[ajeet_dhaliwal]

I realize that most landlords consider themselves as doing a service but sometimes they don't seem much different from domain squatters. It's not really a service, what would happen if they didn't exist? Everyone only buys homes for living in as needed, drastically lower prices, more innovation based businesses that actually contribute to making the world a better place?

[Anderkent]

Think about where homes come from, about how do you ever move if you have to find a buyer to live in your old flat to sell it, and where do people who can't afford to buy a house live.

[ghaff]

So if you can't afford or don't want to buy a place, you shouldn't have a roof over your head?

[mayniac]

We had a decent council housing system in the UK which provided affordable rents. That and housing cooperatives/housing associations replacing landlords would be ideal.

I agree with the person you're replying to, the vast majority of landlords don't contribute anything to society and the idea that housing is an investment should be stopped.

[isostatic]

I was a landlord -- I bought a flat in 2007, the day later Northern Rock went bust, and 6 months later the identical flat below mine sold for 60% of the total -- I was in £60k negative equity. Fortunately I resisted the mortgage sales guy and went for a tracker, so paid very little in mortgage (The interest part was about £150pcm).

Fast forward 5 years, still £30k of negative equity, however SWMBO is pregnant so we need to move. Rented out our place, rented somewhere near Manchester, moved, then told my boss at the time I'd moved.

Over the next 4 years we rented out, and between various repairs, service charges, etc made an average £500 a year profit, patently not worth the stress - especially if the tenants had moved out. My half of the £500 a year was taxed in the final year at 60%.

So all that's left to make it 'worth' buying a house is the increase in house price, which in England has averaged about 3% pa over the last 13 years.

If you want to form a housing cooperative, nobody will stop you. If you want to live in the centre of London you're going to be spending a lot of money though - it's supply and demand. If you want to rent or buy somewhere cheap, move further away, plenty of choice to buy a house for under £100k, in some really nice places, not far from Manchester or Leeds. Don't blame the landlords though.

[ajeet_dhaliwal]

You’re thinking in the context of the status quo, you would be able to afford it. If you don’t want to there are friends, family, hotels. This is a hypothetical of course but I’m just posing the question of what would happen if the people who own 1000 homes (all to themselves) didn’t exist. This is only half the issue anyway, the major problem is supply constraint and I'm not going to get into that :-)