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Karen Letherby
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About Me

my expertise in the industry

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Karen Letherby

From: Karen Letherby 13 March 2024 08:19 AM

Karen Letherby
With mortgage interest rates at around 6% (and often ridiculous arrangement fee amounts), it's pretty much impossible to borrow enough to buy a rental property now. Even on interest only, the rental income won't cover repayments, unless you have a huge cash deposit to put down. And actually, if you factor in all of the costs associated with buying and running a buy to let and the maintenance costs, etc, you'd make more (with less stress!) by putting any spare cash into a higher rate savings account. For me, it's very much a return to the early days when I was sold the dream of buy to let as a profit making business. Interest rates were extremely high, profit from rental income very small but the hope was that you would make money in the long run from capital appreciation on the property. Capital appreciation is probably a thing of the past! In the past it felt good being able to provide homes to families at a reasonable rent, some of my past tenants left because they had bought their own home, which I was always pleased about. But it doesn't feel good being a landlord anymore. I have one property left, agency managed. The agency suggested I could raise the rent by £50 a month and I know I the market rent is even higher. But I'm lucky to be still on a very low fixed rate mortgage so I said no, just raise it to by £20. The tenants said they couldn't afford it, maybe they can, maybe they can't but I didn't push it, they're good long term tenants who look after the house well. What's the point in putting up rents to the point where they're not affordable! As a side note, I thought I'd get the front door painted, quote is £215. Any trades person is now charging at least £200 a day. My point is, perhaps it's time to accept the demise of the private rental sector, it feels like private landlords are being hounded out of the sector anyway. It's been said many times. we aren't treated as a business, we are vilified by the media, hated by tenants and it's not worth it any more for the stress and small returns. My apinion, perhaps other landlords don't agree? There needs to be more investment in housing by the public sector and somehow a way for people to buy their own homes without lining the pockets of property developers and pushing up house prices further.

From: Karen Letherby 12 September 2023 08:43 AM

Karen Letherby

From: Karen Letherby 08 September 2023 18:05 PM

Karen Letherby

From: Karen Letherby 03 March 2021 09:53 AM

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