4 October 2006

The 2007 Buy to Let Guide published today (October 5) looks back over the first decade of the most successful innovation in the housing market in living memory. At the same time, it provides investor landlords with an overview of the many developments in mortgages, legislation, insurance and tax.

The Guide is published under the auspices of ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders. It is available to the public through all ARLA member letting agents.

The guide is complimentary to the other information provided by the professional bodies. To give potential and existing investors in Buy to Let with a clear understanding of the duties and obligations of being a landlord in today’s consumerist society, as well as the benefits and opportunities to be found in this new investment asset class.

This year, the Guide profiles the typical investor landlord and their reasons for investing in Buy to Let. There are also profiles of property portfolios and the types of let property, and the influences on the market. These include immigration and student debt.

The section on how to make best use of mortgage borrowing takes new investors through the checklist they should use before making the final decision to become a landlord.

Also, with the sophistication now applied to the buy to let mortgage market, profiles of the ARLA Panel of Mortgage Lenders give readers a head start in finding their way through the maze of financial information.

This panel includes many of the original supporters of the ARLA concept of Buy to Let, Birmingham Midshires, Mortgage Express and Paragon Mortgages. These were joined very quickly after the launch by NatWest, to be followed by GMAC Residential Funding and The Mortgage Business.

Welcoming the 2007 edition, Adrian Turner, Chief Executive of ARLA, said, “This is a concise but colourful explanation of the ramifications that lie behind investment in the private rented sector. It makes it clear that Buy to Let is an investment opportunity provided the requirements of today’s consumer society and modern legislation are taken into account. These demands are not onerous but they must be understood. The ability of Buy to Let investors to work within this framework explains why there are some 750,000 buy to let properties housing over a million families in just ten years, since it all started.”

The guide describes investors’ obligations to their tenants. These include a fair tenancy agreement, deposit protection and insurance, as well as keeping rental property in a proper state of repair with safe appliances. It also describes the help and advice that is available through ARLA-regulated letting agents. Nearly 2,000 of these are listed in the publication.

The Guide also looks to the future for investors. “Every indicator published in this new edition shows a sustainable rate of growth to meet the demands of the changing lifestyles, working patterns and aspirations of tenants,” said Adrian Turner. “The professionalism of the whole private rented sector has grown along with Buy to Let, and letting agents are well able to give sound advice about entering the market and to provide all the help that is needed to become, and to remain, a successful landlord.”

The 2007 ARLA, CML Buy to Let Guide, published by Incisive Communications, is available through ARLA, and ARLA member letting agents.

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