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Martin Taylor

Landlord

1854 Profile Views

About Me

Living on the South Coast of the UK I have a small portfolio which I manage myself.

my expertise in the industry

Interior Design and space planning 25 years experience
landlord 20 years experience

Martin's Recent Activity

We halved our number of rental properties recently. And the other half are not gonna last the decade. All because of constant attacks legislation and taxes. Let someone else deal with it.

From: Martin Taylor 06 March 2024 09:22 AM

The statisticians are presuming that single person households want a 1 bed property. A 2 bed provides a better lifestyle. Enabling house guests to stay and providing much needed storage space. Modern builds often lack storage space.

From: Martin Taylor 02 March 2024 11:18 AM

Time to get out, move across to Commercial property or do something else completely.

From: Martin Taylor 12 February 2024 11:14 AM

Some landlords are right at breaking point with cash flow and maybe an expensive repair request may push them over the edge and the decision to sell is the only solution. Some Tenants demand the Landlord upgrade all sorts of things when in reality if they owned that property they f Often wouldn't be putting thier own hands in thier pocket to pay for upgrades. Often they won't even sweep the front path or keep their windows clean but often regard the landlord as an endless source of money. And if we finally decide to bail out by using the legal route of a Section 21 Notice then we are considered to be acting maliciously which is about 95% not the reality. We've reduced our portfolio by 50% because of finances and yes we are using S21 because that's what it is there for. If it gets taken away then prepare for a tsunami of LL leaving the sector.

From: Martin Taylor 11 January 2024 07:23 AM

I think one problem is young people now have so many expenses that are accepted as basic living expenses that we didn't have 30 plus years ago. But the extra luxuries like overseas holidays. Constantly buying new clothes, shoes. Home wares and streaming accounts must be sacrificed. I lived off Beans on toast for a whole year when I was saving.

From: Martin Taylor 08 January 2024 09:36 AM

I'm sure the AI has also deterred many people/ couples who simply want a three night break near a town or city with some action.

From: Martin Taylor 22 December 2023 12:22 PM

I'm pretty sure you CAN RECYCLE solar panels.

From: Martin Taylor 14 December 2023 09:30 AM

I've just sold both my BTL flats in London. I might have considered remortgaging them again and just accepting the lower profit from them but certainly not with the RRB waiting in the wings. That's two fewer properties available pushing local rents up higher. And I feel very happy to have escaped before the sh1t hits the fan.

From: Martin Taylor 11 December 2023 17:10 PM

Surely it will become a quarterly task for your accountant? I expect they have an interest in this scheme because they have a sudden massive workload every year under the current system.

From: Martin Taylor 24 November 2023 08:35 AM

Regardless of whether your property is encumbered with finance costs or not (which is none of anyone's business) If you don't keep your rents up with the market rate then guess what happens?? your cheap rent attracts Tenant's on the lower income levels, and guess what happens then?? you are statistically opening yourself up to a much higher chance of rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, Etc. This is all documented with statistics that keep appearing in articles I've read over the years. Whilst most people on benefits are decent tenants, most problem tenants happen to be on benefits. read that again.

From: Martin Taylor 21 November 2023 13:01 PM

I saw a poster on the Tube yesterday from the Mayor of London boasting that London is in a golden age of council house building. They have built 23,000 homes since 2018. It's laughable, that's a drop in the ocean. Across the country we need more than 300,000 new homes every year.

From: Martin Taylor 21 November 2023 10:06 AM

We are selling those with mortgages. We've had to move three sets of Tenants out which has been awful for one couple because they've had below market rent for 12 years. That's £20k in their pocket instead of ours. Now they can't afford the local rent. But worse than that they can't get onto any letting agents books. Nobody will take them they are retired on benefits. It will go through the courts and they will end up in temporary accommodation. A hotel room probably. All because of government meddling.

From: Martin Taylor 07 November 2023 09:02 AM

I think that was sarcasm

From: Martin Taylor 21 September 2023 15:21 PM

the build to rent units will be nice at first but the Tenants will realise they are being fleeced. and it will become a ghetto of depression and anti social behaviour.

From: Martin Taylor 21 September 2023 14:29 PM

I've read that we now need 300,000 new homes per year just to keep up with demand. it used to be 200,000 in the 90s and i don't think there's ever been a year when we hit the target.

From: Martin Taylor 21 September 2023 14:26 PM

Seriously you all think climate change is a hoax? are you ignoring the wildfires? what about the steady growth in greenhouse gasses since the start of the industrial revolution? Yes climate has changed in the past but under normal conditions it takes millions of years to change. have you considered this might just be cognitive dissonance? Nobody likes change, especially if it is super inconvenient.

From: Martin Taylor 30 August 2023 18:03 PM

It's hard to remember what it was like back in the day. single glazed sash windows which let so much of the outside weather in, no central heating and only one gas fire in the living room. We would dash out of bed down to the kitchen and Mum would put on all four gas burners to warm the kitchen up so we could get dressed. Now we've got clean, warm, sealed and insulated homes but it all comes at a cost.

