Rightmove has record day

Rightmove has record day as more homeowners plan to sell post-lockdown https://t.co/zvrArISoVd

— Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat) February 26, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Planned CGT hike for landlords

Planned changes to corporation and capital gains tax could cost buy-to-let landlords almost £7,000 each, reports @MariannaHunt5 https://t.co/PNm9tMaXju

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) February 26, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Commons defeat for cladding bill

Commons defeat leaves flat owners facing huge bills to fix cladding https://t.co/4L1XMeqKO2

— Property Hawk (@landlordnews) February 25, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Renters face supply crisis: NRLA

Is the stamp duty holiday set to be extended? We have called for the Chancellor to scrap the three per cent stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent. Read more: https://t.co/CjSYv7c8qI #Budget

— NRLA - National Residential Landlords Association (@NRLAssociation) February 24, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Stamp duty holiday extension?

A stamp duty holiday extension would come after months of pressure from the industry and a 150,000-strong online petition https://t.co/m92n61vzFw

— Homes & Property (@HomesProperty) February 24, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Welsh: Renting Homes (Amendment) Bill

The Renting Homes (Amendment) Bill passed stage four yesterday, and will now go to Royal Assent. NRLA Wales policy officer Calum Davies explains what landlords need to know, in this blog https://t.co/5VgSH31PzH

— NRLA - National Residential Landlords Association (@NRLAssociation) February 24, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Paragon predicts BTL surge

Paragon predicts BTL surge and adds pair of remortgage deals - https://t.co/hfhkAwnFn7 Paragon has introduced two remortgage only products into its buy-to-let range as the ... pic.twitter.com/wIDU90okTD

— Mortgage Solutions (@mortgagesols) February 23, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

More renters will lose their homes

‘More renters will lose their homes in the coming months’ without Government action, warn housing charities https://t.co/MbvGuZx3Ek

— Homes & Property (@HomesProperty) February 21, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

The PRS energy efficiency clock

Comment: The PRS energy efficiency clock is ticking - from @Paragon_Mtgs Richard Rowntree https://t.co/vRNMovFf3y

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) February 17, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Reasons for landlords to be optimistic

Comment: Reasons for landlords to be optimistic in 2021https://t.co/rlRBczwTWw

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) February 18, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Students wasted £1bn on rents

'I'm paying £3,400 for student housing I can't use' https://t.co/AKwwlGcX4h

— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) February 18, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

House prices rose by 8.5% last year

UK house prices rose by 8.5% last year amid stamp duty holiday https://t.co/AzjomGA6lI

— Guardian Money (@guardianmoney) February 17, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Prime city rental data: Savills

How has prime #rental growth performed across the 30 cities in our index and where are the most expensive locations to rent? Savills research takes a look: https://t.co/UtYjTeRuSL pic.twitter.com/UGzpugGd12

— Savills (@Savills) February 18, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Annual house price growth 8.5%: ONS

UK average house prices increased by 8.5% in the year to December 2020, up from 7.1% in November 2020 https://t.co/2aZjGSRP6L pic.twitter.com/rJ3isKBFVL

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) February 17, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

PRS rents up 1.3% : ONS data

Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to January 2021.

This is down from 1.4% in December 2020 https://t.co/wOOgthALJJ pic.twitter.com/6AhE8dYOFb

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) February 17, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

First 3D printed home goes own sale

First 3d Printed #home goes for sale in #NewYork https://t.co/6W2Qvnolhz

— Estate Agent Networking (@EAUKNetworking) February 15, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

New hydrogen heated homes

First UK homes with hydrogen boilers and hobs to be built by April https://t.co/x7tCrt78h4

— Guardian Money (@guardianmoney) February 16, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Return of bumper sized mortgages

A couple with a combined income of £60,000 can now borrow up to £330,000, instead of £240,000 https://t.co/KPvXyeu6Dn

— Telegraph Money (@MoneyTelegraph) February 16, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Buy-to-let is ageless

The size of the buy-to-let mortgage sector has been pretty stable over the last couple of years at around £36 billion. However, IMLA is forecasting an optimistic £283 billion for the total amount of mortgage lending in 2021 and some industry pundits are predicting growth in the buy-to-let sector, perhaps beyond £40 billion.

There are certainly reasons to support the continued viability of buy-to-let property as an attractive investment strategy, particularly in the current economic environment. With interest rates at near zero and the unpredictability of the stock market, the yields associated with tangible bricks and mortar are a serious contender.

