Buy-to-let mortgages 'still lacking'

Date:Monday 6th July 2009
Author: Max Freedman

The range of buy-to-let mortgages available to UK investors remains restricted, an expert has said.

According to Alan Ward, chairman at the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), while there are "always opportunities" in the buy-to-let market, people should not "talk-up" the number of options available.

He stated that there are still around 500 buy-to-let mortgage products available, which is "hardly a poor choice".

However, he added: "The question is more about the cost of the products and the serviceability of the borrowings from rent and not from capital growth which is what burst the bubble of buy-to-let."

Mr Ward made his comments in the wake of figures produced by Mortgages for Business which suggested that the percentage of new buy-to-let mortgages compared to remortgages has increased since the start of the year.

According to the firm, 65 per cent of all buy-to-let mortgages were on new properties in June, compared with 55 per cent in January.