So what is George Osborne really up to - Is it a political dash as part of his leadership offensive or is it a genuine attempt to sort our housing woes out ?
Whatever his intent , it sends a contradictory message to the army of buy to let SME owners , who are carefully looking towards a retirement nest egg. Do the Tories still support them and their aspirations or are they now rich enough to look after themselves whilst he tries to drag up those with less money into the vaunted middle income space ?
I am not sure, but what I do know is that my next buy to let house is going to cost me 3% more
Have your clients been queuing up asking you how to avoid it ? I bet they will after reading today's financial columns
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Replies (16)
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STOP BUYING THEM
Let people who want to live in them buy them, good on Osborne, you are denying people the right to their own home and forcing them to pay more rent than your mortgage, generation rent needs a hand I hope he taxes you to the hilt, maybe he can start taxing unrealised gains next
Denying the right to buy
I am absolutely not denying anybody the right to own their own home. They have as much right as I did when I started out.
Why do you think that I am against such rights just because I have a portfolio of buy to let ?
I am a professional landlord who takes a pride in his properties and builds relationships with tenants so that if they fall into arrears I don't come down on them like a ton of bricks but work to help them keep on track. It also enables me to do improvements for them that may not be necessary but will be helpful to them.
I must admit that I find your comment about being taxed to the hilt somewhat spiteful and nasty . Taxing landlords to the hilt means they have less money to reinvest for the benefit of their tenants. Why is it that landlords are all tarred with the brush of irresponsibility and self serving greed ?
A good stock of rental properties that offer value for money is something that many workers prefer because they move around a lot or are unable to qualify for mortgage because of poor credit. Taking on the latter is a risk for a landlord but we are still willing to help them by renting a house to them.
Re: Denying the Right to Buy
George Osborne cannot afford to by a house in London on the salary he earns as Chancellor. This is a major problem. It doesn't just affect low income households, it affects everyone who isn't in the richest 5% of earners.
I have a few BTL’s. People who rent my houses do want to live in them. Not everyone dreams of home ownership.
If we continue to be taxed to the hilt, landlords won’t come out of the market. The market price for rent will just increase.
no it wont
rents cannot continue to rise willy nilly , If these measures dont work then hopefully rent controls will come in , i am generally against market intervention but not in this case and i would tax gains on non PPR houses at 50%
Did you get shafted by a landlord in a former life?
The market needs BTL’s. It’s as simple as that. There are people that like being able to up and go, not have the responsibility of a mortgage, having someone pay for repairs etc.
With the schemes out there to first time buyers, you can get a reasonable property for as little as a £5000 deposit. I don't think £5k is a particularly large barrier to overcome.
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Given housing associations are being forced to sell off their stock, local authorities dont own many homes, who exactly do you let from exactly? Ie when a student? When you start out? Its odd to suggest everyone can buy right away. And that's just the middle class people.
Then there are all the people who will simply never be home owners. People who's lives are in constant chaos, people who cant manage their finances, people who just dont earn much or dont WANT to own a house. Where do they live?
The public sector decided it did not want to let homes.
So the private sector thought an army of small landlords has taken over.............who are not all being told they are not wanted.
And there seems nothing to replace it other than large corporates for whom the tax problems dont apply. Obviously.
Avoidance
The details of the new legislation do not seem to have been released yet. However it seems that the 3% SDLT could be avoided by purchasing through a corporate or as a main home and subsequently letting.
When stamp duty was reduced for first time buyers the main beneficiary was the seller able to charge a higher price for the property. Some of the 3% will be borne by the seller. BTLetters will not simply pay more unless rents rise proportionately.
A bubble is developing here and it is right that Mr Osborne has acted to dampen demand - it remains to be seen how effective this will be.
Bubbling over
Clearly a bubble is an issue and the chancellor is right to try something. It reminds me of how I take some tricky business decisions . I tell the staff that we will fly by the seat of our pants and watch carefully how things develop
Osborne is doing exactly that - he knows that doing nothing is too dangerous so he is trying something that has a rationale to it, but no doubt other levers will be pulled back and forth in coming months
If this goes pear-shaped it may be time to invest in cardboard boxes to rent to the newly created homeless caused by Osborne's policies
London houses
I am not aware of any rules forcing people to live in London . Market forces should dictate that if people cannot afford to live in the capital they will move elsewhere and prices will fall in said city.
Actually I can't think of any compelling reason why anybody wants to live in such an overcrowded city that takes so long to get from A to B even if it is round the corner
well there's truth in that FS
and no never had a problem with a landlord #cheeky , its not about me its the principle
No choice
Due to work commitments, sometimes there is no choice but to live in Greater London. I am very glad Mr Osbourne is trying to do something..
Work commitment
Presumably you are rewarded to reflect the increased housing costs .....
Sadly not!
Life would be good if that were the case Flying Scotsman..
@FS
I doubt he is , you appear a little out of touch ;-)
Out of touch
Takes time for news to percolate north
We aren't a powerhouse quite yet :)