Landlords believe 'now is a good time to buy'
Most landlords are aware that now is a great time to invest in more buy-to-let properties, it has been claimed.
According to Darren Owen, director at Property & Finance Solutions, a financial advice firm for landlords, investors are looking to take advantage of rising rental incomes by expanding their portfolios.
"What we are tending to find is that the professional landlords are really looking to expand - they appreciate that it is a good time to buy and there are some cracking deals around," he said.
However, the current difficulty in securing finance to buy a new rental property is restraining potential growth, the expert argues.
"The demand is great at the moment. The issue is still the finance - that is what it boils down to," commented Mr Owen. "The ones with capital are the ones that are doing the purchasing."
The current demand for new properties is being driven by the fact that rental incomes among landlords have risen considerably in recent years, spurred on by the increasing number of people who are unable to secure finance for their own home and so renting instead.
However, Mr Owen advises that some properties are seeing larger rent increases than others.
"The yields are improving all the time on certain types of properties," he said.
"[Investors] are tending to buy bigger properties or HMOs [houses in multiple occupation] or are looking to do refurbishments."
His comments follow the results of a recent survey by buy-to-let mortgage provider Paragon, which found that landlords are continuing to report rising rental incomes.
Of those polled, almost a third of (29 per cent) said that their rental income increased during the second quarter of 2011.
Furthermore, four out of ten landlords (40 per cent) believe that tenant demand is either growing or 'booming' and will continue to do so for the next 12 months.
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