where are all the houses to the rent?

not really ... but as previously mentioned, it all depends where you live

if you own properties in areas such as cambridge, london or oxford, where there are a continuos stream of students, you will always be able to rent out rooms even if the mortgage rates increase .... as landlords will increase the rents accordingly

there is currently a shortage of furnished rooms to let in cambridge, and landlords are coining it .... students have no option, but to pay

some landlords who take on international students ask for 6 months rent up front

if you own a property, (without renting rooms) and the mortage rates increase, it effects everyone ... including those who rent

those who cannot afford the mortgage are forced to sell, and buy cheaper (downsize) ....

this is a chain reaction .... someone who owns a larger more expensive property than yours may be forced to sell, and buy yours ... you in turn have to sell and buy a cheaper one .... etc etc

 

To me, these two epitomise everything that was wrong with the buy-to-let bubble a few years back. The Wilsons bought up huge swathes of small new-build properties in Kent, denying first time buyers the opportunity to do so because they had a cosy deal with the developers to snap them up before they came on the open market at a nice little discount. They ended up owning whole estates - or rather, they used theoretical equity to borrow and borrow and borrow - and were lauded in the property press for their 'genius'. Every spiv in Kent thought 'if that pair of elderly twits can do it, so can I'. Eventually, the dubious empire went pear-shaped, with the result that the mortgage companies which had been stupid enough to keep chucking money at the Wilsons had to cut them a special deal on repayments to avoid the whole thing imploding overnight. This was at a time when many owner-occupiers were hanging on by a thread and weren't being given much slack by their lenders.

There are stories (and indeed, a court case) which appear to indicate that the Wilsons were unpleasant landlords who went to unusual lengths to exploit their tenants. To me, this sort of thing isn't a business. The Wilsons didn't even renovate old properties or do anything which might make one think they deserved their fortune - they simply exploited a badly-regulated financial system to keep on borrowing. As cracks began to appear, their properties became ill maintained and down at heel.

The worst thing is that, although their fortune is not as vast as it once was, the two of them have probably emerged with enough money to go on indulging their passion for racehorses. Ah well, at least they are hideous and have no dress sense.

Fergus & Judith Wilson: Buy-to-let gurus see empire crumble | This is Money

 

Since 2010, Fergus and Judith have gone very quiet. So maybe by now they are on streets, flogging the Big Issue. There is always hope.