The Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to historic lows over the past year has also helped struggling landlords, according to ARLA. Half of those surveyed said they thought the cuts are tempting investor landlords back to the market because of the minimal interest to savings rates.
The ARLA survey also indicated the rise in buy-to-let activity could be as a result of “increased average weighted rental returns”. Houses had risen from
4.8 per cent to 5.1 per cent, with flats up from 4.9 per cent to 5.0 per cent. Returns for flats remained consistent throughout the UK.
However, optimism is muted in the buy-to-let market by the lack of buy-to-let mortgages on the market.
Checklist for investing landlords
This checklist is an introduction to buy-to-let highlighting the types of questions you should be asking yourself before buying a property to let out. It is not intended as an exhaustive list, merely an introduction for new buy-to-let investors, to a range of issues they should consider before entering the residential lettings market for the first time.
You should consider the following points before making any financial commitments:
Making your investment
Are you investing to generate an income or hoping to see your capital grow and are your expectations realistic?
Do you have sufficient capital of your own to invest in a property?
Are you prepared to tie-up your capital for a considerable period?
Will you have sufficient savings and other forms of capital after you have made this property investment?
Have you taken specialist tax advice about the implications of buying and selling a buy-to-let property, and the tax treatment of all income and expenditure from renting |
