Struggling to get a buy-to-let mortgage?

I don't usually do promotional posts on landlord products because it's not really what this blog and Property Hawk is all about.

However, I had an e-mail from one of the brokers at Trustguard who specialise in providing finance for more difficult or specialist investment properties or landlords with more demanding requirements.

It seems selfish to keep the info to myself when I know how difficult it is for many of us property investors to get funds.

Trustguard have a panel of 16 buy-to-let lenders who offer mortgages that can meet the following criteria:


Ø Self employed self cert of income to 90% LTV

Ø Employed self cert of income to 80% LTV

Ø BTL to 85% LTV

Ø Flats above commercial premises

Ø Sub prime to 90% LTV

Ø FTB’s with adverse credit

Ø Holiday lets and second homes

Ø RTB with adverse to 85% LTV

Ø Residential new build flats to 90% LTV

Ø Shared equity schemes to 70% LTV (100% borrowing)

Ø Guarantor schemes to 95% LTV


If landlords want to know more visit the mortgage section

Landlords are often viewed as cockroaches by their tenants

Ive been pondering over the last few weeks what the image of the typical landlord is.

I discussed the marketeers ideal image of a landlord here, and the glamorous landlord here, but have no clearer vision of what the true image of a typical landlord is.

This got me thinking on the nature of image and perception, so I started to ponder on how others perceive landlords.
How does your tenant see you?
As a gentle, pastoral figure, wanting to create shelter for them, to look after them and keep them safe from harm, asking only for a small donation to help with the up-keep of the property.

Or as a blood-sucking, vile, slimey hollow shell of a human, looking to bleed them dry and then try to strip their carcass of any remaining cash or self-worth when they have decided to leave the property by holding on to a chunk of their deposit.

Whose to know what tenants really think because let's face it anyone can be nice to your face, but how do they really see you.

This image i found was drawn by a tenant, and paints the landlord as a giant, smoking, cockroach. To me it is drawn in such an aggressive manner I can only imagine that harm is wished upon him.

Looking at it again I think I recognise him from my local landlord's association.
Does anyone else recognise him?

Send me images of the 'typical landlord' to contact@propertyhawk.co.uk - no landlord's wives pictures, thanks.

Landlords -getting a plumber

Getting my plumber to one of my residential properties is almost as difficult as getting Miss Jones out on a date.

The process normally starts several months prior to an actual visit. First, its a case of establishing contact. I do my best to lay on the charm, be sociable, ask him how he is, show concern that his pet parrot is off colour.

Beat the credit crunch - 5 brokers - 1 FORM

Getting a date
We establish what is the problem and I normally give him the details of the residential investment property and the tenants contact details so that he can arrange at his convenience when he wants to go around. I try and pin him down to a date (not literally - Miss Jones would certainly not be impressed) as to when he intends to have made the first inspection. "By the end of the week" I tentatively suggest.

Then, the merry dance ensues. I phone the tenant, they inform me that there has been no sign or sound from the plumber. I chase the plumber. Oh dear - his vans off the road, his fuel pumps gone. I suggest that may be he could cycle round, or if necessary crawl there. He appears to think me impertinent. He concedes that he will try and get round. I don't hold my breath.

Saving money
Meanwhile the tenant grows more impatient and thinks I'm just using delay tactics to avoid spending money on my residential investment property. I refute that. I don't mind money on my buy-to-let property if I have to, I just don't like wasting money.

The truth is my plumber is cheap, incredibly cheap. He charges £40 for a landlord safety check with two appliances. This is why I indulge him in his slightly eccentric ways.

I have thought about getting insurance for boilers - it's always the boilers that go. I know that some of the boilers are getting on a bit and if this winter was as eventful as last it would probably save me a lot of hassle and conversations about his ailing parrot.


Should I get boiler insurance?

Miss Jones has come up with an explanation about while I am having problems getting the plumber to the job. Her theory is that I've actually been talking to the parrot not the plumber. Come to think about it. He does always reply to every comment.

"I'll be round next week".

Buy-to-let Bovey hits buffers

It's nice to know in the current property investment climate that you are not the only landlord that is suffering.

Landlords- where do professional landlords go for their buy-to-let insurance.


The property slump is also effect the rich and the famous landlords too. Take for instnace the partner of Anthea Turner, Grant Bovey who has according to Property Week has hit the buffers as his buy-to-let business Imagine Homes has been hit by the slump in property investment activity.

It seems that the Royal Bank of Scotland will take control of Imagine Homes buy-to-let business including the outstanding rental guarantees, whilst Bovey will retain control of the marketing operation.

Imagine is currently offering to pay a landlords mortgage for 5 years. I'm currently investigating the details and will report more of the details about this offer at a later date.

Why are landlords so bullish?

In the current down turn, with house prices crashing and debt and buy-to-let mortgage costs going through the roof.

It appears that us landlords are a pretty optomistic bunch.

According to market research agency BDRC 41% of the 508 landlords surveyed between December 2007 and March 2008 expressed optimism about Britain's private rental sector.

An even higher proportion (54%) thought residential property still had the potential to offer better growth than other forms of investment; 44% said that while letting wasn't currently their main source of income, they expected it to be in the future.


According to Money Week landlord's apparent lack of concern appears complacent. Rising interest rates have pushed rental profitability to its lowest level since the survey began. The average gross rent was £30,140 a year and the average portfolio size £697,670; so even rental yields before deductions averaged just 4.3% - well below the cost of borrowing.

So why the optomism?

The main reason appears to be that us landlords are actually a cautious lot. This means that the average buy-to-let position is still affordable. This is because the average buy-to-let loan is only £282,950 making the average loan to value (LTV)only 40.5%.

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Therefore despite the fact that variable buy-to-let mortgage rates have risen above 7%, our average buy-to-let investor will still have outgoings of no more than £20,000 against a gross income of £30,140 giving the average landlord a nice tidy £10,000 of income. That kind of residual income is a recipe for optomism in anyones eyes!


Are you optomistic or pessimistic - post your comments below

London landlords with unrealistic rents

I read in the FT at the weekend that some London landlords are being greedy in the rents they are demanding.

Although rents have been rising fast, agents said some of the prices landlords expected were too ambitious.

Savills have stopped accepting new rental stock at its Canary Wharf office and said it was being "very choosy" about what it took on in other areas. Meanwhile, Knight Frank said up to 40% of it's rental properties across central London were over-priced by 5-10% as landlords sought unrealistic rents.

Year-on-year central London rental growth stood at 6.2% at the end of the second quarter. In some areas of London and the south, estate agents have seen annual rent increases of up to 15%. Agents at the Winkworth chain said rents in some areas of London and the south-east had increased by 10% in just 10 months.

Agents believed rents might be close to their peak in some prime markets.