Celebrating female landlords this International Women's Day 2021
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we wanted to showcase a range of stories from female landlords from across our membership.
There are often stereotypes of landlords being predominantly male, but according to a study by ludlowthompson, 47% of buy-to-let landlords in the UK are in fact women, which reflects that property is moving towards equality much faster than other industries. There are said to be 1.3 million women landlords involved in the buy-to-let market, according to London based estate agents but we don’t often see this portrayed across the industry.
I’ve been luckily enough to speak to a range of female landlords, who have shared their own experiences and have provided tips for new landlords starting their journey.
Sarah, a landlord based in Milton Keynes commented: “I think the future is bright for those willing to adapt and there is no reason why more women can't be part of a growing female property investor community.
"I would love to see more financial education introduced at school level. Having exposure at an early age to a variety of options and careers is crucially important to change the perception of what property investors and landlords look like and to know it's possible. Also, for women to gain confidence around money and financial management in general and that investing doesn't have to be daunting or confusing.
There is a lot of support out there, just need to encouragement to get out there and learn about property investing.”
Regarding advice for other female landlords, Sarah commented: “Take the first small step today. This could be, reading a property related book or join a local networking meeting. However small, it's these actionable steps that help gain momentum.” Read more of Sarah's story here.
Carrie, a landlord based in Manchester commented: “I bought my first residential property when I was 21. We made a large profit on it in just a year as we bought just before the boom in 2001. We decided to take a bit of the equity out and invest in buy to let. We figured if everyone else could do it then so could we!”
Sarah provided some tips and advice for other female landlords and stated: “Start young, you’re likely to make the odd mistake and will need time to make it a profitable business, property is not a quick investment. Additionally, use your instinct with people, particularly important with prospective tenants, if it doesn’t feel right then walk away. In contrast to that, use logic with purchases, don’t follow your heart with bricks and mortar, use maths, logic and proven techniques for sound purchases.”
Karen Gregory, NRLA rep for London, discussed how she started off her journey becoming a landlord: “I bought a small 1 bed flat in Tottenham that I lived in as my first step on the property ladder. After living there for a few years and as London prices had steadily increased, I realised that there was a way to take out some of the equity that had built up in this property in order to put down a deposit for a 2 bed property for me to move to. I changed my residential mortgage into a buy to let mortgage and found a lovely couple to rent it to. They rented for many years before buying it from me. The sale of that flat then provided the opportunity for me to buy my next place.” She also spoke about who inspires her within the sector: “There are many women within my network who I admire. Women developers doing amazing things in niches like developing property for those with various care needs, women who have led developments that have faced huge challenges through the pandemic and Brexit, but whose vision to deliver beautiful homes has kept them focussed and all the women who are landlords that have found a way to ensure tenants can stay in their own homes, come up with payment plans, or found solutions to keep families together.”
It's not all plain sailing for women within property as there are sometimes additional hurdles to overcome.
NRLA rep for Wales, Gill Owens commented: "I still think it is more difficult to lenders and banks to lend to women only – the old inequality unconscious bias that bubbles to the surface!"
NRLA rep for The Midlands, Sandra who brought her first property at 28 years old highlighted some important advice regarding keeping safe: “Remember to stay safe; tell people where you are and what you’re doing and keep your phone in easy reach. Don’t accept behaviour that makes you uncomfortable. Find someone with experience that you trust to guide or mentor you or stay ‘small’ - others will always be doing fancy sounding developments and racing on but you have to keep clarity around what is right for you.”
Landlord Catherine said: "I've lost count of the number of times I've turned up to do a viewing and am assumed to be the agent not the landlord. This then turns into a positive as I find people are a lot more receptive to me and I think this helps develop a good relationship".
If you’d like to get in touch and share your own stories and experiences as a landlord, then please tweet us at @NRLAassociation
