A landlord with six properties has said he prefers to refer to renters as “clients”, as he feels he is running a business. 

Michael Houghton wants to retire early and has invested in properties that he hopes will provide him with enough income to quit work before he receives his state pension. 

“We have six rental properties and they're long-term rentals and they have mortgages on them,” he explained on The Claire Byrne Show. 

“We typically need to buy them with a 30% deposit; as you buy more properties, the banks tend to work quite favourably with you if you can show that you're a good landlord and you're good at buying property.

“So, they tend to give you a bit of finance terms long-term as well, which helps.”

A bunch of keys in a door lock. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

Mr Houghton added that the “key thing” to buying a rental property is getting the right rental price to match your mortgage interest rate. 

“It needs to be what's typically about an 8 or 9% yield,” he said. 

“So, a yield is the annual gross, so the amount of rent per year divided by the purchase price of the property you're looking for. 

“Typically, they want 8% plus.” 

However, he typically does not buy new builds, preferring instead ‘fixer-uppers’, which he then transforms. 

“You've got to have your electricians, your plumbers, your kitchen installer,” he said. 

“You're getting quotes left, right and center to try and get these things done.

“So, it's a business and that's really the key thing here. 

“We don't refer to them as tenants, I refer to them as clients. 

“You're trying to provide a service for somebody to have a nice home for themselves.”

Main image: A man holding a bunch of keys. Picture by: Alamy.com.