Buy-to-let

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Flow of Russian money into London property slows

The flow of Russian money into the capital is slowing as a result of government pressure and a tightening of anti-money laundering rules, experts say. For several years the Russian oligarch buying up prime real estate in London has been a familiar headline, however mortgage brokers are saying that this activity may now be cooling down.

Average prices grew by 1.8 per cent over the period, but in the last three months the cost of an average home fell by 0.7 per cent, marking the biggest quarterly decline since February 2012.

Britain is in such a property pickle that a five-year house price freeze wouldn’t achieve much, homes would need to fall by 30% to reach their long-term average level against wages.

Should you max out your buy-to-let mortgage borrowing?

In the past few weeks, both Virgin Money and specialist lender West One revealed they will now allow landlords applying for a buy-to-let mortgage to use both the property's rental income and their own earned income to get them past tough affordability thresholds. The approach - known as 'top-slicing' - is on offer from a growing number of buy-to-let lenders including Virgin Money (pictured) Barclays, BM Solutions, Precise Mortgages, Vida Homeloans, Kent Reliance, Aldermore and Metro Bank.

Best towns and cities to invest in property revealed in buy-to-let map

Buy-to-let landlords squeezed by recent tax changes may find better returns by targeting towns with strong student populations, research suggests. University towns and cities where housing is cheap, such as Liverpool and Middlesbrough, provide rental yields up to seven times higher than in London, a study by credit specialists Totally Money found. Its report compared average rents to house prices to highlight the most profitable places for buy-to-let and named a pair of postcodes close to two of Liverpool’s three universities as a hotspot for property investment - with rental yields of almost 12 per cent.

Ten tips for buy-to-let: Essential advice for property investment

Buy-to-let is much tougher than it once was. A tax crackdown on buying properties and a tax raid on the rental income from owning them has seen to that. But for many Britons the idea of investing in property still appeals, as they trust bricks and mortar and may feel that they can add value to a property. Read our top ten buy-to-let tips

There were just 5,500 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in March, some 19 per cent fewer than in the same month last year, according to trade body UK Finance.

We reveal where buy-to-let is forecast to make the biggest profits

Landlords are set to rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds profit on buy-to-let over the next 25 years with London investors standing to make up to half a million. Analysis from mortgage lender Kent Reliance claims that long-term property investment can still deliver significant returns for landlords through rent and capital gains, despite recent regulatory and taxation changes denting profits.

Building more homes is often claimed to be part of the answer to culling Britain's high house prices, but new research reveals they would need to stop carrying a premium price.

House prices rising faster than wages meant �housing affordability significantly worsened’ in England last year, the ONS said today, as it released a map showing 20 years of data.

Government plan to professionalise buy-to-let seems to be working

Two years on from sweeping tax reforms to buy-to-let, the Government's aim of limiting small-scale amateur landlords appears to be closer to fruition.A third of landlords with just one buy-to-let property are planning to sell and give up on buy-to-let, but 38 per cent of landlords who own two or more properties say they are planning to buy.

Our son is at university and is renting a three-bed flat with two of his friends. There is a flat next door that has come on the market that we would like to buy. Can we get an interest-only mortgage?

Three years ago I bought my first flat. I have just decided to move in with my boyfriend in his flat but want to keep hold of mine. Can I get permission from my lender to rent it out?

NINE Cabinet ministers are 'making more than £10,000-per-year by renting out properties' 

It comes after Britain's Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) was forced to apologise after he failed to declare a business interest with Companies House and the parliamentary register of MPs' interests. A spokesman for No 10 said: 'Jeremy has rightly apologised for an administrative oversight, and as the Cabinet Office have made clear there has been no breach of the Ministerial Code. We consider the matter closed.' Mr Hunt amended the register to show he has half a share of a holiday home in Italy and half a share in an office building in Hammersmith, West London, according to The Guardian. They are in addition to the seven apartments he acquired recently in Southampton.

The average gross rental yield on buy-to-let hit 5.2 per cent in the second half of 2017 in spite of warnings that profits have been hit by recent tax changes.

Life has got much tougher for landlords, with a series of tax grabs and tougher mortgage rules hitting. So does buy-to-let still stack up as a way to build your wealth?

Only one local authority area in the whole of England and Wales is yet to see average property prices pass the £100,000 mark, analysis claims.

Prices in the Orkney Islands for example are up 23.6 per cent to reach £144,214. The ONS does add, however, low sales numbers can lead to some volatility.

How to invest in property without becoming a landlord

For two decades buy-to-let was the golden child but after sweeping tax reforms it's rapidly losing its shine. A stamp duty hike and the removal of full mortgage interest tax relief have compounded the issue of high house prices. The lure of bricks and mortar remains strong in spite of buy-to-let getting tougher, so are a new breed of property platforms worth considering?

