My Landlord Diary - Journey to becoming a Landlord

Dear Diary (entry #1)…

I want to be rich.

Filthy rich.

But I don’t want greed to mess with my karma.

So I want to be an adequate amount of filthy rich.

I guess living a comfortable life will suffice, which provides provisions to help others in need.

I’ve thought about this for some time now, and I *think* I’m officially ready to let go of my parents’ comforting and warm hands. It’s time to take on some responsibility beyond caring for my hamster, and make something of myself.

The plan in theory is simple, and a common one (since half the country seems to be bitten by the property buy): become a landlord.

Why a landlord?

Why not?

I’ve been aware of the booming property market for quite some time and it has always appealed to me. You always hear about the property tycoons – seemingly effortlessly – becoming millionaires. I want a piece of that action.

Plus, Property Ladder makes it look so easy. So it must be.

Sarah Beeny wouldn’t lie to me.

I wouldn’t say I have a passion for property – I haven’t even entered the game yet – but I definitely have a keen and growing thirst to roll the dice.

As they say in Vegas, let the chips fall where they may.

I’m in a position where I have idle cash effectively laying dormant in a low-interest savings account, which seems to be on a path to a slow and painful death as it struggles to keep up with inflation.

I need to revive my small, lazy fortune and make it work.

So here I am, documenting my journey from property-idiot, to hopefully, successful property landlord.

Why am I documenting my story?

I don’t want to bore my uninterested friends with my property related woes, so I’m going to release all my stresses and verbal diarrhoea right here. Ultimately, I’d rather bore you instead of my family and friends. Anonymity has its perks.

But I am hoping fellow property veterans, experts and enthusiasts will find me and join me, and share their wisdom to help me along my journey.

In a perfect world, I’ll do a lot of things right, so maybe I’ll provide value to others that are in the same position as me, or maybe one or two steps behind.

What type of property am I after?

I have a budget of around £165k, which I’m told requires approximately £25k deposit.

I made a conscious decision from the very beginning that I’m going to keep it local, because I want this project to be as convenient as possible. Just the thought of traveling half way across the country, or even an hour away, makes me want to vomit.

I’m looking to purchase a 2 bedroom terraced freehold house, in a very specific part of a local town on the outskirts of North London. I know the area quite well, and I already know it’s an extremely desirable location for renters. It’s close to the bustling town centre, with good local amenities, and the transport links are more than efficient, especially for London commuters.

Apparently I’m checking all the right boxes on every basic guide to buying the right BTL property.

First Steps: hunting for properties on Rightmove!

I guess we have liftoff.

The journey of how I became a landlord…