Before looking to secure a buy to let mortgage, you need to be sure that
the property you are considering is right for the local rental market, speaking
to the letting agents in the area will give you a clear idea of the types
of property are in demand and the standards of the fitments that are expected.
When investing in buy to let, most people will not have the full purchase
amount of the property to invest, and so will need additional financing
which will be in the form of a buy to let mortgage. Typically you will be
able to secure a buy to let mortgage for up to 80% of the value of the property,
meaning that you need only invest 20% for the actual purchase, even if you
can fund the purchase entirely you may find a mortgage useful in order to
give you the extra capital for improvements and other costs.
Applying for a buy to let mortgage is in essence the same as for an owner-occupier
mortgage, the main difference being that with a buy to let mortgage the
lender will take into account the potential rental income when determining
if you can afford the repayments and if to approve you for the mortgage
(this is usually dependant on you using an ARLA member letting agent). The
term over which the mortgage is repaid will generally be between five and
forty-five years, a longer term will reduce the amount that you pay each
month and will allow you to gain more from your investment early on, however
with a longer term you will end up paying more interest overall. You will
need to weigh up you financial situation and expected cash flow when deciding
the period of time over which to have the buy to let mortgage.
The lenders of buy to let mortgage will carry out the standard array of
status checks on the potential landlord in order to determine their ability
to repay the mortgage, the property will also be subjected to a survey to
ensure that it is structurally sound and that it is worth at least as much
as the buy to let mortgage it is being secured against. Provided all of
these checks are passed, you should be able to secure a mortgage at a rate
that is not greatly different from an owner-occupier mortgage in terms of
the interest rates charged.
When securing a mortgage for you buy to let property ensure that the monthly
repayments on the mortgage are lower than the amount you will be realistically
able to charge for rent, generally the mortgage should be 30 – 50%
less than the mortgage repayments. If you are unable to achieve a mortgage
that will be less than the rental potential, then you should reconsider
the property unless you see it as a long-term investment and wish to see
a return on your money only when selling the property.
A buy to let mortgage can allow you to invest your money in a very profitable
way, and with the rates on buy to let mortgages being similar to those on
owner-occupier mortgages the costs can be easily covered by the rental charges
in most cases. See out list of buy
to let mortgages to help you find the right mortgage for your needs.
When looking for a mortgage, you may want to lessen the amount of legwork
and research that you need to do in order to find yourself a good deal,
this is where mortgage
brokers can be a big help.
If you are looking for a loan in the UK, then we recommend that you visit
Loans
UK - here you will find the very best loan deals available.