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Jon Tarrey

Retired

10928 Profile Views

About Me

Bit of a grumpy old man these days, with a special interest in property.

my expertise in the industry

Spent my formative years in the industry and dabbled with property investment when I was younger (unsuccessfully, I should add). Disillusioned with much of what estate agency stands for these days - so trying (in my own small way) to change that. Again, unsuccessfully.

Jon 's Recent Activity

Empty threats, though, isn't it? Landlords know renting property is still a massive cash cow, despite all the regulatory changes and efforts to deter them. While the PRS continues to grow, all this rhetoric from defensive landlords is hot air. The protectionism is too much to bear on a hot day like today.

From: Jon Tarrey 19 April 2018 15:47 PM

Landlords care about landlords! Shelter are effective lobbyists. They might be a bit hypocritical, holier-than-thou and ubiquitous, but they know how to run an effective campaign and I think, when all's said and done, that they have the best interests of people at heart. They overstretch themselves too far, and want to get their opinion across on every topic going, but to say that Shelter are a destructive influence on social housing is utter nonsense and lets the government - and their appalling social housing policy - get away scot-free.

From: Jon Tarrey 16 February 2017 13:26 PM

Give it up already! It ain't happening. Bullying Shelter into submission isn't going to work, either. A shock and awe campaign? Really? Pretty pathetic stuff in my view.

From: Jon Tarrey 16 February 2017 13:21 PM

From: Jon Tarrey 23 November 2016 14:12 PM

Won't that just mean more landlords going it alone, deferring the need for a letting agent and taking a DIY approach. Or the property management approach. Or looking towards one of the cheaper, online letting agents. In all these cases, it's always the tenants who are going to suffer. Always strikes me as emotional blackmail - oh, if you do this to us, it isn't going to be us who suffers but our poor tenants, who we will have no choice but to up the rents of. It always seem like such a cop out. Any time charges are levied on letting agents or landlords, it's tenants that pay the price.

From: Jon Tarrey 23 November 2016 14:10 PM

"Surely off the back of this we have to look at becoming a fully regulated and licensed profession" Yes, then landlords might be taken a bit more seriously. And generate a bit more sympathy from the public. At the moment, too many unscrupulous, rogue landlord slip through the net, too many are only in to make money and don't care one jot for tenant safety or quality of accommodation. It's why landlords are so mistrusted, because we hear so many horror stories. Making things properly professional and regulated would help massively. In many ways the government are seeking to deflect the blame elsewhere. They know the reputation of landlords and letting agents, and they are looking to lay the blame firmly at the door - while failing to address the wider issues in the UK housing market. The PRS is swelling year by year because people can't afford to buy. You also still have massive issues over buy-to-let and Buy-to-Leave, which is hoovering up stock that could be going to people who actually want to make a house a home.

From: Jon Tarrey 23 November 2016 14:08 PM

Well, if the buy-to-let landlords and investors did alright (better than alright), what else matters? Screw everyone else. Can this guy hear himself? What a cretin. Self-interest is not an attractive trait. He might have some egg on his face when the changes to mortgage interest tax relief hit. Although, sadly, probably not. Until enough new homes are built, the PRS will continue to swell and lettings gurus like David Lawrenson will continue to rake it in.

From: Jon Tarrey 13 October 2016 10:15 AM

Is anyone surprised by this? All of Boris's skeletons are now coming out of the closet, with missed targets, buried reports, costly vanity projects and failures like the above all coming to light. And, to think, this is the man who is trying to lead us out of Europe - although he only decided that a few months ago, once he worked out it was best for Boris. The guy is a charlatan, a blusterer and a liar. Trust him at your peril.

From: Jon Tarrey 02 June 2016 10:20 AM

"These people need to understand that the current lettings market, statistically and practically is working well." Is it? You might want to ask a few people renting in London currently if that is the case. Or those living hand to mouth because half their monthly salary is going straight out of their bank account and into the hands of a greedy landlord. Not saying it's the fault of landlords - they're just taking advantage of the market conditions - but to say that the lettings market is working well is stretching things a tad too far.

From: Jon Tarrey 08 December 2015 11:15 AM

Why don't we just build more houses? Wouldn't that solve the supply issue? Apparently that's too logical for the people we have in chance at the moment.

