What a time to be a UK landlord! The Great Credit Crunch of 2008! I feel like I'm stuck in the midst of a badly directed horror movie. The theme is Doom & Gloom - backed up with some great newspaper selling headlines - House Prices Crashing! UK Recession Looming! Unemployment rising! Soaring Oil & Food Prices! Inflation skyrocketing! Companies are beginning to lay strewn across the economic landscape like a scene from Saving Private Ryan...
Taking a look at the current economic climate - mortgage lenders are running for the hills, and those that are brave enough to stay are hiking their prices and fees! I read on forums how landlords can't get decent re-mortgages because their Loan To Value's (LTV's) are too high (what about in a years time when house prices have dropped even more - how many landlords will be sinking then?), their rents are too low, or the Standard Variable Rates they are switching to are too high.
Then their is one of the reasons we are in the mess in the first place - the two largest US mortgage guarantors (Fanny something or other) who between them have about half the value of the US mortgage market, have had their share price free-falling because of fears that they might need to be bailed out by the government! You could not have written a book with this much bad news! I wonder if Arnold Schwarzenegger has anything to do with this?
Why all the focus on the problems? That's my point exactly!
I'm a landlord and my goal has always been to own property for the long haul and part of that commitment is dealing with ups and downs. So what, should I lie down and admit defeat? NO!
I decided to find ways to ensure I could get through this difficult time and meet my long term goals! I got advice from solicitors, mortgage brokers, property professionals, estate agents, lettings agents and anyone else who spoke sense that could ultimately help me. The end result is 6 months of writing and a book titled - The Landlords Guide to Surviving the Credit Crunch!
If you are interested in getting practical advice on how to survive the credit crunch then visit my site http://www.the-home-place.co.uk/ and take a pro-active step to ensuring you survive - but if not, then I wish you all the best - we're all going to need it!
Hasta la vista - Baby! (you said it Arnie!)
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