Definitely something that I have been closely monitoring too the EPC stuff. Pricey business!! I think I will be focusing more on saving ratesā¦
Unless ofcourse some sort of positive u turny-nessā¦ surely not likely ha
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The one I need to sell has original sash windows and a beautiful huge window which would look horrendous at uPVC and cannot be done without the leaseholders permission. As I mentioned above, they donāt like me much!!
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Itās very frustrating as some properties will cost a lot of money to get them to C, and some wonāt ever get there with current model I suspect.
One of my properties is electric only, with fairly modern storage heaters that were installed some years back. But costly to run for the tenants, even with cheaper rate electric used for the charging. Iām hoping the price of solar panels come down so I can get them fitted to benefit the tenants.
I think renting out property is a foolish thing to do. Its nearly always based on the view that house prices dont go down. They do.
And this view āBuying real estate is not only the best way, the quickest way, the safest way, but the only way to become wealthy.ā
Marshall Field.
Renting one house out is about as risky as you can get, one bad tenant and you are in real trouble.
In my opinion you should be aiming to own at least 4 properties and to be a builder so you can do your own maintenance and if you canāt do it you have friends/contacts who will do it for you.
Thats the only way i would touch property.
Youāre making a lot of assumptions and opinions that arenāt backed by any facts.
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They are based on facts. Itās risk to own one property. If you have pay a mortgage and you canāt get non payer out your in trouble.
Maintenance costs are high if you have to pay someone else.
All your eggs in one basket to boot.
Depends on whose facts.
I have one property, bought as a BTL, long term tenants, fully managed by property manager so I donāt deal with emergencies/maintenance, net yield just over 7%. Iāve just fixed my BTL mortgage for 5 years at 3.84%, which seems high but I was on a variable rate before so this is low!
There was a time when this property was my biggest investment and it was very much all eggs in one basket.
But my ISAs and SIPPs combined are now more than the equity I have in the property, so perhaps itās not a question of property or stocks but both (if you can), for diversification?
Iāve been lucky that the property has an EPC rating of C, but not so lucky as it got caught in the cladding shenanigans.
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Just to addā¦when I had just one property I didnāt experience any voids etc. Had contingency funds if needed, as I do for my own mortgage etc as never know whatās around the corner.
The BTL mortgage which was about Ā£180 a month was more than covered.
Didnāt experience any non payments, but did have landlord insurance covering missed payments/court fees etc as additional safeguard.
Donāt want people to think itās all doom and gloom, but Iām just making a personal choice based on my own financial security/stress levels.
Property has served me well, but now for me itās not going to be my preferred option.
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Agree itās very personal and itās not all doom and gloom. One of my friends is about to buy her first BTL - for the right price and in the right location, it still makes financial sense. Sheās done the numbers and wonāt be over-leveraged with her borrowing.
Although my property has served me well, Iām toying with the idea of selling mine in the near future, although thereās every chance that if I do sell, I may end up just buying another one (for the right price, in the right location etc).
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Most of my net wealth is held within my properties. They have done nothing but increase in value. Bought and sold a few over the last few years so Iāve done quite well out them. Property is generally a good place to store wealth over the long term. Of course thereās always going those who suffer from negative equality such as those who over paid or canāt manage the mortage payment and being forced into a sale.
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I had a house that I rented. For 10 years, no problems, then I had 3 bad tenants on the bounce. One left it in a bloody mess, the next didnt
Pay rent aftrr 6 months and it took 6 months to evict him as he had the council helping him as they had no house for him to move into, then he tried to drop the 6 months council tax on me claiming heād moved out. The last were nearly as bad. Tried 2 different letting agencies, the first were licensed crooks. In the end, I sold it, thankfully just before Covid hit, otherwise, Iām pretty sure another lack of rental income would have finished me off. My pointā¦ Property looks a good investment, but it only takes a couple of bad judgements to lose money. A bit like investing
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Pros and cons to everything!
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Would letting agents be a choice or would that be too much of a drain, and hurt cashflow too much? I.e is that cost calculated as a % of rent?
I pay 8%+vat for my letting agent on one of my properties, some are much higher. Others I self manage.
Letting agents know all the pitfalls and all the legal stuff that changes frequently. So I would use one. My personal feeling is that successive governments are trying to make it harder for private landlords to make them sell and put more property back into circulation.
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If going for a letting agent, cheapest is not always the best way to go. 8 - 11% seems about right, Iād be a little wary of anything much cheaper.
Consider agencies which are backed by ARLA (Association of Residential Lettings Agents) or Propertymark so if they donāt do what theyāre supposed to be doing, thereās a governing body to hold them accountable.
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