Not many buy-to-let investors buy their first property in their 20s, but starting young can pay dividends.
Elaine Duthie had only just left university when she bought her first buy-to-let property. She believes she has a winning formula.
As the last couple of years have shown us, buy-to-let isn’t for everyone. But hundreds of thousands of people have been able to make the sums add up (there are over a million buy-to-let mortgages in the UK). While many women are drawn to investing in bricks and mortar, few buy their first property when they're in their early 20s. But it's an approach that's worked for Elaine Duthie, who was the National Landlord Association Women in Property Awards Young Property Woman of the year in 2009.
Is buy to let back in favour again? And if so, should you invest?
The number of buy-to-let mortgages rose in the last three months of 2009 – the first increase for two years - and rents are edging up again.
If there’s one thing that the credit crunch has taught us it’s that you shouldn’t pile into an investment, such as property, because others are doing it. Although recent surveys show that more investors are taking out a buy-to-let mortgages, rental levels are rising and mortgages are beginning to become more competitive, there is still some uncertainty to come. An election in the summer and a fragile economic recovery mean it’s hard to predict how the market may develop.
With only a handful of lenders in the buy-to-let market, you may have to do a bit of searching to get a competitive rate
If you want to buy a property to rent out, you’ll soon find that financing of the deal is the real challenge. There are good, rentable properties available, but raising a mortgage is another matter. The buy-to-let mortgage market used to thrive on healthy competition, but in 2008, many mortgage lenders simply stopped offering loans to property investors. It’s meant that tracking down a competitive buy-to-let mortgage can be a bit of a challenge.
