EU Trying To Kill Buy To Let – sign the petition to STOP it now.

EU Trying To Kill Buy To Let – sign the petition to STOP it now.

14:24 PM, 19th November 2011, About 12 years ago 100

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The buy to let market will grind to a halt if EU proposals to change the way lenders hand out mortgages to landlords are approved, claim experts. Do not let this happen – sign the petition linked below.

The new rules will stop landlords buying new property to rent and restrict mortgage lending that will shrink the number of buyers and push house prices down.

This could put landlords and homeowners in to negative equity that would make selling homes impossible.

This bleak picture of the UK housing market of the future could become a reality as soon as 2013 if European MPs vote in favour of draft mortgage regulations that are aimed at pulling the UK market in line with the rest of the EU.

But British lenders say that buy to let should stay outside the directive because the lending is for business investment rather than for personal homes.

If buy to let is included in the new rules, lenders will have to underwrite mortgages on affordability rather than projected rental income.

For landlords this means they would have to show lenders they could afford to pay their buy to let mortgages from the rest of their income.

The Building Societies Association has slammed the move, with Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy, saying: “If the EU goes down this route lenders could be forced to change the way they underwrite buy-to-let mortgages. In the worst case, people wouldn’t have enough money to finance their buy-to-let mortgages and the sector could potentially stop overnight.

“Three quarters of these buy-to-let landlords are individuals, couples and families and if they cannot remortgage their properties they will have to sell, creating an influx of property on to the market and potentially reducing prices.”

The EU draft directive is set to be voted on by MEPs early next year.

Ed Mead, of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, said: “Potential EU legislation might drive many buy to let landlords away from what is a vital part of UK housing provision.

“This must be viewed with caution. Our government ought to be wary of taking a lead from the EU here and encourage informed investment into this sector with tax breaks, not lumping buy-to-let in with those residential purchasers who need all the protection they can get.

DO NOT LET THIS HAPPENsign this government petition and use the share buttons below to encourage others to sign it too.


Mark Alexander
Mark and his family have been investing in property since 1989, initially in the Norwich area but more recently across the length and breadth of England. Mark created Property118.com as a social network for landlords with a vision of becoming the UK’s largest online property investor directory.
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Comments

16:51 PM, 23rd December 2011, About 12 years ago

 The EU regulations purpose is for a more stable banking sector and help prevent economic meltdowns like we are experiencing now.

Home owners don't have to worry about negative equity or falling prices as the FSA are introducing negative equity mortgages.

At the moment we have a million empty homes across the UK.  I actually believe this to be higher a fact which the channel 4 investigation should expose shortly.

RE "We need more housing but current rules make it impossible to sell them for what it costs to build them"

That maybe because the developers are valuing the land too high to hide their insolvencies.  The truth is land in the UK represents the most significant cost to housing with it being relatively cheap to build.  The solution for cheap homes to be built is simply introduce a land bank tax.

Why do land lords always state supply and demand is the reason for high house price growth where in reality it is access to credit?  The who UK housing bubble was caused by irresponsible lending, mass fraud and low interest rates.  It is reasonable for house prices to thus fall when mortgages are tightened up on and the fraud clamped down on whilst money markets price up borrowing costs.  If there is so much demand why do prices continue to fall.  Landlords need to understand the difference between straight demand and effective demand.

If I was a landlord I would diversify my assets between cash, shares, precious metals and still keep some properties.  If you have it all in property you will get burnt in the coming years.

11:26 AM, 24th December 2011, About 12 years ago

Sorry mate you are deluding yourself if  you think these regulations are going to assist your possible dream of owning a property.
Until all the negative equity has worked it's way out of the system and wages have increased so that affordability is sufficient afford to puchase properties purchased at the top of the market in 2007 ; then you might be able to purchase
That is going to take about 15-20 years and remember the only reason people could purchase was that lending criteria was loosened at the end of the 90's..
The majority of people looking to purchase don't stand a chance if these new mortgage regulations come in.
Unfortunately all you have to look forward to is ever increasing rents and the bottom rung of the housing ladder ever increasingly getting futher from your grasp.
It is a shame as I believe house purchase is an aspiration which should be availble to ALL members of society.
However due to mass immigration; EU and non-EU; council houses being sold off. onerous lending requirements, less rental property being available; you don't stand a cat in hell's chance of getting a property if indeed you are attempting to presently.
Personally I don.t see why the govenment could lend everybody 50 % of the purchase price with that having to be repaid or transferred across to another property.
You could say it is council house discount in advance with the proviso that eventually the government gets it's money back plus capital uplift when a person can pay back the interesrt free govt loan.
That would get people into their own home and not being paid LHA to rent or imposing burdens on the unavailble social housing stock.
Effectively the govt would be investing in the private housing stock of this country which has done pretty well over the past 25 years!!?
At least it wouldn't be money wasted on LHA going to landlords pockets but would eventually come back to the taxpayer plus capital uplift.

