Who wants to be a landlord?

One in ten UK adults are interested in becoming landlords and taking out a buy-to-let mortgage in 2018/19, according to a recent survey.

A change in income was the main reason people were considering taking their first foray into the world of buy-to-let investment research found. Nearly a third of those considering becoming landlords said they were “encouraged” by current opportunities in the buy-to-let market. Meanwhile over 25% admitted they were going down this route because they had received an inheritance or had become “accidental landlords”.

The survey also discovered over half of potential landlords had considered buying a house and 46% had been looking at buying new builds. Meanwhile, 41% were considering getting into buy-to-let by letting out a flat with 43% considering going down the new build route.

With almost one in ten UK adults showing an interest in taking out a buy-to-let mortgage in 2019, it meant that across the UK over 4.8 million people potentially could become landlords next year.

The buy-to-let sector has taken a bit of a hammering in recent years, what with the stamp duty surcharge and scrapping of tax relief, the latter of which came into effect at the start of the new tax year, April 2017. However, this doesn't seem to have put off landlords to any extent. Experienced landlords still have an average of 11 properties each, with a typical loan-to-value (LTV) of just 35%, so it's clear that buy-to-let can still generate a good profit.

If you are looking for a new or re-mortgage, please do make contact and one of our fully qualified advisers will be happy to help.