‘My motivation isn’t to make money. I have a London property, I’ve already done okay – I just hope the next person enjoys it as much as I have’I’ve had my fair share of bad landlords. When I was a student in Southampton the landlord evicted us from a house-share just before Christmas, then came round screaming and shouting when his sale fell through and we said we were going anyway. Luckily, we found another flatshare.
I’m lucky. I worked hard to scrape together the £20,000 deposit for my flat when London property was just about affordable.It was the only thing I could afford in one of the least fashionable areas of London. The years have been kind though. The area has come up and highly sought after. The estate agents I’ve had round have been salivating; their eyes rolling around cartoon-fashion with pound signs and ka-ching noises. One asked if I had anywhere to go as he could rent it out tomorrow.
This isn’t a case of poor me. I’ll say for the third time: I know I’m lucky. But one of the reasons rents are so high in London is that there is a shortage of rental property. Yet there is no financial incentive for me to rent. The incentive is entirely to sell.on the new flat will double as it’s officially a second home. I’ll pay tax on the entire rent – no striking off mortgage payments or even interest. The tax bill and estate agent’s fees will take up any surplus.I’m not complaining.