Excellent article on how important small landlords are and how screwing them over hasn't worked

It is the expectation that it should work like that that is ridiculous.

Step A. Sign a loan agreement

Step B. Given money to person selling house

Step C. Sit back and expect that someone else should pay back all the interest and capital of that loan, along with any other maintenance expense, with no risk to you

Step D: Moan and whine if there is a blip along the way.

Wouldn't bother with a loan Bass. If I wanted to buy a few houses I'd buy them. Am not interested in houses.

Am interested in buying a block of land though. Waiting for the right block to come up in my area. I know a few bits that will be coming to the market over the next few years. When they will land is something that is not known. Have to stay reasonably liquid though.

Land, as you know, would not suit the "someone else should pay for it for me" brigade. I'd say there'd be about a 2% yield on land if you were renting it out....perhaps a bit more going by the last year or two depending on your area. Probably wouldn't cover the interest repayments for anyone getting a loan for the max they could.

If you bought a property 15 years ago and it's still in negative equity, then I'm not going to consider you as some kind of investment guru regardless of what gender you identify as. A bad decision is still a bad decision even if you made it 15 years ago. Particularly given you are still moaning that you are suffering from it. 15 years and you still owe more on it than it's worth?

Well done you though. You were able to sign a piece of paper, without understanding what could go wrong, and then have the State bail you out a few years later by changing rules and propping up the market for as long as possible. No doubt you'd feel some entitlement to the same rescue if property prices fell again.

If you bought a property that you could only pay the interest on for 15 years, then you couldn't afford it. You are only really renting it from the bank unless and until you can eventually afford it. Lesson learned - in future don't be greedy and don't fall for get-rich-quick schemes.

BTW, given all your years "professional" experience, you should know that upwards only rent review clauses are not allowed now. You can write them into a lease if you want, but they have no effect.

Wouldn't be buying it to rent it out. I don't feel that anyone owes me a living surprisingly enough. I'm buying it to have it. My money and I can do what I like with it. I'm not begging a bank manager to give me a lend of someone else's money so that I can try to scalp someone else with it.

BTW, getting paid for land you rent out is notoriously difficult. Which is why many lads try to ask for staggered payment or payment up front. But traditionally, lads don't pay up front. Still happens now with the 5-year leases - people get stung in the last year. Life ain't all roses. Even if they haven't paid you, and you know they have no intention of paying you, you cannot stop them from harvesting their crop off your land.

BTW, I didn't read all your post as there was a lot of random sentences in it, but just thought I'd mention this one:

Commercial leases can indeed be entitled to renewals regardless of what the landlord wants. Land in Ireland is traditionally let on a conacre basis (11-month lease) to ensure breaks. That changed a bit due to recently introduced tax reliefs.

If you don't know the rules, don't get into the business. You have a choice. If you bought a house to rent out, and the rules were going to be changed to something that was going to be a problem for you, the time to sell was before they came in. Your choice. Comparing to something else you choose not to do is invalid. It would be like deciding to buy a Hummer that does 5 miles to the gallon instead of a ford fiesta that does 50, and then after you knowingly buy it, complain that it isn't fair it only does 5mpg because the fiesta does 50

Not bullshit at all. Here is the relevant revised Act which can grant entitlement to a new lease

This is the original which is not updated but you might be able to read through easier it to get an idea of what it contains. Some things in this will be a little out of date though

If you buy a commercial property and rent it out knowing that you might be stuck with a particular tenant, and that is some kind of problem for you, then that's your fault. If you buy it to rent out, not knowing the rules that can affect you, again that is your fault.

It's not an opinion. You can read the Act and revision if you want. Commercial leases could have rights to renew since the 1980's. It's hardly an outrage that people living in houses should have some sort of security - although they don't have a right to renew. They just have an automatic/implicit lease entitlement. But at the end of that period the landlord can terminate (obviously following proper procedures).

In no other business do the people who can't cope expect to be propped up and mollycoddled. You can, if you want, buy the Hummer and complain afterwards that it's not fair because the fiesta does 50mpg and ask the State to bail you out if you want. You made the choice though. If I buy land and I don't have to deal with tenants, you can't claim you are hard done buy because you bought a house and you got in tenants and I have none.

You have the same recourse as you have against a residential tenant. The difference is that the farmer is more likely to have assets that could be seized whereas the residential person who stiffs you might know that you would be wasting your time as anything awarded won't be able to be collected. The recourse is the same though. Whether you can collect it depends on the person. Not on the type of property rented. The person who rented your field might also have nothing. Or the person who rents your house might have load and loads of assets.

Regardless, I am sure you know of many people who got stung and don't get paid. Same as how plenty of contractors get stung.