The buy-to-let mortgage sector may also see new interest among larger mainstream lenders looking to widen their propositions with products that provide a good margin, so specialist lenders may experience some additional competition for market share.

All of this bodes well for landlords as lenders are demonstrating an appetite for business, providing an increasing number of products to choose from and widening criteria options to suit most buy-to-let mortgage requirements.

Buy-to-let finance has never been a one size fits all product. Some lenders focus primarily on ‘vanilla’ cases, whilst others such as Paragon Mortgages, Zephyr Homeloans or Foundation Home Loans have a more specialist proposition. What it does mean is that landlords from an ever-widening demographic make up the population of property investors in the UK.

Certainly, age is no barrier to residential property investment. For older landlords, those approaching retirement age or beyond, there is a wide range of lenders and products to choose from catering for most finance needs. There are providers with a maximum age at application of 75, 80, 90 and some with no maximum age requirement at all.

Buy-to-let property may also become more popular among the younger demographic and most buy-to-let lenders have a minimum age of 18 or 21, providing other lending criteria is met. Career expectations for young adults have changed considerably in recent years and the pandemic has inspired many to set up their own business ventures during lockdown.

A recent poll for ISP GoDaddy showed that 1 in 10 people in the 16-24 age bracket had set up their own businesses during the last year, and 1 in 5 have developed concrete plans to start up a new venture. With such entrepreneurial spirit being demonstrated by the younger generation, could buy-to-let property be an attractive option for those aspiring to have a self-employed lifestyle?

Being able to work from anywhere, travel and set your own work schedule is a potential perk of being a landlord, although it does take time and commitment to build up a property portfolio that provides a suitable income to become a professional landlord.

For people looking for an alternative to pensions, buy-to-let property is a worthy consideration for medium to long term investment at any age. Buy-to-let property is also a leveraged investment, with lenders typically offering 75 per cent loan-to-value on their product ranges, which is another good reason for its popularity.

During the last 12 months, with household spending being curtailed by the pandemic, there has been the opportunity for some to save up significant sums of money, which could provide the deposit for a first buy-to-let property or portfolio expansion for those already in the market.

There is certainly plenty of opportunity in the buy-to-let sector for landlords, so there is reason to be optimistic about your prospects this year.

Property Hawk Mortgages is a specialist in the buy-to-let mortgage market. We have a wealth of knowledge and are dedicated to helping UK landlords find the best financial products and services available to them.

Use our free online mortgage search tool at Property Hawk Mortgages

Please let us know how we can support you, we are here to help.

Call us now on 029 2069 5446

Visit www.propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

450,000 more renters in arrears

450,000 families ‘behind on rent because of Covid’ https://t.co/JSuIZ5khpx

— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) February 16, 2021

The number of households in rental arrears in Jan jumped by 450,000 vs pre-pandemic levels – a 150% increase, according to @resfoundation.

The jobs crisis has disproportionately hit renters and younger workers, it found 👇@MelissaLawford has more here: https://t.co/kEKQmMnPMc pic.twitter.com/BLGIr3RqyE

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) February 16, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Fewer landlords buying

Fewer landlords use cash to snap-up properties ahead of stamp duty deadline – Hamptons - https://t.co/peGyC0gfFn Fewer landlords are purchasing buy-to-let inves... pic.twitter.com/HJxEX2LasL

— Mortgage Solutions (@mortgagesols) February 15, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Online property auction tips

As you effectively exchange contracts when the gavel comes down, & complete within 28 days, auction can be a good option if you are looking to buy a property quickly and without a chain...https://t.co/oj5YSnycI9

— Essential Information Group (@AuctionProperty) February 16, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Landlord fined £336,000

Landlord ordered to pay £336,000 or face 18 months in jail after failing to comply with enforcement orders dating back to 2013: https://t.co/YYwFOo7AR8 pic.twitter.com/dXpRzpSZS1

— Planning Magazine (@PlanningMag) February 16, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Can the Govt fix the cladding crisis?

