Should I sell or risk tenants buying at undervalue price?

Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 26/09/2019 - 09:04Like it or not politics has an effect on housing policy with both Labour and the party formerly known as the liberal democrats making it an issue.
Whatever your feelings about Brexit or about the last post, thank you for having the honesty to admit that you voted remain but have changed your mind, and with your reasons. There's nothing wrong with your post.

Reply to the comment left by JJ at 26/09/2019 - 09:44
To clarify, I did not chnge my mind about Brexit, its ruinous consequences for years and possibly decades to come (vide Jacob Rees-Mogg statement about 50 years....). I will just vote the lesser evil.

Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 26/09/2019 - 09:04
I can assure my comment was not about you personally, it was aimed at remainers trying to overturn what the majority voted for. Sadly, it is all about politics and nothing about basic economics and common sense. Hitting Landlords is how all sides hope to gain the younger vote and nothing else. If I offended you then I apologise, it was not intended. I am right on the point of selling up and retiring because of all this but I feel for my tenants, all good, because they are the ones that are and will be suffering, because of politics.

Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 26/09/2019 - 09:49
That's fine. Sorry if I misunderstood. In the end most of us go into the ballot box think "none of the above" and vote for "the lesser evil".

It seems to me that that national vote of 52:48 is actually a reflection of the national feeling on the EU setup (as opposed to Europe). Voters were given the economic case for staying in in 2016 and they collectively went, "...I'm 50:50 about Europe...but on balance I want to be out."

Ideally our collective mis-representatives in Parliament would extract their heads from their backsides and collectively get us a deal; I recognise that Ireland is problematic but in the end Ireland always does deals because that's how Ireland has always worked.

Certainly it's not a great choice. Present labour party policy is nuts. The fomer liberal democrats do not even want to give us people in the middle ground a choice. So amongst the "none" of the above options lots of us are going to have to choose the lesser evil. Especially if we own either our own houses or houses we rent out, because in the end a labour government is going to attack both because it will have no choice.

Reply to the comment left by Dennis Leverett at 26/09/2019 - 08:55
I totally agree with you. I voted to leave. I just wish all the shenanigans would stop and they would get on with the job in hand. We won the vote. At least Boris is trying to get the job done. Surely MP's have a duty to carry out the constituents wishes not follow their own personal agenda..

Going back to Joey's original question, it is odd that there were apparently no major announcements on housing at the Labour conference. McDonnell mentioned rent caps and that's about it. At this stage, I wouldn't take too seriously the threat of forced below market sales to private tenants. At least wait until there is an election and a Labour manifesto is issued.

A bigger risk in my view is that Labour will jack up capital gains tax on sales of rental properties. It will realise that, on coming to office, many private landlords will want to sell up to avoid rent caps and everything else besides. Jacking up CGT will ride the wave of tax generated by those sales as well as perhaps preventing a total rout of the PRS which secretly they would not want as it will hurt tenants. A possible step for Labour is to put CGT at the marginal rate i.e.up to 50%.

So, look at your possible taxable gains and watch Labour tax policy very carefully.

Back on topic - I too suspect its just a vote grabbing populist move which would not come to pass.
When/if the conditions became known I wonder what precautions we would be able to take to shield ourselves from the injustice. Renting only to people who have not owned before is a bit limiting.
My flats are in three story Victorian terrace houses. I would point out to a prospective buyer that I, forced to sell to them at a financial penalty, would be their aggrieved, embittered, vindictive and vengeful freeholder!

Reply to the comment left by Simon Williams at 26/09/2019 - 11:07Were there any major announcements on housing at the Liberal Party conference, apart from scrapping section 21?

Maybe Joey you should think about what your long term plan is for yourself if nothing changed? Personally I would like to pass on my houses to the next generation and I am only in my 40's. They are my pension plan. For that reason I will stick it out, not vote labour and hope the policies never come in, as at this moment in time they are only speculation. Again I also do not think that it is lawful what Labour is intending doing and would expect to see some legal challenge over it. After all this is most people's private pension pot that they are looking to raid. However if I was older and was intending selling anyway within the next few years then I would probably not take the gamble and just sell up now.

Reply to the comment left by JJ at 26/09/2019 - 11:16
I don't tend to pay much attention to them, to be honest, but in my RLA monthly magazine, the RLA (oddly perhaps) has given a platform to one of the Lib Dem housing bods to trumpet their proposed reforms which are: abolish section 21 (but give landlords rights to sell etc); tenant gets first refusal if landlord sells (though no suggestion this won't be normal market rate); national landlord registration scheme; specialist housing courts; independent regulator for letting and managing agents.