buy-to-let investors
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Resources
Buy-to-let lenders
"The world has gone mad, says Adam Walker, as a client (with a £7m portfolio) is asked by his buy-to-let lender how much he spent, each month, having his hair cut... "
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Features
Forward thinking pays dividends
Buy-to-let investors appreciate professional advice from a lettings expert – that’s you! Joanne Christie met some canny lettings advisers who are showing the way.
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Features
Goodbye-to-let?
The Chancellor’s tax hit on buy-to-let is damaging, but, says Andrea Kirkby, there are choices for property investors.
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Latest property news
Interest in buy-to-let could plummet
Interest in new purchases from buy-to-let investors dropped 27 per cent in March compared to the same month last year as April 1st tax change starts to bite, according to Rightmove. The fall reverses the upward trend between December and February which brought a 24 per cent year-on-year increase in buy-to-let enquiries, indicating a potential slowdown in new investor purchases at least in the short-term. Demand from home-hunters is at an all-time high with a record number of Q1 enquiries, so the pause from investors could give some first-time buyers more of an opportunity to make a move. Some buy-to-let investors took a break from looking for new properties in March as the new tax changes deadline loomed, the new data from Rightmove reveals. Whilst Rightmove recorded its busiest ever Q1 for enquiries to estate agents, the intentions of buyers shifted in March, with the number of people saying they were planning to buy a property to rent out dropping by 27 per cent compared to the same month last year. This contrasts with the increase in interest seen from investors between December and February (+24 per cent year-on-year) as they tried to make last minute purchases before April’s additional…
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Latest property news
Chancellor’s assault on buy-to-let “is mystifying”
The Chancellor George Osborne has been slammed for his outright assault on buy-to-let investors following the introduction of a stamp duty surcharge last week, while also exempting landlords from fresh cuts to Capital Gains Tax, and planning further tax increases on property investors. The former Editor of The Times and the London Evening Standard, Simon Jenkins (left), questioned in his latest column for The Guardian columnist whether George Osborne was really a Tory. He also described Osborne’s “assault” on buy-to-let as “mystifying”. He wrote, “With the withering away of public housing, private renting is how evermore people live, especially in cities. They include the migratory rich, millennials, those unable to afford a house and those who are just very poor and cannot get a council tenancy. Between 2001 and 2011, private renting in London went from 17 per cent to 26 per cent of the housing market, and is continuing to rise.” Jenkins believes that encouraging the release of under-occupied space is the one sure answer to the housing shortage, and the most efficient way of doing this is by encouraging letting, especially in London. “Renting is the most efficient use of urban property. It keeps things flexible. It is…
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Latest property news
Rush to purchase buy-to-lets before SDLT surcharge
Estate agents report that there has been a significant increase in the number of buy-to-let investors attempting to push sales through before this Friday’s stamp duty deadline. Landlord investors are naturally keen to beat the 1st April deadline, after which they will pay an additional 3 per cent above existing stamp duty rates on buying a buy-to-let property. Some 85 per cent of estate agents reported an increase in the number of buy-to-let investors looking beat the stamp duty changes on second homes in February as demand for housing hit a 12-year high, with an average 463 house hunters registered per member branch, according to the NAEA. Mark Hayward, Managing Director of the NAEA, commented, “It is evident from February’s report findings that we’ve seen a real sense of urgency from landlords trying to complete on sales ahead of the stamp duty reforms. However, the mounting pressure and increased demand for housing has meant that first time buyers have had to compete with landlords for property and as a result they have lost out.” Many housing market analysts expect the new buy-to-let tax measures to dampen demand for buy-to-let investments in the near term, while there is every chance that…
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Housing Market
Jeremy Leaf
Rolling the dice. The Chancellor, George Osborne, is gambling with the property market – says Jeremy Leaf.
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Latest property news
Mortgage chief calls stamp duty hike ‘political stunt’
George Osborne’s decision to raise stamp duty for buy-to-let landlords has been dismissed as a “political stunt” by Managing Director of Vere Mortgages, part of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. The Chancellor announced an additional 3 per cent stamp duty on second homes and buy-to-let properties in his Autumn Statement, adding thousands of pounds in tax. A property worth £275,000 will currently cost £3,750 in stamp duty but will cost £10,800 from next April when the tax rise comes into play. Buy-to-let is increasing and is currently at the highest level since before the financial crash in 2008. Rather than dampen the buy-to-let market and free up much needed properties for first-time buyers, Mike Coady (left), who heads deVere Mortgages, believes that the clampdown on buy-to-let investors will be “ineffective for its purported aims” of raising cash to help first-time buyers and paying for more affordable housing. Describing the tax measure as “something of a political stunt”, Coady thinks that the Government’s desire to be seen to be acting on this “emotive and topical issue” by appealing to the “politics of envy” with buy-to-let landlords and second homeowner the targets, will not just “trigger…
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Housing Market
First-time buyer home prices soar
Home prices for first-time buyers are continuing to rise because of high demand from buy-to-let investors for properties typically acquired by those purchasing their first home, says Rightmove. New data supplied from the property portal reveals that the average asking price for residential properties currently coming on to the market has increased by 5.6 per cent over the past year to a new high of £296,549, but sellers of typical first-time-buyer homes are now asking 9.6 per cent more than this time last year. The average asking price of houses and flats with up to two bedrooms has increased by over £8,000 to £184,676, Rightmove said, making it harder for first-time buyers to save up enough money for a deposit. The report states that home prices are being driven higher by growing demand from buyers, particularly buy-to-let investors, and that a lack of properties coming onto the market was creating greater competition for purchasers, particularly first-time buyers. Rightmove added that the volume of first-time homes coming up for sale had dropped by 8 per cent on October 2014. The buy-to-let market has gone from strength to strength in recent years, reflecting the fact that a growing number of people are…
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Features
Playing the buy-to-let game
Andrea Kirkby says investors can win the buy-to-let game, if they hit the right location, at the right price, at the right time.
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