By Steve Roulstone

Recent reports indicate that the Buy To Let market is, as I have been reporting for some time, growing in strength and therefore returning despite all the gloom and doom reports that the Financial Crisis would see an end to Private Landlords investing in property using this specialist mortgage.

Misrepresentation of Landlords.

This report raises several issues for me, the most glaring being the overall suggestion that Landlords buy property to get rich quick and that they will not do so ‘Under current circumstances’. Well excuse me for pointing out that this is obvious and the error in the unstated indication that ‘Getting rich quickly’ is why Landlords purchased property in the past. Well as one of these Landlords and as somebody who speaks to and knows many others, can I point out that by far the majority of Landlords chose and indeed choose property as an investment, because it has traditionally given a conservative return, but never actually lost money!

Markets will always dictate.

I have pointed out on these pages recently, that it is the market itself which will dictate both the number of properties available and the need for Landlords to supply that demand. We have seen Tenant demand rise steadily over the last three years and the % of rented UK housing stock confirms both the need and the ability for Property owners to supply the demand. What has happened however is that droves of new Landlords are being created by the inability of the Sales market to provide purchasers and the realisation that by renting property instead, they have been able to move on with their lives and plans. I myself now rent and have rented my main home for the next five years for the same reasons.

Rising rents, really?                     

The main push of this article is to concentrate on the amount of income generated from the rent and I find the statement that Landlords are being enticed because of the possibility of rising rents to be a little thin! Firstly, this totally ignores the more down to earth reasoning given above that owners are renting simply because they can, when they are finding it very difficult to sell, allowing them to get on with their lives, but the assumption still ignores the main reason for Landlords to buy or invest in bricks and mortar, which is historical, because property in the long term always gains in value and this is very much linked with the conservative expectation, set against the risk of either Currency or Stocks and Shares.

Tarred with the same brush.

It seems to me that the writer has looked at Property Landlords in a ‘one view take all’ approach, where the reality is so much different and far less simplistic. Is it my view alone that people who invest in property are more conservative than those who invest in more traditional methods? Either way, the market is driving this increase in new Landlords and what is not my belief alone is that it is both sustainable and shows no sign of decline for the foreseeable future!

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