A landlord's tale

Suspiciously quiet

2009-07-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

There has been relatively little action as regards to our buy-to-let in the last 6 months. I can't help but find it a little suspicious.

We've had so many dramas since we bought the place that we're just always expecting the worst, but the lettings agent has been fine and the tenants have renewed their contract without trouble.

My only concern is what will happen if interest rates rise quickly and suddenly. I know I should be putting the spare cash from the rental income each month into a savings account in order to make a cushion if the worst happens, but since we always made a loss previously there isn't much anyway.

I'd still like to sell it as I don't think it's worth keeping any longer. But I don't want to sell at a loss. If I keep it, how long until it appreciates in value enough to make it worth while? Who knows, but I'm worried about being lulled into a false sense of security. Is the place just waiting for the right moment to ruin my day?

I hope I'm not the only one who feels like this!

A brief reprieve!

2009-01-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

This whole interest rate business has been a godsend for me and my buy-to-let.

I worried my way through the autumn and a good part of the winter as the date approached when my fixed rate would end. Unable to sell the flat as originally planned, due to plummetting house prices I thought we surely faced certain doom come December.

But the interest rates have been kind. Or rather the Bank of Englad has. The new interest rate of 1.5% will surely keep the wolf from the door for a few months at least. We are lucky in that our mortgage payments have been reduced by around £100, finally taking us into the black against the rent. Of course it's still cutting a little close to the bone when all the costs like service charge is taken into account, but overall we're doing much better. For now anyway.

I can't let myself get too complacent. Should the rates take a sudden flight to the stars I would be royally screwed. With capital in the property at an all time low and banks asking for extortionate loan to values on mortgages, it's unlikely that we'd be able to get a good deal.

So, do we tie ourselves into a mortgage while rates are rock bottom so that we get the best of the worst rates? Or wait and ride out the eye of the storm to see what happens?

Either way, the rate decrease has somewhat eased my worry about my house in probably negative equity in the next year or two. We won't be forced to try and sell just yet.

Could a dirty oven be my downfall?

2008-10-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

We haven’t had a tenant for a month. Earlier this week our lettings agent calls up and says that a couple of students have viewed the flat and decided to take it. Yippee!

But we haven’t heard from the lettings agent since then, which frankly is worrying. Did they change their mind? Did their parents refuse to fork out the rent money (which has to be paid in advance on account of them being students)?

The Lettings Agent – let’s call them LP – has informed us that the oven in the property is not clean enough. This pisses me off. I spent an hour cleaning the damn thing with a steam cleaner and some cilit bang. OK it wasn’t in mint condition when I’d finished but what do they expect - the thing is 3 years old now.

So do I fork out for a professional cleaner to give it the once over? LP are pushing for that option of course, but that could just be so that they get some nice commission on the work. I’ve become cynical about everything they do – it was largely their fault that our last tenant moved out. But if I don’t, will I lose the tenant?

It’s tough being a landlord right now. I have friends with property portfolios who I used to envy but who are now knee deep in the shit because they’ve over-geared their properties. They are losing about three grand a year and that figure will rise as each property comes up for remortgage. There are dark mutterings about bankruptsy afoot.

Our own buy-to-let mortgage comes to the end of its fixed rate in January. What will happen? Maybe I should just leave it on a variable and wait for interest rates to fall as the recession takes hold. They say rates could fall as low as 3.5% - ironically the rate at the height of the property boom.

The greed of man and estate agent (and possibly the dirty oven) will be the downfall of all.