From: Jon Tarrey 30 November 2015 16:41 PM

What a load of nonsense. If you think this government, one of the most right-wing in history, are a bunch of pseudo-socialists then you really don't know what you're talking about. The idea that people earn money from property is ludicrous. You don't earn money, you either get lucky or you don't. You either see house prices go up or you don't. Labour aren't proposing to tax grab from the middle classes, they are proposing those at the top pay their fair share - you know, go after the corporate tax dodgers and companies who plough their profits into offshore accounts. What's so wrong with that? And what's your alternative to tax? A free-for-all, every man for himself, dog eat dog? The welfare state isn't a monster, quite the opposite. It might have been abused by some, and demonised by the tabloids, but it's something we must seek to protect at all costs. That's not about being a lefty, that's just good sense and common decency. If you look after the people at the very bottom, you create a better society. Just look at the model in Germany and Scandinavia - democratic socialism. They're not doing too badly, are they? All of us our just one step away from being reliant on the welfare system. We break it up at our peril. Channel 5 and the Sun might have you believe that everyone on benefits is a workshy scrounger, but I thought you'd have too much intelligence to fall for that line Richard.

From: Jon Tarrey 30 November 2015 16:40 PM

Very true, Mark. Although if the petition gets over a certain threshold, MPs do at least have to consider it or even debate it in Parliament. This doesn't have anywhere near the numbers for that, and I doubt the public has too much sympathy with buy-to-let landlords.

From: Jon Tarrey 10 September 2015 10:14 AM

At least he's honest! Although he then goes on to say it's clean and tidy. It's either a total dive or it isn't! Most depressing thing is, some people probably took him up on the property, such is the dearth of quality, affordable housing in London.

From: Jon Tarrey 10 September 2015 10:12 AM

Oh joy of joys. 1.5m viewers per episode? I despair, I really do.

From: Jon Tarrey 29 July 2015 14:27 PM

Oh yes, we must avoid tax at all costs. The inheritance tax is unfair and taxes hard-working people who have worked all their lives to make money, blah, blah, blah. If more people paid the tax they owed, we'd all be better off. But no, people all want to find ways round it, loopholes, schemes, whatever it may be. It's much easier to hate on the so-called benefit scroungers than it is to go after the tax avoiders and tax evaders. They get a very easy ride of it.

From: Jon Tarrey 20 July 2015 14:43 PM

@Marie Field - if you can't cope with it, don't become a landlord. Furniture pillows and mattresses should be fire retardant, an EPC should be provided to tenants, electrical appliances should be checked regularly to ensure they are safe and in working order. These are just the basics. The bare minimum a tenant would expect. A landlord has a legal (and moral) obligation to keep their tenants safe. If you can't do that, don't rent out your properties.

From: Jon Tarrey 16 July 2015 11:19 AM

@Ray Evans - I thought I was the cynical one. It doesn't sound too good to be true, it just sounds like a sensible measure that should have been introduced a long time ago, across the board, all over Britain. Maybe then we wouldn't hear about so many landlords mistreating their tenants or making them live in barely inhabitable hovels. We read about a new case nearly every day on LAT and Landlord Today. But oh no, the landlords won't have that. It's always the fault of the pesky, good for nothing tenants, don't you know. 1. I think you're being too harsh on local councils in Wales, Ray. 2. No more than the cost of a court case or the fine a rogue landlord who's slipped through the net will have to pay for failing to provide heating or enough ventilation. And it's a small cost to pay if tenant safety isn't subsequently put at risk. 3. It will stop, or at least put another barrier in the way of, rogue landlords. And there are plenty of them, no matter how hard some try to deny it. It will improve the standard and condition of rental properties because landlords know they won't be able to get away with providing sub-standard accommodation. The safety of tenants goes up as does their security and satisfaction levels. 4. Legislation that is not being enforced is pointless. Even enforce it, or bring something new in to change it. We can't just sit on our laurels and go, "well, there's already loads of legislation in place, but we're just too lazy to do anything about it. It's too much effort, you know." Change things so it is enforced, don't just stick with the status quo because there is already malfunctioning, outdated legislation in place. 5. No, they're not.