Can the government's proposals fix the residential cladding crisis? https://t.co/cUTKC7smre pic.twitter.com/hHMkoRQTHO

— MoneyWeek (@MoneyWeek) February 13, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

House price boom slows

The UK house price boom of 2020 show signs of slowing in 2021 https://t.co/rMv0B6u6z9 pic.twitter.com/hZoscdkgsi

— MoneyWeek (@MoneyWeek) February 12, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Hodge relaunches portfolio BTL range

Hodge relaunches portfolio BTL range and adds specialised investment product - https://t.co/dftakc9Zxz Hodge has relaunched its standard portfolio buy-to-le... pic.twitter.com/K9qLyHV0Mp

— Mortgage Solutions (@mortgagesols) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Repossessions tumble by 37% in pandemic

Landlord repossessions tumble by 37% in pandemic: Ministry of Justicehttps://t.co/HXcntqeJ2A

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Property market running hot and cold

Britain's property market is starting to polarise between cold and hot, with demand higher than ever in some places and homes snapped up within days 👇

Read @MariannaHunt5's analysis of the top five counties in England for sellers https://t.co/jtjv7swCSO pic.twitter.com/mSK3mzlgsk

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

No surge in evictions: Govt data

Warnings of a surge of evictions following the partial lifting of the repossessions ban last September have proved to be unfounded according to new gov't data https://t.co/ZYD8ldTutY A financial support package must be developed to support those facing rent arrears due to Covid19

— NRLA - National Residential Landlords Association (@NRLAssociation) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

What are the options for a joint tenant wanting to move out?

What are the options for a joint tenant wanting to move out? - https://t.co/7agjnqNQJ9 #landlordlaw pic.twitter.com/pm5aetb25c

— Tessa Shepperson (@TessaShepperson) February 10, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Glasgow landlord loses deposit tribunal

Glasgow students win deposit tribunal case against Glasgow landlord https://t.co/vO62av3o72

— Property Hawk (@landlordnews) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

The forgotten victims of cladding

The forgotten victims: the leaseholders the government’s cladding proposals do not help https://t.co/Wc6OVnSrHq #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/lB63jgG3gv

— Inside Housing (@insidehousing) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

£3.5bn more for cladding fund

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced £3.5bn more funding to remove dangerous cladding from high-rise buildings in England, but it will still leave leaseholders paying thousands for other related costs.https://t.co/50wEGKReA5

— Which? Money (@WhichMoney) February 10, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Govt to pay for cladding on 18m+ blocks

Housing minister #RobertJenrick says remediation will be paid but only for properties that are over 18m or six storeys tall. #cladding #claddingcrisis https://t.co/qKb2wJxJmK

— The Negotiator (@TheNeg) February 10, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Flashing red for the property market

Signs are flashing red for the property market.

Agreed sales, buyer inquiries, new instructions and three-month transaction expectations all plunged in Jan, according to @RICSnews 👇@MelissaLawford takes a closer look at the numbers here: https://t.co/JXpk4t7cd2 pic.twitter.com/vrdfGyzugQ

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Weak start to 2021market -RICS

Housing market starts 2021 on weaker ground – RICS - https://t.co/9ZZh3ExfUl The housing market started 2021 on a weaker footing, with falling numbers of new sales, buyers and listings, surveyors ... pic.twitter.com/PbDNhH94jT

— Mortgage Solutions (@mortgagesols) February 11, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Zoopla: Rental demand up 21%

Zoopla: Rental demand up 21% https://t.co/equVtb7KqI

— Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat) February 9, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Decade-low central London rents

Decade-Low Rents Lure Tenants to Central London https://t.co/6k8faqrHXH via @MansionGlobal

— Tom Bill (@TomBill_KF) February 9, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Major city rents have fallen

Rents have fallen in major cities across the UK.

London suffered most of all with a fall of 8.3% – the largest since the great financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, according to @Zoopla 👇@MariannaHunt5 has the full story here: https://t.co/Z5XfCsrEqX pic.twitter.com/TumbUmoCd2

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) February 9, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Will the squeeze on BTL continue?