20:37 PM, 2nd February 2012, About 12 years ago

the article above epitomises everything that has gone wrong with this country. Why on earth is enabling normal working people to buy and enjoy a home perceived as a bad thing?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:44 PM, 2nd February 2012, About 12 years ago

Nobody is saying that, everybody who can afford to buy a home should do so for their own financial security. Everybody who can buy more than one home should be a GOOD landlord. Please read more of the comments above and also Google "The GOOD Landlords Campaign" which should also bring you back to another thread on this website.

You may also wish to carefully consider then sign and share the e-petition linked below to protect the interests of those who can't afford or choose not to buy a home and those GOOD Landlords who provide them

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/28848

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:49 PM, 4th February 2012, About 12 years ago

I read an article in the Landlord & Lettings Magazine today from one of their readers who was accusing the Daily Express of sensationalising the story. His point was that upon reading the article he was worried that he would have to sell all of his investment properties and upon reading the legislation he realised that he probably wouldn't.

Isn't that a bit of an "I'm all right Jack" attitude?

OK The Express do have a reputation for sensationalisation and that's unlikely to ever change. In this case though, they were right to sensationalise in my opinion and I believe this issue is even bigger than they made it out to be. It affects every homeowner, not just landlords. Regulation stopping landlords from buying removes at least 15% of buyers from the market. There's only one way for prices to go if that happens. Further devaluation of house prices will trap more and more people in negative equity. That's not so bad for a landlord who got cashflow and doesn't intend or need to sell. However, for homeowners who need to sell due to work relocation, expanded family, disability, divorce etc. the consequences can be disastrous. 

11:58 AM, 5th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Well lets hope this comes in and people who want to buy their first home do not have to compete with BTL landlords who can not add up,  quite a few portfolios coming up for sale in my neck of the woods.   This is due to The BTL landlords thinking that houses only ever go up in value.  Fat dave round my way is currently slamming his fat fingers into his calculator everyday trying to figure out what went wrong.

Fat dave will be bankrupt by summer because he cant add up and he made the mistake of thinking the government would support high house prices forever.

The government is currently pushing house prices down ON PURPOSE, they have got as many people as they can into as much debt as possible and now we have come to the end of the cycle.

BTL landlords really should wake up to the fact that they are just a means to an end,  yes the government and banks used you in their scheme to get the population into debt,  and you fell for it hook line and sinker.

Fat dave is starting a support group if anybodys interested,  you have to have lost a minimum of 10 BTLs to join though.

12:27 PM, 5th February 2012, About 12 years ago

A bleak future?

With all due rspect a future where more and more private landlords snaffle up properties distorting the market and forcing the young intoo rental is rather more bleak. For us all. I'm sorry you guys can't see that.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

13:58 PM, 5th February 2012, About 12 years ago

@Daz and @14ce70fae8724a34396e8b644d06ae07:disqus  - it's almost inevitable that anybody who goes into business who can't add up and has rose tinted glasses is going to fail. Good on Fat Dave for having a go though, at least he tried to get out of the 9 to 5 rat race or the benefits trap. He might have to live in another landlords property now as I doubt he will be able to buy one like so many others who have never been landlords. NINJA mortgages (No Income, No Job or Asetts) are no longer being available due for all the right reasons. Be careful what you wish for guys as millions will be homeless if there are no landlords, it could be you! If it wasn't for people like Fat Dave trying to better himself where would all the work come from?

BTW, I have no idea who Fat Dave is, I assume he is fictional but I've responded as if he is real as there are several entreprenuers out there who give it a go and fail and some will also succeed. Those who do make a go of things will provide work for those without the balls to make a go of things themselves. Which of those two groups do you fella's fall into I wonder?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

15:44 PM, 5th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Detective Columbo moment "one more thing".

If you are employed you might find yourself working for "Fat Dave". If he screws up you might find yourself unemployed and unable to buy too.

If you are neither self employed, an employee of a "Fat Dave" or living off your investments or lottery winnings and you are able bodied then there's only one other thing you could be, a parasite on society. If you fit that description, get a life, get off your @R5E and find some work!!!

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

16:14 PM, 7th June 2012, About 12 years ago

WE WON, WE WON, WE WON !!!! The EU have kicked out buy to let regulation from CAARP - see >>> 
http://www.property118.com/index.php/euro-mps-kick-out-buy-to-let-mortgage-regulation/28991/

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