Investing in property isn’t as attractive as it once was. Too many people were doing too well out of it and it was only a matter of time before the treasury got their slice of the pie. Firstly they changed the rules on tax relief from a mortgage, meaning tax relief was only allowed on the interest part of the mortgage and not the whole mortgage amount, which made a big difference if you were on a repayment mortgage. Also year on year they have reduced the personal allowance for capital gains tax. When we bought two buy to let properties in 2016 the personal allowance was £12 000, so because the properties were bought in joint names we had an overall allowance of £24 000. We sold one of the properties in November last year, by which time the personal allowance had reduced to £3000 each so £6000. Needless to say we had a rather large Capital Gains Tax bill to pay within 60 days of the sale. There is also PAYE to pay on any profits from rental income.
Then there was the issue of trying to evict a tenant, took 7 months to do it legally meaning a rent shortfall of over £5000.
I’m sure others will have different experiences, but for me with the taxation and the risks involved, all that glitters isn’t gold in property investment.
You need good advice on how to do it successfully and make money after the first one it’s easy if you buy to let buy having a mortgage then yes you are limited as to return , buying outright is the way ahead . I know many who make a huge living doing it , and you still have the value of the property that is constantly increasing as well as an income from it ,again you need good advice how to do it legally and the most tax efficient way to do it . But it’s a good living for doing very little once you have your first one then just repeat
Wouldn’t matter what advice I got, it still wouldn’t make property investment as attractive as it was back in 2016 when I bought. Since then there has been a big tax grab through LBTT additional dwelling supplement, reducing the personal allowance year on year from £12 000 to £3000 and reducing the tax relief on mortgages. For what it’s worth I wouldn’t rule out a tax grab against ISA’s etc in the coming years.
The government will always try and fleece the average man that’s a fact of life , but there are legal ways to still make a very good living from it , buying a house on a mortgage to rent out is a mugs game and not the way to go , second homes down here are now starting to be sold by some due to the council tax issues but buying a house and renting it out is still a very lucrative business, but it’s best to do it through an agency as this gives you far more protection and it’s now getting complicated to do it yourself all mine are done through an agency and if they cock up I have an insurance policy to cover that , so don’t have to be actively involved in the day to day running of it , best thing I ever did , with hindsight should have done it much sooner