Landlord Assist, a specialist in rent recovery and tenant eviction, is warning landlords in the United Kingdom (UK) to brace for changes in the economy and housing market that may negatively impact their projected margins. Many new landlords entered the renter’s market with hopes of high yields, but a stronger UK economy and government housing programs like Help to Buy are helping more people transition back into homeownership, which will likely impact landlords’ bottom lines. Those who have borrowed to get into the game must now think wisely about budgeting lest they fall prey to a slowdown in the renters’ market. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
Landlords in the UK are being urged to ensure that their business strategy is robust enough to withstand the impact of a recovering property market and a potential forthcoming rise in interest rates.
According to Landlord Assist, a tenant eviction and rent recovery specialist, many landlords have been attracted to the sector recently by the guarantee of high yields and rent prices on offer as more and more people opted to rent rather than buy.
But the firm’s managing director Graham Kinnear believes that many landlords who were new to the market opted to borrow more from lenders following countless media reports of a buy to let bubble and reports of £50 a day property price increases.
But with the government backed Help to Buy scheme helping thousands of tenants to finally get a foot on the property ladder, landlords could see the growth in the rental sector finally slow down, leading to less demand and a small drop in rents.
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Subsequently Landlord Assist is warning landlords to carefully consider their business strategy and understand how a recovering property market can impact their business.
‘It is impossible to estimate how long the growth in the private rental sector can be sustained, especially now that The Bank of England has revised its outlook and reported that interest rates could go up sooner than they initially thought due to the UK showing a stronger than expected economic recovery,’ explained Kinnear.
‘Should the Bank of England raise the interest rate over the coming months, investors who took out a buy to let mortgage could see their repayments rise at the same time as a recovering property market could force rent prices downwards and see more tenants move away from the private rented sector towards home ownership,’ he added.
Stephen Parry, commercial director at Landlord Assist, pointed out that the success of the Help to Buy scheme coupled with a stronger economy could prompt an earlier than expected rise in the interest rate. ‘This will doubtless mean increased mortgage payments for landlords which will directly impact their businesses,’ he said.
‘At the same time we have seen lenders like the Bank of Ireland and West Bromwich Building Society increase their tracker rates despite the Bank of England base rate not increasing. In some cases this has led to some customers’ monthly repayments almost doubling. If other lenders follow suit then this would place enormous pressure on landlords,’ he explained.
‘It is important that landlords carefully consider how current market conditions and a rise in interest rates could impact their business. Landlords, for instance, who have multiple properties on tracker mortgages may be better remortgaging to a fixed rate so that any rise in the interest rate or unexpected price hike from their lender doesn’t leave them facing financial difficulties,’ he added.
This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.
