Property Hawk the landlord's homepage since 2006
Free Tenancy Agreement FREE tenancy agreement
Free Landlord Software FREE landlord software
Home | Property Manager | Free ASTs | Landlord Forms | Mortgages | Insurance | Inventory | Magazine | Landlords Bible | Directory | Forum | Training | News / Blog |

Friday, February 26, 2021

Rightmove has record day

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Planned CGT hike for landlords

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Commons defeat for cladding bill

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Renters face supply crisis: NRLA

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Stamp duty holiday extension?

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Welsh: Renting Homes (Amendment) Bill

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Paragon predicts BTL surge

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Monday, February 22, 2021

More renters will lose their homes

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

New hydrogen heated homes

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Return of bumper sized mortgages

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

450,000 more renters in arrears

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Fewer landlords buying

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Online property auction tips

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Landlord fined £336,000

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Friday, February 12, 2021

Hodge relaunches portfolio BTL range

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Repossessions tumble by 37% in pandemic

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Property market running hot and cold

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

No surge in evictions: Govt data

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Thursday, February 11, 2021

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

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Glasgow landlord loses deposit tribunal

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

The forgotten victims of cladding

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

£3.5bn more for cladding fund

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Govt to pay for cladding on 18m+ blocks

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Flashing red for the property market

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Weak start to 2021market -RICS

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Zoopla: Rental demand up 21%

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Decade-low central London rents

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Major city rents have fallen

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Will the squeeze on BTL continue?

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Almost a quarter of Londoners rent

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

UK house prices fall

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

Monday, February 01, 2021

Investing in warehouses

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Low attendance at eviction hearings

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Paragon adds green BTL products

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Leek United new portfolio BTLs

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates

Scotland scraps Help to Buy

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates