Review: Buy-to-let
Buy-to-let: what’s in the news? News of the World, News of the World. This is one of the songs that sticks out after recently seeing From The Jam, a band comprising of one former member of The Jam (Bruce Foxton) who pumped out 90 minutes of solid blasts from the past. With this song still at the forefront of my mind, I thought I’d use it as an excuse to look at some recent headlines in the national media surrounding the wonderful world of buy-to-let.
Jeff Knight director of marketing, Foundation Home Loans
Whilst we shouldn’t ignore how great it is to see such a positive headline, my only concern is around the words – join the party. I’m sure this is a perfectly innocent headline but if we are to learn from the mistakes of the past, careful wording is needed so as not to send out the wrong messages – unintentionally or not. Let’s be realistic, being a landlord in the current tax and regulatory regime stops way short of party-time, it represents a lot of hard work. Buy-
“Dinner party landlords must really question their motivation for that second home property purchase” to-let has not suddenly swung back in the favour of all landlords. The current marketplace is not one which will suit the financial and personal needs of everyone, and the last thing we want to see is landlords entering the market just because they want to keep up with the Jones’. We are operating in a far more professional BTL world where dinner party landlords must really question their motivation for that second home property purchase. There is an increased emphasis on limited company lending and a growing portfolio landlord marketplace, and I believe that it will MORTGAGE INTRODUCER
The Telegraph - Buy-to-let: the tech that makes property investment easy
Articles around technology, gadgets, systems and solutions are everywhere. Some of the technology featured included apps to help find tenants – referred to as Tinder for renting. It also focused on technology to support documentation, rent collection, portfolio management and made for some fascinating reading. As a forward-thinking lender who has invested heavily in tech, we’re always interested in current trends and what the future might have in store. In a business sense, it’s important to keep informed of any technological developments which could add value to borrowers and intermediary partners. After all, the successful integration of technology can make a huge difference to many types of mortgage-related business, especially in terms of making admin processes more efficient and helping to speed up the application process. Meaning lenders, intermediaries and landlords need to be constantly assessing the types of tech which works for them, and correctly incorporating the right tools to help them better manage their individual needs.
The Times – Buy-to-let is back: why not join the party
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only continue further in this direction. Now the last thing I want to do is deter new landlords from entering the sector – far from it – but it’s important that their eyes are wide open to current market conditions before entering ‘the party’, otherwise they could simply be left nursing a large hangover.
The Times - Buy-to-let professionals denied best mortgage deals
The article suggested that the more professional landlord who has set up as a limited company are being denied good deals. Again, such a headline is left open to a little too much interpretation for my liking before delving into the real facts of the mat-
JULY 2019
ter. Although this can often be the case with many headlines. Not all BTL lenders can offer limited company deals because they haven’t got the expertise or appetite for an area of lending which is a little more complex. Even though this product area has seen vast growth over the past 12 to 18 months, it is still deemed to be at the more specialist end of the BTL sector. And such a headline belies how much this marketplace has evolved and how competitive/ appealing it has become for a range of landlords. We are a lender which doesn’t differentiate in our rates between individual and limited company offerings. However, for lenders not as well equipped in this field it’s understandable to have a different pricing strategy. Such stories can make it tricky for intermediaries when placing cases, as it may lead to some clients having a preconception that they will only have access to higher rates rather than a flat lending rate as offered by some specialist lenders. A factor which also highlights the importance of the advices process throughout the BTL sector.
Various - Age-related lending headlines
I have noted several articles in recent times around later life lending and the age of landlords. It does appear to be the case that landlords are getting older, but this is becoming less of a problem as maximum age restrictions at the end of product terms are rising, and in some cases lifted altogether. For example, here at Foundation Home Loans, our max age at the end of a term is 85 and we have no limit on limited company applicants. It’s important to get the message across that age is no limitation for landlords. This is down to the education process and the quality of advice on offer to individual and portfolio landlords, a process which extends way beyond any single headline. www.mortgageintroducer.com