“We were watching the evening news thinking: ‘This isn’t good,’” recalls Lisa, a PR manager. “We both lived on our own and didn’t
want to be locked down apart, so I packed my stuff up that night
and moved into Grant’s with my cats Casper and Khan.”
The decision to share Grant’s flat was a practical one – it has two bedrooms, one of which could double as an office. But leaving her
own flat was a wrench for Lisa. “My mum died when I was just 23
and left me some money, which I used as a deposit on it,” she says.
“I love it because of that connection to Mum but also it’s gorgeous
– Georgian with classic features like cornicing and wooden floors. Grant’s place is 1990s – more modern but less character.”
Still, if lockdown was a test for couples cooped up together, Lisa and Grant, a data engineer, passed with flying colours: last Christmas they decided to make their temporary arrangement permanent.
“I decided not to sell my flat – it was an emotional but also a practical decision,” Lisa says. “It’s a good investment, especially in the long term as my pension isn’t great. It’s in a popular area where right now prices are rising faster than the rest of town.”
Lisa’s residential mortgage was with NatWest so she decided, in the first instance, to try swapping it over to buy-to-let.
PR executive Lisa didn’t let lockdown get her down – she moved in
with partner Grant and used her flat to enter the buy-to-let business
Lisa’s story
I decided to rent out my flat rather than sell
it because of its connection with my mum
“I was a bit daunted, imagining it to be a complicated process,” Lisa remembers. “In fact it was easy – I logged into my mortgage portal
on the NatWest website, filled out some forms, paid a fee and a few weeks later my buy-to-let mortgage was approved.”
The most complicated aspect of becoming a landlord, Lisa discovered, was getting all the certifications required by law to rent the flat out – especially in March last year, when the UK was in varying degrees of lockdown. “I was allowed to have tradespeople round because I was preparing the flat for rental, but one day three turned up at the same time,” Lisa says.
Lisa’s initial plan was to hire a lettings agent to find tenants, asking
in an Edinburgh Facebook group for recommendations. But a former colleague, who was flat hunting, spotted her post and moved into Lisa’s place a month later. “It’s working really well,” Lisa says. “My tenant Sian posts photos on Instagram taken in my flat – and seeing
it loved makes me happy.”
Lisa pays her buy-to-let mortgage and half the bills at Grant’s with
the rental income, putting some aside for tax and savings. And she’s putting her stamp on Grant’s place buying cushions, lamps and plants to make it more homely.
The cats, meanwhile, have their paws under the table. “I think they’re happier here as it’s surrounded by green space – they sit at the big windows gazing out at the birds and rabbits,” Lisa says.
wo days before the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, Edinburgh couple Lisa Bennett and Grant Patience decided to move in together.
My tenant loves my flat – that makes me happy
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New chapter
Lisa entered the rental business during lockdown
YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE
All information within this article is produced by The Times. Please note that the views
and information have not been endorsed, issued or approved by NatWest. Any views
expressed in this article are not necessarily those of NatWest.
NatWest Buy to Let mortgages available to over-18s. Eligibility criteria and Product Fees apply. Maximum Loan to Value 75%.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Katherine ANNE Rose
ILLUSTRATION: SIMON JUGOVIC FINK FOR BRIDGE STUDIO
YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT
KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE
All information within this article is produced by The Times. Please note, other than the comments directly from members
of NatWest, the views and information have not been
endorsed, issued or approved by NatWest.
NatWest Buy to Let mortgages available to over-18s. Eligibility criteria and Product Fees apply. Maximum Loan to Value 75%.
I decided to rent out my flat rather than sell
it because of its connection with my mum
Lisa’s story
T
If buy-to-let is an option you’re considering as part of
your long-term financial plans, NatWest could help. Visit natwest.com/mortgages/buy-to-let for tips, information and a useful mortgage calculator to help you start planning your future.
Investing in your future
If buy-to-let is an option you’re considering as part of your long-term financial plans, NatWest could help. Visit natwest.com/mortgages/buy-to-let for tips, information and a useful mortgage calculator
to help you start planning your future.
Investing in your future