Saturday, Dec 16, 2006
2 x maths teachers + 700 houses = 1 x £240m buy-to-let empire
The Guardian Unlimited: 2 x maths teachers + 700 houses = 1 x £240m buy-to-let empire
House prices in UK will never crash, say Mr and Mrs Wilson of Ashford, Kent.
If you think house prices are already outrageous, look away now. According to two former maths teachers from south London,
who are Britain's buy-to-let king and queen, the property market will never crash.
Husband and wife magnates Fergus and Judith Wilson have just signed a deal to buy their 700th house.
If things go to plan, they will become the country's first buy-to-let billionaires.
Every week they buy another house - and on one day alone spent £10m buying 40 properties off a distressed developer.
by Patrick Collinson The Guardian, Saturday December 16, 2006
Posted by hyrax @ 12:44 AM (186 views) Add Comment
16 Comments
- If you do not have an admin password leave the password field blank.
- If you would like to request a password allowing you to add comments and blog news articles without needing each one approved manually, send an e-mail to the webmaster.
- Your email address is required so we can verify that the comment is genuine. It will not be posted anywhere on the site, will be stored confidentially by us and never given out to any third party.
- Please note that any viewpoints published here as comments are user's views and not the views of HousePriceCrash.co.uk.
- Please adhere to the Guidelines
1. Tangara said...
hmmm, Pyramid schemes smell good Bubble !!!
Tangara
2. Nasha said...
So they are uber rich on paper, but assuming that there is a crash I'd like to see how they weather the storm.
Personally I think they should stick to comprehensive maths rather than advanced statistics and probability.
3. Geneer said...
having 1 billion mortgage debt doesn't make you a billionare.
4. Davros said...
Pride comes before a fall...
5. About-to-buy said...
I do not like this one bit. Some of us need homes to live in - not as an investment.
6. nearly30 said...
Absolutely disgusting. Hope govt. slaps a hefty business tax on them.
That's 700 families missing out on a home!
Mean while they help push the prices ever further away from everyone else!
Every time they capture housing stock they use the interest-only option - so they have the assest and get everyone else to fund it!
B*stards - a total act of usurping the housing stock / market - no need for it - not as though there is a surplus and people are not willing to buy it with good old fashioned mortgages - it's just that they can act quicker.
Makes my blood boil and gives me every reason to hate this country even more.
An investment is fine - but this takes the p*ss!!
Come on NuLabour - put a stop to this now!!! This is why society is breaking down so quickly - it is no wonder we have the problems we see today - no-one can feel 'at home' - setttled - willing to put down roots and commit to investing in a future!!!! They haven't even been given the option any more! And what lesson is this for our kids!!
A HPC would help but I feel the rot for society has already set in!
Rant over!!!
7. Nohpc said...
I think it is unfair to blame these people. They have made good decisions and earned their money. They were maths teachers not yuppies to start with. It annoys me that people here say that anyone out to make money is greedy. Everybody else would have done the same thing if they had the hindsight. Try and tell me that if you could rewind to 1995 you wouldn't mortgage up to the max with interest only mortgage and BTL them all!!
8. sold 2 rent 1 said...
Personally I don't have a problem with the BTL brigade.
A good supply of rented accommodation is good for a mobile labour force.
Houses prices would still get to the same high level without these BTL guys.
"But Fergus Wilson predicts that prices will double every seven years and says the typical property he owns - a £200,000 two- to three-bed starter home - will cost £400,000 by 2013, £800,000 by 2020 and £1.6m by 2027."
These figures are bonkers - unless we have rampant inflation.
9. Leedel20 said...
Maybe they will die.
10. Ticktock said...
I do hope that the Guardian revisit these social 'tumers' in a few years to see how it all pans out for them.
Its sad to think that such selfish and anti- social behaviour might be rewarded by our system and It would be great to hear that they had been ruined at some point in the future.
I suspect that by 2013 we might see a headline like 'Maths teachers in suicide shock - Nobody attends funeral - tennants dance on grave'
11. the bald man said...
Just wait until Ashford Eurostar terminal is closed. Number of trains per day is reducing as Ebbsfleet takes over. Ashford houses doubling in price? Ever heard of a diversified portfolio?
12. Mjs9691 said...
There was a clip of these 2 characters on one of the property porn shows a few months back. When asked then about the state of the market they were confident then. They were originally doing this part time from the late 70’s/ early 80’s onwards although this article says they started in the 90’s. This would indicate that they know what they are doing having already weathered the late 80’s early 90’s correction. The Govt needs to limit by taxation, this greed on the backs of others.
13. monty said...
nearly30
"700 families missing out on a home" - I have lived in rented accomodation for well over half my life and have never, ever been homeless. You are confusing home ownership with having a home.
If someone is prepared to take on £240m amount of debt in such a risky market then they should be rewarded for it. It makes my eyes water to think about it though. Looking at it another way, if the Wilson's little gamble doesn't pay off and prices fall then they have just financed most of the new build in Ashford which they may then be forced to sell to Joe Public at a substantial discount. The Wilsons will still owe the banks £240m which, unlike Barclaycard, they will not be so willing to write-off.
14. Cstanhope707 said...
What is even more disgusting is that they are classified as Key Workers and will get Government help. Hope these two are the first to the wall. I want to see so much misery and hell for these BTL's coming up.
Strongly suggest after the crash see if it is a BTL owner then make an offer and pull out at the last minute.
15. Dohousescrashinthewoods said...
price comes before a fall
16. Bobsta said...
If their portfolio is worth £240m, and they "put their personal wealth at £180m" then surely they've only got £60m of debt. A HPC of massive proportions is still going to leave them well and truly minted.
It's hard not to be impressed at the sheer scale of their success. Although I agree that the impact they've had on the market is clearly monopolistic and detrimental and shouldn't be allowed.