Buying a property to let is becoming an increasingly popular investment option.
If you are interested in buying to let there is a range of specialist mortgage loans available. Better legal protection for private landlords has helped to create strong growth in the UK market for rented accommodation. The information below is a starting point to help you decide if a ‘buy to let’ is right for you. It is an important decision so you should seek advice.
Why Buy to Let?
Rising house prices, greater demand for rented accommodation and better legal protection for private landlords can make ‘buy to let’ a viable investment option for you.
Buying a property to let it out can give you a handy additional stake in the housing market and help diversify your investment portfolio. Specialist ‘buy to let’ mortgages are available from many lenders that allow you to fix your interest payments for a number of years giving you security over mortgage funding costs.
Growth or income?
A ‘buy to let’ property is an investment and as such a key decision is whether your main priority is growth or income. Location is often considered to be a good indicator. For growth a good city centre locations is a good bet but for a regular income perhaps a suburban site may provide higher rent relative to the cost of buying the property.
Interestingly the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) suggest that gross rent in excess of 130% of the mortgage repayments (interest only) should be achievable.
