Landlords 'should not be surprised by borrowing rates'

Date:Thursday 29th April 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

The rates of interest being offered to landlords should not surprise them, since the price of property is so low at the moment, according to one sector analyst.

Managing director at Mortgages for Business David Whittaker stressed that individuals are not being held back from entering the buy-to-let mortgage market, but they should not expect finance to be "platinum-plated" at the moment.

"Investors need to understand that properties are reasonably priced and part of the reason for them being reasonably priced is the difficulty of getting finance," he explained.

In his view, once finance is easier to come by the prices of homes will rise significantly, because anyone will be able to invest in property and this will be reflected in the market.

Mr Whittaker described how many people's expectations of the rates at which they can borrow is "unrealistic" at the moment.

These remarks follow research by LSL Property Services that showed that 61 per cent of landlords have found it more difficult to access a mortgage than three years ago.