Struggling Landlords
Renting will become the norm and indeed the smart thing to do for 20 -30 year olds in 2011.
Ten years ago in certain parts of the country you could buy a 3 bed property for £25k., affordable by, say a secretary earning £7k per year. A mortgage of this size was do-able and affordable for most people. Today, on the other hand, even studio flats are being sold for ridiculous amounts of money and mortgage interest payments are preventing home-owners from having any sort of social life and creating financial difficulties.
Spiralling inflation is making the running of homes very expensive as well. Boilers breaking down the day after you have booked your holidays, leaky flat roofs and dripping taps can all become very annoying. Ongoing costliness can ultimately lead to repossession or a fast house sale.
With the news full of stories of mounting debt, repossessions and negative equity, it is completely understandable that more and more people are turning to renting. The maintenance issues can be resolved by a phone call to your landlord (if you have a good one?).
In an attempt to hold onto their property many people are becoming landlords themselves. This is OK if you are conversant with legislation (If you do not use a deposit scheme you could be fined up to three times the rent!) If you have good people skills and are able to stay calm when dealing with a non paying tenant.
Affordability is not the only issue at the moment. No one is predicting any house price growth this year and it is only a matter of time before we see an increase in interest rates. What that increase will be, again no-one is sure. The economic climate is full of uncertainty. If you need to sell your house fast, there has never been a better time to look at the flexible option of renting a home instead.
If you are intending to rent long term, you could liaise with your landlord to fit a power shower or flat screen TV for a small increase in the rent. Spend the weekend with friends rather than unblocking your u-bend! Home ownership isn’t always what it is cracked up to be!!
Francis