From: Martin Taylor 09 May 2023 14:52 PM

I'd like to see the questionnaire that produced these statistics. Often the questions you really want to answer are not on there.

From: Martin Taylor 14 March 2023 16:53 PM

I lived in my ex local authority flat for a decade and so did countless other Tenants without condensation and mould problems. Then suddenly one pair of young women moved in and it became a real problem. They didn't acknowledge any of my written advice about how to deal with it. they didn't adjust their lifestyle, they just wanted to eat sleep and wash in a property then leave it all day with no open windows and no heating on while they went out and did their careers and their social life. but oh no! this is the landlords problem. they became a real pain and thank god they moved out but it left me with a big repair and redecoration bill. No other Tenant ever caused this problem. Condensation and mould is the tenant's responsibility, they need to read the terms of their lease and act responsibly.

From: Martin Taylor 03 March 2023 11:54 AM

One of my properties is an Ex local Authority flat in London in a 1960s block. I phoned the Housing Association who manage the estate about this EPC C business. They told me they had no plans at all to address the issue until they get a directive from the Government. They hinted that these types of dwellings 'might' be exempt on the day the EPC C legislation arrives. So i wait to find out how and when i should react. But there are a vast number of these types of dwellings, this is a problem that isn't going to be solved quickly. I imagine the list of exempted properties is going to be HUUGE.

From: Martin Taylor 02 March 2023 12:08 PM

I allowed a cat in the last tenancy, the first time ever. The property was furnished. now I discover on vacating that the two leather sofas have been used as a cat scratching post, on all the corners. Problem is the sofas while looking completely decent and being still comfortable where over 10 years old. Leather looks good for many years. so now I find i may not be able to claim anything meaningful against the cost of replacing old sofas. but I still need to replace them so i loose money. I am an animal lover but what benefit is there for me to accept pets?

From: Martin Taylor 08 February 2023 10:08 AM

it doesn't stop an existing Tenant wanting to get an animal though

From: Martin Taylor 08 February 2023 09:58 AM

That one line worries me. Gove wants to "stimulate right sizing to release large family homes". So that sounds like he wants to take back HMOs to house large families.

From: Martin Taylor 26 October 2022 08:39 AM

From: Martin Taylor 24 September 2022 11:18 AM

2 year rent freeze on the horizon will cause so much disturbance. I thought these politicians were supposed to be educated. So now we can't vote for Tories or for Labour.

From: Martin Taylor 02 September 2022 08:44 AM

I'd happily sell back to the Council if they will pay market price, but I seriously doubt that. Why should I lose thousands in profit to correct a bad policy?

From: Martin Taylor 12 August 2022 14:53 PM

From a business perspective it doesn't make sense to accept LHA tenants. Time to change the business model or just pull out of it completely and invest in something else instead.

From: Martin Taylor 02 August 2022 10:10 AM

I agree the rents are extremely high during the festival. And flights during school holidays as well. This type of opportunistic greed is not a great endorsement of our Capitalist society. Where is the moderation and consideration for the fellow man?

From: Martin Taylor 25 July 2022 09:24 AM

Will this make extending a short lease more expensive now? The freeholder will be trying to make extra money now. And what happened to the policy to control the cost of extending a short lease?

From: Martin Taylor 02 July 2022 14:35 PM

Did a human proof read this article? This is the sort of blunder I would expect from the Daily Mail!. If furnishing an ordinary flat pushes the rent up to over £9000 pm I'll eat my hat!. And the Plymouth data looks equally wrong. Where is the common sense?

From: Martin Taylor 24 June 2022 10:16 AM

They will amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 so that landlords can request that their tenants buy pet insurance. I'm not seeing the right language here. We need to be able to take out the pet insurance ourselves so we know it is in place and it is appropriate. But charged to the Tenant. There is a whole can of worms opening up with this pet issue.

From: Martin Taylor 18 June 2022 13:41 PM

Caller: I followed your advice and I've not paid my rent for over two years and I've managed to keep living rent free in my flat but now the bailiffs have kicked me out and I'm on the street homeless, can you help with accommodation? Shelter: sorry we don't provide shelter we just attack Landlords that do. Have you tried getting on the social housing register because no private Landlord will touch you now that you followed all our advice.

From: Martin Taylor 14 May 2022 11:21 AM

Good riddance to Fergus Wilson, he and his wife gave all Landlords a bad reputation. Racist old dinosaur.

From: Martin Taylor 12 May 2022 13:35 PM

I am a Landlord and I've never used S21 to evict a Tenant. But I do have a middle class educated professional friend who rents their home through the PRS and they told me they had to move home three times in succession after staying less than a year in each case. The reasons were various, the landlords decided to change their investment strategy, they wanted the property for their family, they wanted to sell. So while i am concerned that the law is now weaker for Landlords, i can accept there has been a lack of security for tenants. It will now be even more important to do thorough background checks and only take good Tenants. leave the trouble makers for social housing and the Government to sort out.

From: Martin Taylor 12 May 2022 13:30 PM

There will be cases of some particularly difficult Tenants persecuting their landlord while staying within their rights. Tiny little maintenance issues will become escalated unless Landlords jump at the tenants call.