Will the squeeze on buy-to-let returns continue? https://t.co/tENg9CNrmc

— Investors' Chronicle (@IChronicle) February 9, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Almost a quarter of Londoners rent

Almost a quarter of London population rent https://t.co/QAShUHUrvP

— Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat) February 9, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Ikea’s recycling scheme

Will Ikea’s recycling scheme really make it greener? https://t.co/8n8lNWbV66

— Guardian Money (@guardianmoney) February 6, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Tenant demand hits 5 yr high

Tenant demand for properties hits five-year high: Paragonhttps://t.co/7ShZg4GwlD

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) February 3, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Landlord told staff to kill themselves

Fergus Wilson 'told staff to kill themselves during decade of harassment' https://t.co/y9Fy7MD55D

— Property Hawk (@landlordnews) February 3, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Further losses for commercial landlords

Commercial landlords brace for further income losses as strain intensifies https://t.co/VpbDwbElOR

— Investors' Chronicle (@IChronicle) February 2, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

UK house prices fall

UK house prices fall as end of stamp duty holiday nears https://t.co/rRTcBBiT8x

— Guardian Money (@guardianmoney) February 2, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Stamp duty cliff edge for buy-to-let

After a successful e-petition, MPs debated extending the stamp duty holiday on 1st February, so we eagerly await the outcome.

The stamp duty holiday announced in July 2020 for properties up to £500,000 in England provided a welcome boost to the housing market allowing it to make a recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The cost saving incentive has certainly had an impact and resulted in increased activity in the purchase market, including buy-to-let properties.

However, the surge in mortgage applications is not without its problems, with some lenders being overwhelmed with new business and delays occurring with conveyancing work as solicitors try to deal with the increased demand on their services.

The deadline of 31st March 2021 when the stamp duty holiday is due to end means that time is running out for anyone looking to take advantage of it. Recent research by Legal and General Mortgage Club found that the average time for a property purchase, from finding a property to completion is taking at least 14 weeks as processing times have doubled due to the high demand.

At Property Hawk Mortgages, we only deal with buy-to-let mortgage applications, but we have heard warnings from the home moving industry that some purchase transactions are taking up to 5 months to complete, which means that the window of opportunity of getting a mortgage for property purchases that avoid paying stamp duty may well be closed.

There has been concern throughout the industry that having a hard deadline for property purchases to complete may cause some transactions to fail at the last hurdle, especially as the current Help to Buy scheme is also due to end on 31st March.

For example, prospective first-time buyers may not have enough savings to cover the 3 per cent stamp duty charge if it was suddenly payable when they are due to exchange contracts on their new home. This could then cause a breakdown in the property chain, causing unintended but drastic knock-on effects in the housing market.

There have been calls by the home moving industry for the stamp duty holiday to be extended by another 6 months and to have a tapered ending to avoid creating a cliff edge scenario for buyers. This would then release the pressure on all parties involved in property purchase transactions and encourage the housing market to continue its recovery beyond the 31stMarch deadline.

After a successful e-petition, MPs debated extending the stamp duty holiday on 1st February, so we eagerly await the outcome.

Whatever happens with the stamp duty deadline, it is important for mortgage lenders and brokers to be supportive of each other during this period of increased demand for finance. It may seem sensible to submit cases to lenders as quickly as possible, but it is just as important to make sure that they are fully packaged, with all the required documentation, in order to ensure the application can be processed without unnecessary delays. Equally it is vital that lenders are transparent about their current turnaround times so that brokers and their clients have realistic expectations for offer and completion dates.

After all, we’re all in this together.

Property Hawk Mortgages is a specialist in the buy-to-let mortgage market. We have a wealth of knowledge and are dedicated to helping UK landlords find the best financial products and services available to them.

Use our free online mortgage search tool at Property Hawk Mortgages

Please let us know how we can support you, we are here to help.

Call us now on 029 2069 5446

Visit www.propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Investing in warehouses

My view in the @DailyMailUK @thisismoney here: https://t.co/HCaN7qDA4c on the explosion of interest in warehousing/logistics from property investors in light of COVID and the concurrent rise of online shopping across all retail categories.

— Jonathan De Mello (@DeMelloRetail) January 30, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Low attendance at eviction hearings

Low tenant attendance for eviction hearings spark calls for courts to close https://t.co/CHDp91RRfN #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/uoTDpIkNHe

— Inside Housing (@insidehousing) February 1, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Paragon adds green BTL products

Paragon adds green BTL products to support government scheme https://t.co/qPWpH2if94

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) February 1, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Leek United new portfolio BTLs

Leek United reintroduces portfolio BTL and interest-only products https://t.co/gx83R9bjot

— Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat) February 1, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Scotland scraps Help to Buy

Scottish government scraps Help to Buy https://t.co/dIJVrqn7Gc #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/pCLoto23iF

— Inside Housing (@insidehousing) February 1, 2021

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates