Buy to Let Mortgages and Tenants on Benefits

Some mortgage lenders still don’t let landlords who have mortgage loans with them to let their properties to tenants who are on benefits. Many private landlords are reluctant to let to tenants who are dependent on housing benefits, preferring tenants who do not have to rely on the state for any assistance. There are a number of reasons why: 1. […]

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Getting the Best Buy to Let Mortgage Deal for You

In this blog post, private rented sector expert, David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com looks at how to get the most suitable mortgage deal. I’m often somewhat surprised by the fuss folks make about getting a mortgage and some of the wrong decisions they make too. To us it seems pretty simple. The first question to ask is for how long you […]

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Wrong Housing, Wrong Investment and Bad Mortgage Lending

Thamesmead encapsulates a lot of what has gone wrong with housing over the years – from poor local planning, to bad mortgage lending to yet worse property investment decisions by amateur investors says David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com A few weeks’ ago I had cause to visit Thamesmead where my boy was playing in a kids’ football match. I mention the […]

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The Standard Variable Rate and the Mortgage Prisoners

Private residential landlords are typically long term investors and supposedly quite canny too. So one would expect them to typically opt for mortgages which at the end of any initial “teaser” fixed or discounted term would “go to” or “revert to” a rate which was going to be very competitive over the long term. And yet I often hear of […]

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Interest Only Buy to let Mortgages, the FSA and the Mortgage Market Review

Lenders new found worries about interest only mortgages is impacting buy to let mortgages too. It is likely the smart lenders who understand buy to let  will benefit from this, says David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com. Private landlords need to shop around to find these lenders. Residential interest only mortgages are the cause of a great deal of worry for the […]

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Longer Term Tenancies and Getting the Right Buy to Let Mortgage

In this LettingFocus blog post, we discuss our research into the potential for buy to let mortgage lenders to allow borrowers to offer longer term assured shorthold tenancies. We also look at the questions borrowers should ask themselves to ensure they get the mortgage that’s right for them. Currently, at LettingFocus we are doing research into the potential for buy […]

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Buy to Let Mortgages, the SVR and Follow On Mortgage Rates

Landlords (or indeed anyone buying a property) face ever rising costs to buy and sell property. On the buying side, stamp duty and the now ubiquitous “mortgage arrangement fee” are both much higher than in days gone by and local councils also charge more for searches. On the selling side, estate agency fees continue to rise. On both buying and […]

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Private Landlords Don’t Sell Their Time for Money but Must Beware of Other Risks in Letting to Achieve Success

At the end of a recent speaking engagement to a group of building society buy to let lending staff in the North of England, none of whom were landlords; I asked them, “So, do you think you might be interested in becoming landlords then.” I was a bit surprised when all said, “No” That got me thinking. Recently a peer […]

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Generation Rent, the Nation of Renters and Landlords Taxes

A recent survey and press release from the Halifax (the ones with those annoying but oddly impactful adverts of the two girls making a jingle and spilling their coffee) got a lot of column inches. “Suddenly we are becoming nation of private renters” says the Halifax. Those of you who have followed my work for a while will know that […]

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