What next for the buy to let market?
As we covered just yesterday, the buy to let market in the UK is very much on its knees begging for mercy. The banks have cut buy to let landlords adrift and many are now seeing the equity in their homes reduce substantial with a number now creeping into negative equity. Coupled with the fall in house price values and the lack of buyers, many have no choice but to try and tough it out. But what does the future hold?
The buy to let sector had long been the darling of the UK property market and made many people substantial money over the last decade. However, while landlords continued to expand their portfolios by putting up earlier investments as collateral it looks as though many portfolios are in danger of toppling like a pack of cards. As it becomes harder to obtain rental rates which cover the monthly mortgage repayments more and more landlords are being forced to use more and more of their own income to cover short falls - but this cannot last forever.
Many buy to let landlords will see their property portfolios start to show cracks over the next few months with the difference between mortgage payments and rental income set to continue to widen. There is a real fear that many buy to let investors could be in serious trouble if the current conditions do not show any improvement in the short term.
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