{"id":6033323,"date":"2020-10-16T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T10:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=6033323"},"modified":"2020-10-16T11:00:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T10:00:41","slug":"buy-to-let-landlords-should-act-now-to-purchase-investment-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/news\/buy-to-let-landlords-should-act-now-to-purchase-investment-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Buy-to-let landlords should &#8220;act now&#8221; to purchase investment property"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Property investors and landlords are flooding to the UK property market, including buyers from overseas. Here&#8217;s why buyers should act quickly to secure their next investment property.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>High levels of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/10\/12\/housing-market-acceleration-continues-with-high-demand-and-rising-prices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">activity<\/a> are continuing across the UK housing market, and the buy-to-let space is no different. In recent weeks, mortgage lender Skipton International has noted a major spike in enquiries from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/09\/25\/buy-to-let-landlords-could-get-better-returns-now-than-at-start-of-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">landlords<\/a>. The firm believes buyers seeking rental property should push ahead with their purchases sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>Mortgage interest rates are still extremely competitive in both the owner-occupier and buy-to-let space. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/08\/10\/how-is-the-stamp-duty-holiday-affecting-the-uk-housing-market-so-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stamp duty holiday<\/a> means buyers can make further savings, making it a potentially lucrative time to invest.<\/p>\n<p>However, with an end date for the stamp duty holiday set for 31st March 2021, there is limited time to take advantage of the savings. A new stamp duty rate for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/a-guide-for-non-uk-residents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">overseas buyers<\/a> will also take effect from 1st April 2021. This will see foreign investors paying an additional 2% on purchases.<\/p>\n<h4>&#8220;Inundated&#8221; with applications<\/h4>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skiptoninternational.com\/mortgages\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Skipton International<\/a>, the current market conditions have made it a busy time in the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Managing director Jim Coupe said: \u201cOur mortgage team has been inundated with applications for UK buy-to-let purchases over the last few months.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe low interest rates combined with the stamp duty holiday in England has seen a sharp increase in those looking to invest in good quality property for letting purposes.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There is currently no indication that the Bank of England will raise interest rates imminently. However, some mortgage rates are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/08\/27\/mortgage-borrowing-still-cheap-but-rates-and-fees-are-rising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">increasing<\/a> already across the market, so it&#8217;s a good time to secure a competitive deal. There is also a lack of availability of products on offer right now, particularly on high loan to values. This can make finding the best deal more of a challenge for some borrowers.<\/p>\n<h4>Overseas investors still keen on UK property<\/h4>\n<p>The mortgage lender has also noticed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/a-guide-for-non-uk-residents\/\">big rise in overseas interest in the UK property market<\/a>. This is a result of a combination of factors, including attractive exchange rates. The sector is also historically seen a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/03\/05\/coronavirus-sparked-market-panic-investors-seek-safe-haven\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">safe place<\/a> to invest compared to riskier stocks and shares. This can be especially pertinent during times of uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to BuyAssociation, Jim Coupe says a lower stamp duty bill is another big incentive for foreign investors.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Skipton International currently has a record number of applications being processed and we are achieving our target turnaround time of under three working days,&#8221; he comments. &#8220;We are, however, starting to experience short delays in receiving property surveys.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Skipton International would hence encourage potential purchasers to apply early if at all possible to ensure completion during the SDLT holiday.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He adds that the firm also offers a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skiptoninternational.com\/mortgage-calculator\/uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tool<\/a> to help buyers work out their borrowing ability and mortgage costs. This can help buy-to-let investors act quickly in the &#8220;current buoyant market&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h4>The best locations for buy-to-let<\/h4>\n<p>Choosing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/03\/30\/where-are-uk-property-prices-and-rental-growth-forecast-to-rise-the-most\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">best location<\/a> for an investment property is a key challenge of any purchase. Much of the decision-making process will come down to the individual investor&#8217;s needs. However, for those keen to stay ahead of the market, investors looking outside the &#8216;traditional&#8217; areas are proving successful.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Coupe comments: &#8220;London and the south-east have historically seen the most demand for buy-to-let enquiries from British expats and overseas residents. This continues to be the case.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;However, there is solid interest in city locations across the UK, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/09\/29\/manchester-and-nottingham-lead-uk-house-prices-growth-post-lockdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manchester<\/a>, Liverpool and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/03\/31\/five-reasons-why-birmingham-is-a-buy-to-let-property-hotspot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Birmingham<\/a> being some of the most popular locations in the north of England.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Last month, a study by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/2020\/09\/18\/best-places-to-invest-uk-buy-to-let-property-stamp-duty-holiday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CIA Landlord<\/a> also showed the value of these areas as investment property hotspots. The research found that Salford, Manchester and Leeds in particular were the most profitable locations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Property investors and landlords are flooding to the UK property market, including buyers from overseas. Here&#8217;s why buyers should act quickly to secure their next investment property. High levels of activity are continuing across the UK housing market, and the buy-to-let space is no different. In recent weeks, mortgage lender Skipton International has noted a<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/news\/buy-to-let-landlords-should-act-now-to-purchase-investment-property\/\" title=\"ReadBuy-to-let landlords should &#8220;act now&#8221; to purchase investment property\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1069,"featured_media":16394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,26,141],"tags":[412,85],"class_list":["post-6033323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buy-to-let-landlords","category-tax-mortgages-money","category-overseas-property","tag-buy-to-let-mortgages","tag-stamp-duty"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6033323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1069"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6033323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6033323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6033323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6033323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6033323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}