

When she asked about inspections, she was told they hadn't done one for 6 months, and told her she was not permitted to inspect her own property. She went with a clipboard and knocked on the door. She was appalled at what she found.

Her new carpets had been ripped up and the floors were covered in newspaper soaked with urine and dog faeces. Drug paraphernalia everywhere. Her new kitchen doors were hanging off, as was the oven door. Apparently, druggies hide their gear in the cupboards above the oven and stand on the open door to reach it. The best was in the sitting room, where she found the tenant was breeding pit-bulls.

When she told the council, she was admonished for inspecting.... Read More

That was my thought on reading the headline. Written by children!... Read More

I have increased my remaining rent 3 times by 9%, to the point it is almost at the market rent [my fault for being a bad landlord and keeping my rents low!]. But my mortgage rate means I am still making a loss over the year [leasehold flat].

I have made my tenant very aware of the precarious position she is in, should I be unable to charge a reasonable rent. I will need to sell, and she won't find another similar flat locally at that rent. So far, I haven't heard a word from her following my latest s13.... Read More

Do not let to a tenant who doesn't speak English. Clearly, they will not be able to fully understand the terms of an AST, and will not have a job due to not speaking English.... Read More

This is not about housing legal aid, it's more money for immigration cases.... Read More

That is certainly one dividing line, but another is whether a LL is incorporated or not. I would also factor in the impact of BTR.... Read More

You could be tempted to ask, but what if I am?... Read More

I think she was responsible for the figures.... Read More

You make an interesting point.

If a landlord is declared bankrupt, and/or has their property repossessed, can the tenant be evicted under the new rules? How long would it take for a bank to be granted possession [my eviction took 15 months]? How will the banks react if forced to wait months when they aren't receiving any mortgage payments? It will be interesting to see if banks are given preferential treatment by the courts.... Read More

I've just put my remaining rent up 9%, for the 3rd year running, and still don't make a profit (leasehold issues!). The acts of a bad landlord who didn't increase his rents for 7 years, and was then hit for £20k by a feckless tenant.

No more Mr Bad Guy!... Read More

Excellent summary.

I have a single BTL remaining, and will sell as soon as I can. After 25 years as a landlord, I will enjoy my retirement with no tenant pressures.

The numbers simply don't stack up, and the pressure is too great, leading to severe mental health issues for many landlords. This is something politicians refuse to acknowledge. Only tenants have mental health problems!

Of course they can do the sums just like we can; many are landlords themselves (at least one, a rogue landlord!), but to do so would be inconvenient.

I was forced to stop work in 2020 due to covid, but before that, I was trying to sell a digitised and AI-enabled courts solution to the UK government. I proposed a focused solution to deal with 'Evictions' (I was going through a lengthy and costly eviction at the time!), and which could have been implemented quickly and cost-effectively. I was told they were too far advanced with their big digitisation programme to consider anything different. 4 years on, and nothing worthwhile has been delivered, and when/if it ever does get delivered, like all big government technology solutions, they will end up with something which is already technically outdated, way over budget, costly to update and maintain, and not fit for purpose.... Read More

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