Buy To Let - Would You....

[Ric.ror]

Me again - sorry about this - but when I sell my house should I sink it all into one big buy to let and live off the rent OR two smaller ones in a less desirable area and live off the interest?

[Old_Geezer]

Where are you to live if all your money is sunk into a let out property ? You need balance. Maybe buy two and rent out one, unless that's what you imply in your second option. Difficult to tell when you refer to interest.

[youngmafbog]

Choices, choices.

If you have decided that buy to let is the way to go (remember the additional stamp duty to be paid and that the rent is not all going to be available) then I personally would be careful of the lower market.
We have been in that market for around 20 years now with as many as 5 houses and 4 flats at one time. During that time we have had good and bad tenants from drug users that trashed the place and sold everything to a nice young lady that returned the property in better condition than she got it. One of the main problems we have had was DSS, we no longer take them it is not worth the hassle. Best tenants these days are the Polish, pay up and take care of the property.
So much for Scumbag Acres. I also have friends who have rented out in better areas, problems there aare slightly different although non payment also seems to happen. hen people pay more for a property they expect more so you will get endless calls for any little thing that goes wrong.

It's a difficult one, but just make sure you go into it with eyes wide open, remember the rent you receive is not all your income.

[alavahalf]

When you say ..."Live off the interest".. have you thought about how much you will get from a cash savings a/c. Unless you sign it away for a few years, intersst rates are fairly grim at the moment.

[Ric.ror]

OG - I live in a flat that is owned currently by my mother - it's secure and I won't be evicted

[gulliver1]

What is interest??? £100 ,000 earns about £ 1,000 a year in interest
less tax,maybe, you would be earning approx £20 per week?.

[alavahalf]

Ric hasn't released any figures regarding the amount in question, otherwise Im sure we could have given him a better idea on the amount of income he might receive from his lump sum ..

But £20 a week is not an amount that will offer any standard of living. If you had twice as much in a savings a/c .. say £200k, you would still need to dip into your lump sum to survive.
It really depends on a number of factors as to whether you can indefinitely live off a lump sum :-
How much cash you have..
How much you need weekly..
How old you are..
Do you have any other form of income..
Interest rate received..
Over what period you expect to draw an income from your savings.
Inflation to be considered.
.. and that is just for starters.
An Independent Financial Adviser may be the best option for advice ... they charge by the hour, or by a percetage of the amount in question.
One I used in the past was £300 per hour or 3 % .

[Peter Pedant]

you can the math yourself
say you are in Alphaville
Unless it is central London - you wont get much below £450 p.c.m.
There arent any one-beds where I come from
so look at upper market three and four - and that will be double the price .... bu t not double the rent

ergo lots of little....

industry norm for maintenance is 30% gross
mortgage interest is not gonna be countable soon

I dont find dossers too bad - which is kinda lucky considering where I come from.

always kick off with a 6 month lease - and then if they dont pay from day one - it is much easier to kick them out under a s21 notice.

landlords let by the way
tenants rent .....

[Peter Pedant]

financial advisers...
the one I go to ( went to ) said - hmm lucky you bought houses when I told you not to .....

[alavahalf]

Peter .. never saved a penny in my life .. only invested.
It all seems so simple now ... with hindsight.
Wish I'd bought houses. ;-)

[Peter Pedant]

found I cdnt pick the stocks that went up
my father cd but he didnt really tell us how he did it

[Ric.ror]

I have not had time to read your all your answers as I am at work. I will however read them this evening and fill in any gaps I might have left.

I would like to thank you all for the time have already taken to answer - I am very very grateful

[sapelesam]

Take as much independent advice as you can get. Having been in property for over 30 years I've just sold my last rental property and I'm looking forward to peace and quiet. Everything was good until about 8 years ago when for some reason every tenant seemed to know their rights but very few understood their responsibilities.

[Ric.ror]

Okay - I'm back
I expect to reach approx £230k min when I sell my house( Agents says £250k). No mortgage and no rent to pay. If I was to rent out approx £890 pcm. But I thought I could sell, pay off debts and then buy somewhere approx £210 - £220k to rent out maybe a bungalow in a nice area to get approx £600pcm. If I then have to leave the flat (I will when my mum passes away) I can move in bungalow and rent out the flat. I am 55 years old and work pt. No dependant children.