The influx of remortgage applications over March, due to the wave of expiring two-year-fixes, will put heavy administrative pressure on lenders.

With the number of homes also coming up for sale in short supply, RICS said there was 'little encouragement' suggesting the housing market could pick up any time soon.

Mortgage borrowers are being urged to grab a new home loan deal before rates rise. The spectre is looming of a fresh base rate increase as soon as May

To avoid the housing crisis getting even worse there needs to be change of approach by the Government, says David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association.

Buy-to-let crunch as landlords sell up and hike rents

The supply of rental properties fell 8 per cent between December and January while the number of prospective renters registering to find a new home shot up 18 per cent. David Cox, ARLA Propertymark chief executive, said it pointed to 'a rough ride' for renters in 2018.

Nationwide's buy-to-let arm The Mortgage Works has cut rates just as tens of thousands of landlords who bought buy-to-lets two years ago to beat the stamp duty hike now face remortgaging.

Property prices in some of Britain's biggest cities, including Edinburgh (pictured) will increase by up to 30% in the next four years, research suggests.

Unless you have a huge amount of spare cash that you want to spread across different asset classes, and plenty of spare time to research locations and view properties, you’d be mad to go for buy-to-let.

If you opt for the new no sale, no fee option and Yopa is successful in finding a buyer for your property, they'll charge a flat rate fee of between £1,495 and £2,695.

Average house asking price jumps by over £2,400 in a month

Rightmove said the figures suggested the market remained resilient, although this rate of growth was �well below’ the 1.6 per cent monthly average at this time of year over the last ten years. The website said all regions saw price rises between January and February, except for a marginal fall in the South West, where prices dropped by £131.

The black mark had been put on his records following a failed mortgage application a year earlier. It only came to light after the reader failed background checks for two jobs, leaving him unemployed.

House prices have increased seven times faster in real terms than the average annual salary of a young worker, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Buy-to-let mortgage lets you rent a home to your children

Anyone who has looked at buying a property with the intention of renting it to a family member will know it's not easy. But now a new family buy-to-let mortgage has been launched by Mansfield BS that actively targets those who may want to rent a home to their children - or perhaps even their parents.

Stark figures from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association show net investment in buy-to-let property fell from £25billion in 2015 to just £5billion in 2017.

Liverpool and Nottingham are now the UK’s best performing property investment locations with both cities enjoying average rental yields of 6.2 per cent.

Landlords who rent out homes built in the Victorian era and the early part of the twentieth century and have failed to make them more energy efficient can be fined £5,000 from April.

The NLA has revealed that one in five of its members plan to reduce their property portfolios in the next year because of the government’s recent tax changes

Landlords can still make an 8.9% return on buy-to-let

Research from specialist buy-to-let mortgage broker Mortgages for Business shows landlords who let out property on a room by room basis are still raking in yields of 8.9 per cent. This compares to a much lower, though still healthy, 5.6 per cent yield on 'vanilla' buy-to-lets where the whole property is let on one tenancy agreement.

When you apply for a buy-to-let mortgage from October, if you are a portfolio landlord you'll need to provide financial information on every property in your portfolio to the lender.

But in spite of almost two years' warning, experts suggest that many landlords have failed to plan for rising costs ahead of 6 April.

Ten tips for buy-to-let: Essential advice for property investment

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

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Is there a housing crisis and how do people afford London homes? Property Show

Declining ownership is seen as another sign of property market in crisis, but is this true? Ed Mead, of estate agents Douglas and Gordon, joins the Property Show, to look at the state of the market and whether prices will keep rising. And as an experienced agent he also answers the question many of us will have asked: 'How on earth do people afford London homes?'

Tax on buy-to-let and how to cut your bill

The taxman will want to know about any buy-to-let returns you make. If you don't declare your income properly or capital gains when you sell, you could be in trouble. We run through the taxes associated with buy-to-let. Some of these taxes and allowances have changed, so make sure you are up-to-date with them.

How buy-to-let mortgages work and how to get the best deals

Buy-to-let has become big business as Britain's small army of property investors ploughed their savings into homes to deliver both income and growth. Buy-to-let mortgages are generally interest-only, require larger deposits and need rent to comfortably more than cover payments. We explain more in our guide.

Avoid the buy-to-let mistakes that mean your investment might not pay off

Those considering investing in buy-to-let - or hoping to improve the returns on their existing properties - need to make sure they aren't making common mistakes. We outline the classic errors to avoid to make sure you get the best from buy-to-let - and how to look after your tenants so they look after you.

Can I let a property to a family member for no rent?

I have inherited a property which I want to let to a family member but not charge them rent. What are my responsibilities as a landlord - are they any different because I'm not making money from this arrangement? David Cox (pictured), boss of letting agents association ARLA Propertymark, responds.

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