From: Martin Taylor 10 May 2022 13:09 PM

If Tenants feel they are 'living in limbo, never truly able to settle' then they should apply for a council house and see how long that waiting list is, and while they are waiting for that, do what everyone else does, reign in all the unnecessary spending on vehicles, holidays, gadgets, clothes, ready meals etc and save for a deposit to buy the cheapest property they can find. If that means moving away from their home town then that's what needs to happen. If that means having a tiny home then that's what has to happen. If they don't want to do that then rent from the PRS and shut up about it not being permanent. of course it is not permanent, its not their property!!!

From: Martin Taylor 30 April 2022 11:52 AM

Once again the Government is trying to change the PRS to make it do the job THEY are supposed to be doing by housing those tenants who clearly should be in Social Housing.

From: Martin Taylor 14 April 2022 11:47 AM

I'm alright Jack.

From: Martin Taylor 25 March 2022 01:10 AM

I'm alright Jack.

From: Martin Taylor 25 March 2022 01:09 AM

Over 600% increase in holiday let's in the last 5 years. Obviously the balance needs to be addressed. Never mind people saying " go and earn money and buy it" the wages don't allow it. How would you like your home town to be decimated like this? I'm all for making a profit while providing quality accommodation but too much of one type becomes damaging to the social structure.

From: Martin Taylor 25 March 2022 01:05 AM

Maybe these need to be bought back

From: Martin Taylor 10 March 2022 13:59 PM

What are the new taxes on property developers the article talks about I wonder?

From: Martin Taylor 08 January 2022 13:34 PM

I don't understand how a heat pump can be fitted to the rows and rows of high density terraced housing that only have small gardens or tiny concrete yards. The heat pumps make some noise i am sure, there wouldn't be enough space to have the pump far enough away from the house, you would hear that noise, and the neighbours pumps on either side. The whole idea is very awkward. So presumably a lot of homes would be forced to move to electric. Maybe that is the better option once we sort out the renewable supply a bit more?

From: Martin Taylor 18 October 2021 10:45 AM

I am full time LL but lots of my friends have one BTL and they don't declare their incomes. It winds me up.

From: Martin Taylor 11 October 2021 12:36 PM

I am a LL but a good friend told me her story, as a very good reliable Tenant she was forced to move three times in a row because Landlords wanted to do something with the property. This was London and I do think there is sometimes a culture of indifference when it comes to making more money. Sometimes we do have to consider the tenants in the scenario. It's a difficult tight rope walk I know. I want to develop my own rented property and i am giving the Tenant a few years notice so he can mentally prepare. The landlords definitely still have the upper hand at the moment and i can understand why there will be more changes coming. But if the changes make it too difficult for LL to make the profit they want then they will exit and find other investments.

From: Martin Taylor 06 October 2021 10:56 AM

Presumably good Tenants will enjoy the ease of transferring their lifetime deposit from one property to the next, there may be small deductions by the LL which would be topped up by the Tenant when they move. This virtually removes the difficulty of finding extra deposit money when they already have a deposit with the previous LL. There will be cases where a Tenant has lost their entire deposit through their own actions and I do not think the lifetime deposit scheme will be trying to smooth the way for this type of occurrence. In my own experience it is the scant minority that get into this situation so i presume the lifetime deposit scheme is not going to be set up with these people in mind.

From: Martin Taylor 06 October 2021 10:47 AM

A lot of people can't be trusted with a paint brush. It requires patience, skill and experience. Allow Tenants to decorate themselves and you'll have to re do it professionally when they leave.

From: Martin Taylor 15 April 2021 07:34 AM

Its rubbish. £2k for a tenant find? Well if you enter into anything with this lot then prepare for high fees.

From: Martin Taylor 23 December 2020 16:02 PM

It sounds like a great initiative. I'm sure that a decent chunk of Tenants will sign up for this and after 5 years they haven't saved for a deposit but enjoyed the 5 years with reduced rent.

From: Martin Taylor 21 December 2020 12:00 PM

Sounds like this is a survey of HMO tenants. They have a lot less involvement with the running of the property so yes they call the landlord for every little thing. My single let tenants just get on with it, I wouldn't step in to solve any of the basic issues in this article.

From: Martin Taylor 12 December 2019 10:03 AM

He could get in, anything seems possible after Trump. If this did happen then there would be much stricter vetting of new tenants to try to eliminate any trouble makers. This will exacerbate the already reduced PRS and there will be more homelessness due to the lack of movement.

From: Martin Taylor 25 September 2018 11:16 AM

I was born in 1967. I spent nearly 20 years renting before I bought my first property. And I worked out i spend around £75k on rent in that period. Allowing for inflation I don't think the millennials are paying much more than i did back then.

From: Martin Taylor 18 December 2017 01:47 AM

men in boxer shorts are pedophiles are they? stupid woman.

From: Martin Taylor 18 December 2017 01:44 AM

Is it even legal for the government to tax landlords differently to other businesses? Pity Cherie Blair's attempt to take them to court failed.

From: Martin Taylor 13 October 2017 10:37 AM

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