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Personally, I hope he fails. Which sounds selfish but is driven by an anti-selfishness. The housing crisis in the UK is made worse by buy-to-rent schemes taking
by buro9 12y ago
Personally, I hope he fails. Which sounds selfish but is driven by an anti-selfishness. The housing crisis in the UK is made worse by buy-to-rent schemes taking advantage of the incredibly low interest rates and government supported incentives to reduce the cost of housing.
Buy-to-let housing, as an investment vehicle, is fairly sickening in the UK. It traps the less wealthy into an almost indentured existence, with them spending the majority of their earnings to pay your mortgage and give you your profit. Their lack of future buys yours.
I'm all for people earning wealth, but do it by enriching their lives in some way. As a software dev able to create things that could help provide value for others, isn't that a better way?
- edem 12y agoI don't see your point. Those people will rent a flat no matter you offer yours to let or not.
- jacquesm 12y agoProperties bought at above-market values financed with cheap credit (low interest) tend to inflate rental prices.
- fennecfoxen 12y agoProperty bubbles notwithstanding, the underlying dynamics of supply and demand tend to inflate rental prices a lot more than interest rates, unless the interest rates are so crazy they're affecting the price of money itself. and in the UK, there is "[...] a long-standing mismatch between supply and demand. Since 2004 Britain’s working-age population has risen by nearly 4m, the number of homes by just 1.8m." http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21602699-housing-market-huge-problem-britain-blame-government-not-banks-very http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21602699-housing-marke...
- cliveowen 12y agoCame here for the same exact thing, I was wondering if it's actually legal to take a mortgage on a house and then rent it out to third parties.
- jacquesm 12y agoAlmost all property that is rented out is somehow financed. Even big housing developments. The 4:1 leveraging the article details is actually quite mild compared to some schemes out there.
- arethuza 12y ago"I was wondering if it's actually legal to take a mortgage on a house and then rent it out to third parties" Of course it is legal - why shouldn't it be? Mind you - you have to tell whoever gives you the mortgage that it's a "Buy to Let" mortgage - but a lot of mortgage providers offer them e.g. http://www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/buy-to-let/ http://www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/buy-to-let/
- fennecfoxen 12y agoIt may also affect your ability to qualify for certain government subsidies, guarantees, et cetera, depending on what your government offers.
- hackerboos 12y agoA lot of people are buying houses on regular mortgages moving out of the property and then renting the property out. You are supposed to inform your bank when you do this - but many do not because banks will increase interest as you are effectively converting to a buy-to-let. I don't know anyone that has informed their bank and non-enforcement of this rule is allowing people with 5-10% deposits obtain buy-to-let mortgages when normally they would require 25%. Oh and it's not legal. It's a breach of contract if you do not inform your bank.
- arethuza 12y agoI don't think it's usual to describe breaking a contract as "illegal" - that's generally used for something that breaks laws.
- hackerboos 12y ago