Buy-to-let investors 'must think long-term'
Investors looking at buy-to-let properties need to think long term, as the residential lettings market is no place to make a "quick buck".
This advice comes from independent property industry expert Malcolm Harrison, who suggested that sensible purchases will reap greater rewards.
Many people are turning to property as an alternative to savings and stock market investments at a time of economic uncertainty.
And with demand from tenants holding up well, investors entering the buy-to-let market are able to enjoy decent rental incomes.
Indeed, a recent survey by Paragon Mortgages found that almost a third of landlords increased their rents in the first quarter of the year.
However, Mr Harrison said it is important not to see buy-to-let properties as a way to make easy money.
"The people who made all the mistakes with buy-to-let during the boom years were the people who in fact were not buying to let - they were buying to speculate," he explained.
"Of course that isn't happening now. So it is a much more sensible market place."
He acknowledged that all the signs in the market point to continued demand for rented accommodation, due to a "mortgage famine" that is preventing many people from buying homes.
"Also, what is happening is there is a change in attitude which was beginning to happen before the crash," he added.
"You have got people beginning to wonder whether or not they wouldn't rather rent anyway, and not because of the costs or lack of deposit."
But Mr Harrison insisted that even with these favourable market conditions, investors must still take care when entering the buy-to-let market or expanding their existing property portfolios.
"If you are going to be a buy-to-let investor you must still think long term," he stressed,
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