From: Jon Tarrey 15 July 2015 17:08 PM

You just love having a dig at tenants, Richard, don't you? Yes, I know you'd say you're being tongue in cheek, but you're not really, are you? I guess, to your mind, landlords are perfect and tenants are smelly evil little things who don't know how to change a lightbulb and live no better than pigs. You know, that massive demographic of renters in this is country, which is getting bigger and bigger by the day because of the government's failure to build enough new house, can all just be placed in the same category with one broad and ill-founded generalisation. I think this is a great scheme, because landlords will actually have to prove they're fit and proper persons. Any old Tom, Dick and Harry won't be able to let out their properties, surely that's a good thing for the PRS? A bit of policing, a bit of regulation, flush out the rogues who don't give two hoots about their tenants. And annoy these precious landlords who seem to think the whole world is against them.

From: Jon Tarrey 15 July 2015 16:58 PM

Has anyone actually watched any of this rubbish? I feel like one of us should suffer through it so we can provide feedback on how utterly awful it is, like every other Channel 5 documentary ever made. Any volunteers? Billy the Fish?

From: Jon Tarrey 30 June 2015 10:24 AM

I'm not saying the authorities are perfect, far from it. I can well imagine them being very petty, bureaucratic and jobsworthy in certain situations. You can see that in every walk of life - a little bit of power goes straight to the head of some of these people. I've never experienced any of those ridiculous things that have happened to you, but I can fully believe that they happen. However, that doesn't mean I've lost all trust in the powers-that-be. I don't trust this current government whatsoever, but there must be some people on local councils and in positions of power at local authorities who know what they're doing. They can't all be incompetent, can they? Actually, don't answer that. What I took umbrage against was Jeremy's persecution complex, the 'poor little me' attitude that too many landlords have. They seem to be way too paranoid about an agenda against them. The PRS needs cleaning up, let's not beat around the bush about that. It's far from perfect, many landlords are far from perfect, and it would help if we didn't stop burying our heads in the sand about that fact.

From: Jon Tarrey 24 June 2015 14:27 PM

"at some point private landlords will just opt out and the economy will lose the revenue and jobs that being a private landlord brings." What a load of tosh! Honestly, private landlords seem to hold themselves up as God-like figures who can do absolutely no wrong. "How long would a "criminal landlord" be classed as a criminal landlord? Will the slate be wiped clean after a period of time like with real criminals? What is the criteria for being a criminal landlord? Been caught speeding - criminal landlord - missed a council tax payment - criminal landlord - dropped litter - criminal landlord - as I said its a nonsense proposal." You're being deliberately disingenuous, Jeremy. You know full well what a criminal landlord means and you know that a landlord who has been charged for speeding or dropping litter will not suddenly be stripped of their properties. They don't even do that for landlords who have actually committed a crime, for cry sake! Your anecdotal evidence is all very well, but you're just one landlord out of however many million. As we read regularly on these very pages, there are plenty of landlords out there providing sub-standard accommodation and treating their tenants like dogs to make a fast buck. Any steps to stop that should be welcomed - by private landlords more than most. Instead, the defensive shield comes up and landlords go on the attack against MPs, pesky tenants and anyone who doesn't fit their narrow little worldview.

From: Jon Tarrey 24 June 2015 10:52 AM

Other than the cricket highlights, there is no other good reason to watch Channel 5. Programmes like this should be avoided at all costs. Low-rent, lowest common denominator, brainless, exaggerated dross that should never see the light of day.

From: Jon Tarrey 23 June 2015 15:15 PM

Yes, but it's whether or not you consider being a landlord as a business. Some do, many don't. If we see housing as a basic right - i.e. everyone should have access to it and we should help shelter those most in need, which I think most right-thinking people would agree with - then it shouldn't be at the behest of landlords treating it as a business and milking as much money from it as possible. I don't agree that landlords shouldn't exist or that buy-to-let landlords should be completely obliterated, but I'm not so sure that they should be seen as businesses either. Otherwise you get situations like Fergus and Judith Wilson, who owned an obscene number of properties, made an obscene amount of money from them, and flouted the law on more than one occasion. These are not the sort of people we should be holding up as innovators. First-time buyers and young people who have already given up on owning a property in their lifetime are hardly going to have much sympathy when they see these buy-to-let landlords getting tax relief and tax breaks. Where are these things for people trying to get on the property ladder? It's not fair. Other than gimmicks like RTB and Help to Buy, people looking to buy get nowhere near as much help as those looking to buy to let. It's ridiculous and needs to be challenged.

