Housing Shortage

[TheRightStuff]

100% agree..

if anything I'm helping because my rental charge is less than 1st time buyer would pay in a mortgage payment. I'm doing you a favour!

don't even go there. you are doing no one a favour. You are doing it for yourself. Oh and by the way theres nothing wrong with that but don't make out your some sort of charity.

[Hart-floot]

How can owning a buy to let possibly add to a housing shortage? Does a buy to let house magicaly disappear when a BTLer buys it?


tim

I think the argument is BTL reduces the amount of housing to buy, especially impacting FTB's as both groups tend to compete for the same housing stock.

If there was a genuine shortage of housing right now in the UK rents would be going up; the reality is they are stagnanting and where i live have gone down in real terms over the past 7/8 years

[Moscow Mule]

...I would probably try to use the tax system to achieve the same: increase taxation (don't know how - stamp duty, tax on ownership, mortgage payments, and/or increased Capital Gains) ...

How about removing the mortgage payment as an allowable tax expense on rental properties?

That would probably solve the lack of purchase stock quite quickly...

[tim123]

So rich people should buy all the property and the poor should give up on ever owning their own home?

Bit right wing isn't it?

I didn't say that it has no disadvantages. I am just saying that it makes no difference to the number of houses in the marketplace and therefore plays no part in there being a housing shortage (apparently).

Arguably, it has a positive effect because the existance of BTL has (almost certainly) pushed up prices. This has meant that some developments schemes are able to proceed which would otherwise have been unprofitable (particularly conversions of redundant inner city listed buildings).

tim

[tim123]

of course it adds to it. There's a shortage of houses to buy because of all the rentals. Most people are in rentals because they can't afford to buy.

The definition of a housing shortage is not "a lack of houses to buy" it is "a lack of houses to live in".

tim

[pickle]

With house prices starting to fall now/soon, will BTL landlords hold on for the long term (depsite in some cases paying more in intrest than they get in rent) or look to sell up and cash in on their capital gains while they can?

[scooterscot]

So rich people should buy all the property and the poor should give up on ever owning their own home?

Bit right wing isn't it?

Well if the poor cannot afford to buy what's the point in houses lying empty when they don't sell?

Your aiming too high...

[scooterscot]

don't even go there. you are doing no one a favour. You are doing it for yourself. Oh and by the way theres nothing wrong with that but don't make out your some sort of charity.

Charity huh, never thought of that. Will my rental income be tax deductible if my providing a roof for the poor is considered a charity?

[TheRightStuff]

The definition of a housing shortage is not "a lack of houses to buy" it is "a lack of houses to live in".

tim

well I'm talking about houses to buy. I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear.

[threaded]

How can owning a buy to let possibly add to a housing shortage? Does a buy to let house magicaly disappear when a BTLer buys it?

Nope! It reamains in the housing stock, someone rents it and then lives in it. That someone is not living on the street in exactly the same way that they would have done if they bought their own house.

The idea that BTL adds to the housing shortage is complete and utter b0llocks. (I agree that it adds to house price increases)

tim

Wrong wrong wrong, and I shall explain. I will often leave a house empty rather than let it if I can't find suitable tenants. The house price still increases, so there is still a return, not as good, but not the negative one can experience if one lets to an arsonist as an extreme example. Many people who rent out properties do likewise. Many homeless people are homeless because no one will give them a home.