Becoming a Landlord?

Facthunt

Just curious if anyone has recently bought property to become a Landlord? What’s the experience been like and is it worth the hassle if you only have 1 property or would you really need a portfolio?

herbalplants

Expect hard work, you need to have a hard neck to deal with tenants.

Facthunt

True! I suppose you could always look at using an agency!

Iodine1

Ever wonder why landlords, even with a few properties are selling up and walking, no running away since 2016? The Government, Treashold, McVerry, Sinn Fein, P4P, Labour, social democrats etc etc etc all persecuting landlords and then wondering why owners are choosing to leave property empty rather than let it out?

antoinolachtnai

How would having a portfolio help?

the basic problem is that you buy a place for 400k, rent it for 30k net a year without gaps or costs, but it will be 2052 before you even make the 400k back.

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121353163#Comment_121353163

Generally however, there's a slight upward trend of properties being rented up to 2022. See the third set of bars below.

DubCount

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058322066/becoming-a-landlord

I guess there are always some, but very few people are taking this option.

In 2022, there were more than 52 thousand mortgage draw downs, of which about 800 were buy2let mortgages.

Its not worth the hassle - its not worth the risk

Facthunt

How does it actually work …. ?

Also to the guys who replied so far! Thank you. Interesting info to take on board ….

Facthunt

Say if I made €15k in rent a years …. What gets defected ? Please feel free to show an example!

Facthunt

*deducted

martingriff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121353250#Comment_121353250

We only hear of the ones leaving and with bad tenants. As they say bad sales good do not

Caranica

Wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. 4 years out of it and it's got harder for landlords since. Find a better way to invest your money.

Pawwed Rig

Been at it 20 years or so. You have good periods when everything goes smoothly until it doesn't and then it is hassle hassle hassle.

Calls form angry neighbours, calls from Gardai, tenants calling you about nonsense*, woken up in middle of the night because there are parties going on. Tenants who owe you thousands and are wrecking the place and yet win their case in the RTB.

Absolute mugs game. Had 2 properties. Second one is being sold now. Never again

*once I was called because tenant said his broadband was too slow.

straight

I'm down to one buy to let at the moment. A thankless sport in this country. When values plummeted and interest rates rose nobody helped me.. but when there was more rental demand for my properties I wasn't allowed to benefit from the upside. My 3 bed semi is now let for 1250 for the last number of years but it is probably worth at least 600 euro more. All the while the mortgage repayments and costs of maintenance are increasing.

Dose anybody here have experience of owning a place in Lanzarote or malaga or somewhere similar where it is managed by a letting agency and you or your family can use it for a few weeks of the year. Thinking of investing in Spain myself.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121353548#Comment_121353548

If you don't know how rental income is taxed, obviously you should not get involved.

Gross rental income

less deductions

= net rental profits, which is taxed at your marginal rate

Deductions allowed:

mortgage interest

maintenance expensescapital allowances, I think 12.5% per year over eight years

BillyHaelyRaeCyrus

Dont do it. You will simply be making someone dead money and a failure having to rent your home. Allow the property go to a home owner so that person can have a normal life

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121355185#Comment_121355185

Less of the drama please. The OP would also be Providing a service to people that cannot obtain a mortgage or on social payments where renting is the only option.

DubCount

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121355185#Comment_121355185

Ah yes - separate from the financial considerations, a prospective landlord must be prepared for the backlash of popular opinion that landlords should not be allowed to carry on their business and are generally money grabbing fat cats living off the backs off ordinary folk.

Facthunt

Yikes …. Thanks guys. A lot to take on board!

arctictree

I have an old cottage that I would like to rent long term but I cant see the sums working. Every few years there is a major job that needs done. New kitchen, new bathroom, new boiler etc etc. With high taxation and regulation, its just not worth it to let it out.

RoboRat

I did it for a few years as I had to move down the country and I couldn't sell my house as it was in negative equity. Ironically, I was renting where I moved to.

The house was immaculate when i put it in the market and i wasn't making enough to cover the mortgage, so i was having to top it up. First tenants were OK, paid the rent on time and kept the inside reasonable, the outside was let go to **** though.

Second tenant stopped paying after 6 months. Couldn't get a hold up him and eventually my neighbour rang to say birds were flying into the house. Went up and the house was thrashed. His kids were using it as a knocking shop and he was awol. I filled 2 skips with rubbish... empty bottles of vodka, pizza boxes, Chinese cartons... even had the delight of pulling used condoms off the floor and cleaning dried vomit. The couches were ripped, cigarettes put out on the walls... I spent 2 solid weeks cleaning it.

Final tenants did the bare minimum and if anything went wrong, they were on the phone. The house was really grimy and dirty... chip oil on the walls and ceilings, the floor was never cleaned and the carpet was minging. They never tended the garden, or even cut the grass... it was a jungle. I talked to them about a rent increase as I was still subsidising the mortgage... nope, they couldn't afford it.

I decided then to sell the house as it was at parity with what I owed... I had put about 50k into it but I would rather write that off than have to deal with another tenant.

I told the tenants I was selling and low and behold, they could offer more. I was done though, as soon as I got an offer to cover what I owed, I sold. I could have held on and made a bit to help buying my current house, but I couldn't deal with tenants again.

I wouldn't consider doing it again, I would have been better to sell at a loss as I spent so much having to fix it up and clean it properly.

snowcat

You would want to be stone cold bonkers to give vacant possesion of a house in Ireland to a registered tenant. Only the naive or inexperienced landlords will rent to a group or family. Im a professional landlord.

Facthunt

What about using a letting agency?

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121355185#Comment_121355185

And what about people who need to rent accommodation in places where they wouldn't buy?

There are people studying in Ireland and working here short term who will be returning to their home country after X period of time and just need to rent.

snowcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121356721#Comment_121356721

A letting Agency? Why? They charge 10% for collecting the rent and still bill you for any expense and bear none of the responsibility. Id rather be a letting agent than a landlord.

Thinkingaboutit

The discriminatory tax and regulatory regime seems designed to destroy the private rental sector (yet tax favoured foreign investors and local authority housing could never meet demand). McVerry, Threshold, the RTB and the rest of the state funded (hands out or hands in your pocket) quango crew regard any LL as a criminal. Anyone renting to a family is frankly at their mercy. There are opportunities, just a person has to be cunning, careful. Documentation and repairs have to be kept up to date.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121356764#Comment_121356764

Because they put distance between you and the tenant. I use one as I don't want to be dealing with tenants directly or having them phoning me at all hours.

It's also tax deductible so an absolute no brainer.

Iodine1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121356737#Comment_121356737

Yes, indeed, of course they need somewhere. But the current climate has driven the traditional providers ie landlords out. Its not tax or profit that has driven people out, its the hassle and absolutely one sided regulations. So now its up to the RTB, Government, Local authority, Charity, Treshold etc to step in and provide.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121356869#Comment_121356869

I don't see how my post has anything to do with anything you've just written above, I didn't say anything either way about what was driving landlords out of the market.

I was talking about people who are temporarily renting in a particular location for college or work - these people need a place to stay and the person I was quoting hasn't accounted for their existence.

Villa05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121353163#Comment_121353163

Rather odd that you excluded ffg as the LL exodus occurred under there watch and there policies

Iodine1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121357104#Comment_121357104

No, they are there under Government and I don't think I have them all either.