Buy to let Mortgage Guide

Finding the best buy to let mortgage is a time consuming exercise but as you become more experienced and familiar with the different types of products and rates available, this will help you to identify the very best buy to let mortgage deals out there. Some buy to let mortgage providers may be able to offer:

• Access to many different buy to let mortgage products


• 'EXCLUSIVE' buy to let mortgage products?


• If they are independent, they could source buy to let mortgages from a wide variety of different mortgage lenders?


• The ability to source buy to let mortgages for all types of different investment property including; residential buy to let, commercial buy to let, student buy to let property, converted property, blocks of flats, auction property, Ex Local Authority, off-plan property, etc.


• Click n go Mortgages ensure you get a Fast & Efficient and Reliable Service to ensure you secure good deals on your investment property purchases? To succeed in property investment it is critical that you can have funds in place in a very short space of time particularly if there is a lot of competition for the property you are looking to buy.

Some lenders may be able to offer the ability to reach formal mortgage offer stage with 7-10 working days? This can be particularly important if you have been given a strict completion deadline or buying through auction or via a sealed bid situation.

Here are some buy to let mortgage options:

Variable rate buy to let mortgages
Discount buy to let mortgages
Stepped Discount buy to let mortgages
Fixed-rate buy to let mortgages
Capped-rate buy to let mortgages

Buy to let Do's and Don'ts

Do's

• Think of a buy to let as a medium to long term investment.
• Seek advice from an ARLA letting agent on local market demands for your buy to let purchase.
• Get your sums right. Will the rent cover borrowings and costs, after allowing for void periods?
• Decorate, fit out and furnish to high quality standards, especially kitchens and bathrooms, to attract the best tenants and let quickly every time.
• Use an ARLA member as your letting agent. They are bonded, hold Professional Indemnity Insurance to required standards, have staff trained to ARLA's competency standards and are kept up to date with the latest legal and regulatory requirements in the buy to let market.

Don't

• Let personal taste cloud your judgement. Be sure the buy to let property you choose meets market requirements.
• Purchase a buy to let with potential maintenance problems like a lot of woodwork or large gardens. It will add nothing to the rental value and cost a lot to keep up.
• Think that the running of an investment property to buy to let can be left to friends or relatives in your absence. Tenants require a full management service.
• Use off-the-shelf tenancy agreements from HMSO or law stationers, or forget to issue the right notices or fail to have a proper inventory and condition report made before a tenant moves in. Leave all documentation to a professional buy to let agent.
• Furnish with second hand furniture or cast-off soft furnishings. These will probably contravene the Furniture and Furnishing Regulations.

When buying to let it is important to know the market in which you will be trying to let your property. It may be worth getting help from a letting agent who knows the area, what is in demand, what the likely pitfalls will be. By planning carefully and purchasing wisely you ought to get a property which requires little maintenance and is attractive to tenants. Avoiding void periods, i.e. time between tenants where you receive no rental income, will be your primary concern once you have purchased the house on a buy to let basis. While not inescapable, you are wise to do everything you can in advance to minimise the likely length of these periods. Insurance is now available to cover buy to let contingencies, your provider ought to be able to provide you with information.

Many high street banks and building societies now offer a buy to let mortgage product. Independent mortgage broker like Click n go Mortgages will also be able to recommend mortgage arrangements which are not available on the high street and which will more perfectly meet your buy to let mortgage requirements.

Buy to Let Mortgages differ from what came before by specifically allowing the rental revenue to be considered as income when considering the ability of the buyer to meet the ongoing mortgage payments. Buy to let mortgages are very similar to standard mortgages for property which the owner will inhabit. The percentage which the buy to let lender is willing to lend is likely to be restricted to 90% of the value of a property. The term of a buy to let mortgage is likely to be somewhere in the region of 5 to 45 years. Interest rates are also likely to be slightly higher than those which a standard mortgage agreement attracts.

Buy to Let Mortgages are mortgages specifically designed for people who want to invest in the property market by purchasing one or more houses and letting them out to tenants. The Owner is then able to benefit from any appreciation in the capital value of the house itself. They are also likely to be able to maintain the property and meet much of the loan repayment from the revenue realised by letting. The buy to let phenomenon has driven house prices higher over the last few years while making a broader section of rental accommodation available.