First time buyer - becoming a landlord

ianm1234

hello, i was wondering if anybody could give me advice on becoming a landlord, is there any areas between wicklow-carlow that would be a good place to buy where i can find people to rent the property to fast?..and i would also be very greatfull if you could advise me on the best way to get started as a landlord as i dont know who to go too or what i should do?..all advice would be great and thank you in advance!!..

athtrasna

Best advice I can give you is don't!! It's not easy money, if there is any money to be made at all. Most landlords I know are topping up the rent received to make the mortgage payments and still having to pay landlord expenses such as

• Income tax
• PRTB registration
• Property Tax
• Maintenance costs

And that's all presuming your tenants are the paying kind. A search on this forum will reveal plenty of horror stories of people with overstaying tenants who are seriously behind on rent, properties trashed............I really don't know why anyone would voluntarily buy a property to let it out.

ianm1234

thank you for your advice..but if i dont need a mortgage would it be different?..i was thinking of buying a place to rent out to college students!.

LowKeyReturn

ianm1234 wrote: »

thank you for your advice..but if i dont need a mortgage would it be different?..i was thinking of buying a place to rent out to college students!.

Go into it with your eyes open. You'll pay income tax and need to register with the PRTB.

Students will come with their own headaches such as breaking leases, potentially wrecking the place etc - that said that's a danger with all tenants.

You may have to deal with anti-social behaviour which could result in 'litigation' with the PRTB and courts. All-in-all it's like any other business, there are risks.

ianm1234

it sound a bit difficult to me ha..maybe i will find something else to do im not a buisness person or ever studied it maybe im way in over my head here but thank you for your help

The_Conductor

A big reason for not buying with cash- is you forego the tax deductible mortgage interest (currently 75% of mortgage interest is a tax deductible expense- and is far and away the biggest tax deductible expense there is in the industry).

OP- its not easy money- its hard work, you need to make sure you're fully compliant with all applicable laws, the tenancy is water tight and registered with the PRTB- and even when you put your heart and soul into it and have everything done perfectly- you can still get a tenant who takes the piss and costs you possibly a year's rent to get them evicted (and if you're extra unlucky and they destroy the place, thousands to return the property to a rentable condition).

Becoming a landlord is not for the fainthearted- its a fulltime job, and has a lot of responsibilities and obligations- not least of which is becoming au fait with what these responsibilities and obligations are.........

shankespony

Avoid students if possible, location location, location, no pets or smokers. Let it yourself and be picky who you let in. Good luck

Bluegrass1

ianm1234 wrote: »

thank you for your advice..but if i dont need a mortgage would it be different?..i was thinking of buying a place to rent out to college students!.

How many colleges are there in Wicklow or Carlow? What areas are within walking distance of those colleges?
Your choice must come down to those areas.
I only know of one college and I presume you have some connection with those counties so I wonder why you have to ask?

The_Conductor

Colleges? That would infer renting to students- which would infer vacancy 3 months of the year- and wear and tear well and above over normal tenants.

gaius c

ianm1234 wrote: »

hello, i was wondering if anybody could give me advice on becoming a landlord, is there any areas between wicklow-carlow that would be a good place to buy where i can find people to rent the property to fast?..and i would also be very greatfull if you could advise me on the best way to get started as a landlord as i dont know who to go too or what i should do?..all advice would be great and thank you in advance!!..

Wicklow-Carlow???
For BTL, go urban. Everything else is buyer beware.

jmayo

ianm1234 wrote: »

it sound a bit difficult to me ha..maybe i will find something else to do im not a buisness person or ever studied it maybe im way in over my head here but thank you for your help

Ever thought of a career in banking or financial regulation ?

I think the headaches far outweigh the benefits if you are only going to have the one property, unless of course it is a massive one.

murphaph

athtrasna wrote: »

Most landlords I know are topping up the rent received to make the mortgage payments

Only if they bought in the boom at boom time prices. Decent yields can now be had in and around Dublin for sure, but you need the cash as finance is hard to come by.

To the OP: You don't really sound like the ideal candidate for this. It's fraught with difficulty and you need a good nose for bad tenants.

Stick your money somewhere else, perhaps invest in property through a REIT, rather than directly purchasing something to rent out.

D3PO

murphaph wrote: »

Only if they bought in the boom at boom time prices. Decent yields can now be had in and around Dublin for sure, but you need the cash as finance is hard to come by.
.

If your not topping up the mortgage payment your not doing it right tbh. You should be utilizing the tax break on mortgage interest to ensure this.

Even if you have the cash to buy the property rent free you shouldn't be if you want to make the best ROI you can.

murphaph

D3PO wrote: »

If your not topping up the mortgage payment your not doing it right tbh. You should be utilizing the tax break on mortgage interest to ensure this.

Even if you have the cash to buy the property rent free you shouldn't be if you want to make the best ROI you can.

I don't think banks are giving anything more than 50% on BTLs these days though. Agree that you should borrow even if you have the cash to take advantage of interest relief.

However, even if a bank gave you a 100% mortgage you should be able to buy a flat in Dublin today and the rent should cover the mortgage payment though

beeno67

murphaph wrote: »

However, even if a bank gave you a 100% mortgage you should be able to buy a flat in Dublin today and the rent should cover the mortgage payment though

What's you basis for this comment?

Pawwed Rig

beeno67 wrote: »

What's you basis for this comment?

For example
http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=722946



http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1351075

Adjust price as appropriate for condition etc. I didn't look too hard for this so I am sure there are better examples. A 30 year 100% mortgage (if available) would cost about €520 per month.