I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Kacin Alexander

I have to agree with much of Angelas comments. As a landlord I can assure you that most months I barely cover my costs. Last month a roof repair wiped out any 'profit' for months.
The property is my insurance for the future, either for myself or for my children who will be looking for a place to live. It'll provide that vital first step for them and hopefully a pension for me.

To target those who buy to let (btl - and no I'm not one, but I know those who are) is akin to blaming a teacher for failing a pupil if there were not given resources to teach them with. The reaon many people btl is to protect their future in an uncertain world. Governments are not doing enough to help those whose pensions have taken a bashing or who fear retirement with a small income. Tax on pensions are paid twice - first when you worked and then again when you later draw them. Couple this with the fear that although they may still be working their own children may not be able to afford to buy so a btl can be a realisable asset. If it's in a student town then it can be cheaper paying a mortgage for the house your student child lives in rather than paying halls of res or other rents. The main drivers are financial safeguards not greed. The average btl is usually a small house that affords a little rent that may just cover the mortgage. If governments listened to voter's worries then this growing trend would not continue.

I agree most btl investors have invested for their future after panicking that pensions won't pay up and nobody is blaming them for that. However, some FTBs, particularly young FTBs have also panicked that they won't get on the housing ladder, risking taking on large, unmanageable loans. I believe this has driven up prices for starter homes in most desirable areas artificially. (There have been lots of new homes built aswell as existing stock in my city but the population has actually gone down in the last decade).
I for one did not buy my first house until after a long time out studying as a mature student until I was 38 years old and I had to put a 35 per cent deposit to make it affordable( no help from mum & dad bank either). It still works out better than renting, but not much money left to put away for my pension years now!

You can't put all the blame on BTL investors. Step back and look at the whole picture, well at least a bigger picture. Millions of people have looked forward to future years, mostly those people with excess money above their normal standards of living or those with good equity in their properties. The government has made people aware and responsible for their future years on the fear that there will be nothing in the government coffers for them to rely upon. Financial institutions have backed developers and advertised their wares in all manners they can. For the last 12 or more years people and not just the older ones have move from more expensive areas to less expensive areas for retirement or a better quality of life. The thing you get when you have less debts.
This movement has held prices high and the rate of movement has caused panic in housing markets, after all we've all seen property's being sold for far in excess of their asking price. To add fuel to this there are certain estate agents who have pushed forward property prices in order to gain the sellers business.
The effect of this is that first timers cannot get on the ladder in their area unless they wait and save but they cannot save as fast as the prices escalate. As we snowball along there come a stage when things stagnate.
The BTL market has a good place at this present time. These owner are at a point where they are subsidising the housing cost of their tenants. To explain it more clearly if a landlord buys a property for £120,000 that money could attract 5 to 6 per cent interest from a bank without any worries. However the tenant would only be paying £450-£500 per month to live here. Therefore the landlord is gaining less from the tenant than the bank. Also and more importantly if the tenant were to buy a similar property the mortgage would be far in excess of the rent they are currently paying. Almost double. The icing on the cake in the tenants favour is that if times are so desperately hard and they become unemployed or suffer a similar fate then this country has an excellent social record for helping those people out.
If the landlord falls into trouble then the social state say tough sell the property and sort yourself out. Great when the housing market has faltered.

Im curious to know what the impact will be when the high percentage of BTL's pass on their nesteggs to their kids to help them get on the ladder - say 10-20 years from now?
There'll be a shortage of first time buyers coming to the rest of the market as they'll already have a house 'waiting' for them from mum & dad!

The people complaining about btl are only jealous that they don't have a property which they rent out. I have a flat which i rent out and now have been able to pay off the morgage.I pay tax on the income i receive from the rent so stop having a go at us landlords.(I probably pay more tax than the complainers)Stop moaning and turn yor spare time into earning your fortune.
www.jonathanfenwick.com

pensions are nothing these days, so unless you are employed by the govenment look to work untill you drop.

I have 3 BTL's, started 6 years ago. For the last 18 months 2 have shown a slight profit, after Tax, bills, and accountancy fees. one flat I am having to sell as it COST me about 1400 per year to run.

BTL is a good thing in the long run if i sold all 3 tomorrow I could take my profit 150k and live in spain.( less capital gains tax)

my 3 kids still live at home the oldest 30 yrs. I could not GIVE them my BTL,s as they will still have to pay the mortgage and live in Clacton, but they all work in London.

No one likes to think of getting old but what are you going to do at 60-65. Could you afford to live with council tax, gas and electrick at £30pd car tax at £200pa and paying to park everywere unless you have a garage or drive.

I agree with Angela - 8th Feb but BTL investors may have had a slight impact on price rises but I think by far the biggest reason is the practice of land banking by the larger developers. They prevent smaller developers buying land to build affordable housing and therefore control the prices because of a shortage of land. Also in the late 1990s or early 2000s (can't remember exactly) there was a plethora of TV programmes, books and and expensive courses encouraging us to invest in property either to rent out or to sell on to make a profit - Sarah Beany's got a lot to answer for (I think she is great at what she does though). Everyone thought they could make millions from property and jumped on the band wagon at a time when interest rates were very low - as little as 3.5% and 4% in some cases.