From: Jon Tarrey 22 June 2015 13:13 PM

But...but...but...they do such fantastic, selfless work and need to be rewarded handsomely. No letting agent has ever done anything wrong, it's all just a conspiracy created by the media to scapegoat them. Am I along the right lines?

From: Jon Tarrey 22 June 2015 10:28 AM

What's Ms Creasy ever done wrong, Richard? As far as I can see, her record is pretty clean. The same can't be said for certain letting agents and landlords. Just because certain politicians are lying, money-grabbing, untrustworthy careerists, doesn't mean they all are. Just like all letting agents aren't greedy, unscrupulous and lazy, or all landlords self-interested and manipulative. If she thinks letting agents are taking the mickey with these fees - which is a pretty justified opinion -n then she has the right to call them out on it. You have a right to disagree in the strongest terms. Given her profession, she can hardly stand on the moral high ground without being called out for hypocrisy, but I genuinely do think she cares about her constituency and is a decent MP. Naïve, idealistic and experienced, which means she's not deputy leader material, but far from the worst we have in Parliament.

From: Jon Tarrey 17 June 2015 15:26 PM

What's that saying about people in glass houses? Startling hypocrisy from Ocean Finance. By all means have a go at letting agents fees, but make sure your own house is in order first.

From: Jon Tarrey 12 June 2015 12:02 PM

@Kenny - no, not at all. I actually have a conscience. Have you not seen these two in the news? I think they were even voted as Britain's worst landlords at one point. The mere fact they can make £100 million from providing accommodation to other people is depressing. The fact that they are then lauded as entrepreneurial wizards who should be held up as a beacon of success is ludicrous in the extreme. Two people shouldn't be allowed to own 1,000 properties when other people are struggling to even get on the ladder. All they were doing is hoarding more stock and then milking it for as much as it's worth. No wonder the public has such disdain for buy-to-let landlords like the Wilsons.

From: Jon Tarrey 09 June 2015 14:29 PM

Urgh. The dismal face of landlords. Greedy, underhand, arrogant, above the law, a dream for tabloid journos - the fact that these two might be making £100 million in profit makes me feel more than a little queasy. Everything that is wrong with the PRS, these two.

From: Jon Tarrey 09 June 2015 09:42 AM

Good old Foxtons! As if their reputation wasn't dismal enough.

From: Jon Tarrey 08 June 2015 10:27 AM

Such a typical Channel 5 programme. Desmond has a lot to answer for. Definitely one to avoid.

From: Jon Tarrey 03 June 2015 11:37 AM

And another one. Not saying all landlords are dodgy, but... Only joking, before all the landlords shout me down.

From: Jon Tarrey 28 May 2015 15:05 PM

What about the other half?

From: Jon Tarrey 28 May 2015 09:57 AM

Evictions on the up, rental arrears getting ever more severe for many - this isn't going to end well. Shanty towns/slums here we come!

From: Jon Tarrey 21 May 2015 11:03 AM

Greater tax breaks for landlords? Are you kidding? And you wonder why people think landlords are greedy so and so's. You really don't help yourself with comments like this.

From: Jon Tarrey 21 May 2015 11:02 AM

It's not quite as simple as that, though, is it? Will an 82 or 83 year old be fit and healthy enough to deal with everything that comes with being a landlord in the same way as a 72 or 73 year old would? In some cases, yes. In other cases, no. There's a reason why lenders have an age cap. It's not because of ageism, it's because they calculate the risk and believe it's more dangerous to be lending to people into their 80s who, if I can be terribly morbid for a minute, might not be around for too much longer. People are living longer, so these things are bound to change. But it's not quite as simple as just raising the maximum age up and up. Where do you stop? Do you start lending to people in their early and late nineties? What about people who are 102? These things have to be taken into account.

From: Jon Tarrey 19 May 2015 11:28 AM

According to the Evening Standard, the Qatari royal family just bought a six-storey house in Mayfair for a cool £40m. Alright some, eh? I think the PCL will be alright for a while yet, both from a lettings and sales perspective.

From: Jon Tarrey 19 May 2015 10:29 AM

Pretty shocking statistics. I fear this is only going to get worse in the next five years, particularly in London. Obviously, eviction is unavoidable in some cases - when a tenant treats the property poorly or causes considerable damage or in situations where tenants can but won't pay. But on this scale? No, something must be amiss.

From: Jon Tarrey 15 May 2015 10:36 AM

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