The king & queen of buy-to-let

I read with interest this blog in the Mail

It implied that the so called king and queen of buy-to-let Judith and Fergus Wilson both maths teachers were falling on hard times because of the credit crunch and were having to sell up their portfolio of over 900 houses worth at one stage as much as £250m.

However, on closer inspection of the original article
it appears that they are not forced sellers at all. They are both in their 60's and have identified 18 properties who's 5 year fixed rate mortgages of 4.5% have come to an end and are looking at benefiting from the recent reduction in capital gains tax from a maximum rate of 40 to a flat rate of 18%.

It appears that the Wilsons are far from being on 'their uppers' having a personal fortune estimated at £90m. They very sensibly bought new houses in a growth area and avoided investing in city centre apartments.

'All our properties are houses, with a bit of grass and parking,' says Fergus. The starter home market was always their exit strategy and first-timers would overwhelmingly prefer a house to a flat. 'You cannot get people to buy jam tarts if they want cream doughnuts,' adds Fergus with a Forrest Gump flourish.

Wise advice Fergus! Despite the credit crunch and maybe a downsizing of their £90m fortune as house prices continue to dive. One suspects that the king and queen of buy-to-let will be able to afford to buy the best quality cream doughnuts and what ever fondant they fancy for a long time to come!