The UK buy to let market has suffered something of a fall from grace in recent years; previously a form of investment so popular that it spawned a range of ‘advisory’ reality TV shows, the last couple of years have seen the property market in the UK suffer severe stress as a result of prevailing global economic trends. The Credit Crunch has destroyed the ability of many to secure finance, and the difficulty in obtaining mortgages has slowed the market to such an extent - both for personal homeowners and buy to let investors – that many who invested in property in recent years have experienced the significant headache of negative equity, as a falling rate of sales has decimated market prices. Coupled with rising interest rates, buy to let quickly lost the ability to achieve immediate returns and large short to mid term capital growth - such as was seen only a few years ago as house prices continued to soar.
However, the deflationary process has led to a situation in the current housing market that can provide the right conditions for procuring a buy to let to offer a viable long term investment; an investment that can arguably rival the turbulent stock market as a secure sector in which to place capital. The key philosophy for successful investment is to regard buy to let as source of steady and regular rental income, rather than a place to achieve large short to mid term capital growth. .
The fact that first time mortgages are now much harder to obtain has stimulated the demand for rental accommodation in many areas; do your research on your local area by searching online for rental property and get an idea of average rent for the size of property that you wish to invest in. Now that prices have re-adjusted, have a look at what you can afford, sticking to the ratios that the experts advise for current buy to let investment: your property should be at a minimum, 75% - 85% loan to value, and return 125% of the monthly mortgage that you have to pay for it. .
As a landlord, it is an idea to look at home insurance, and buildings and contents insurance provisions for your property to ensure that you protect your investments; make sure that you inform your insurance broker (e.g. Legal and General) that the home insurance is for rental purposes or you may purchase a policy that does not cover you properly.
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