UK Buy To Let Investors Hit Hard By Cash Strapped Mortgage Lenders

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span                            many to either seek a buyer for
class="cap">The         their portfolio or decide to hold
number of mortgage products     and not consider buying any new
that are available to property        property or refinancing their
buyers has decreased by almost        current portfolio until things
75% since April 2007. Lenders are     get back to some form of
making it increasingly more           stability.

difficult for the first time

It is as if the banks have got
investor to enter the buy to let      together and made a collective
market. In response to the credit     decision to price the first time
crunch, banks appear to be            landlord out of the buy to let
hitting landlords the hardest.        market. They are doing this by
HBOS, who is the owner of a           asking for larger deposits and
number of lenders including the       changing rates to be so high that
Bank of Scotland and the Halifax,     it makes it almost impossible for
to name just two, has recently        the first timer to see the value
taken steps to effectively price      or profit in investing.

itself out of the buy to let

What are investors currently
market. The other big lenders doing to weather this storm?

seem set to follow suit and "shut

1. Many investors are now
up shop," for all but the most        looking more seriously at buying
risk free investments. They seem      overseas properties

set to abandon the buy to let

2. Investors are holding onto
investor until the property           their properties and not buying
market shows serious signs of         any more and not refinancing
turning around.

their current portfolio until the

The rates that are being economic climate changes.

offered to UK buy to let

3. As an alternative to
landlords are becoming so             investing in buy to lets,
unattractive that it is causing       investors are turning their hand

to developing properties very strong position.

instead.

Home owners that have to sell

4. Investors are putting their     their home are finding it
money into other potentially          difficult to sell. Hence, the
lucrative investments; things         opportunity for investors to pick
such as becoming a venture            up many BMV properties that
capitalist are becoming very          previously they where finding it
popular.

difficult to get their hands

5. Property investors are now on.

having to travel further than

At the moment surveyors don't
just their local area to find the     seem to have a grip on what the
right kind of properties at the       real current market value of
right price. They are then trying     property is and in certain
to obtain the best mortgage rate      situations this can open things
they can and making a decision to     up for the discerning investor to
sit things out until the market       pick up a bargain.

begins to move in a positive

Any property investor,
direction again. Then they will       including the first time
be able to refinance to a better      investor, that is prepared to do
rate and draw out some much           double the work to find the
needed cash from the equity.

bargain properties and then is

Is there any good news?

prepared to live with perhaps a

For the experienced UK buy to      couple of years of higher
let landlord who has a surplus of     mortgage rates, in a few years
cash, there are some great            time when they refinance, will
bargains to be had. There is less     potentially see huge gains.

competition at the moment, which

Although, many analysts are
means that those investors that       predicting the worst property
have the cash and the knowledge       crises for two decades, there are
to weather this storm are in a        always those astute investors

that seem to thrive in any sort unintentionally, is separating
of property market.

the men from the boys, the strong

The question all investors,        from the weak, the experienced
new or old, have to currently ask     from the novices and the low risk
themselves, is do they see            investors from the
opportunity or just a black hole      gamblers.

in the current buy to let market      nd>About the
place. If all they can see is a       Authorblack hole, then they will            id="authorbio"
probably find making money from       class="membersnoticewhite">Carlto
their investments virtually           n Johnson is a well respected
impossible in the current market      author, investor and webmaster.
conditions; however, if they see      To learn more about how to be a
opportunity, they may end up          successful landlord in the UK
being among the few property          visit the investors that thrive in these        href="http://www.investment-prope
sorts of adverse investing            rty-guru.com">UK Investment
conditions.

Property website, for all the

Lenders do seem to be              latest investment property tips
abandoning the large majority of      and
UK buy to let landlords; yet,         advice.