New research from Upad his discovered what features of buy-to-let investment make landlords most anxious.
Many would-be landlords continue to see buy-to-let as an attractive form of investment, in a period of record low interest rates and stock market volatility.
Issues
Data from the report indicates that higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax, scrapping of wear and tear allowance and the phasing out of landlords’ mortgage interest tax relief are some of the main issues impacting on landlords.
In addition, the study from the online letting agent found that around of fifth of landlords citing client demand as their main concern.
More positively, despite these concerns, 66% of landlords said they had no intention of slashing their portfolios during the next two-five years.
Void Periods
Of those planning to carry on in the buy-to-let sector, a significant majority said they felt managing and mitigating void periods would be the factor most likely to give them sleepless nights.
13% said this was quite important, while 74% said it was a very important consideration moving forwards.
What causes landlords’ biggest anxieties?
James Davis, founder of Upad.co.uk, observed: ‘It’s easy to assume that landlords are most troubled by the big issues of the day, those topics which the industry and media become all-consumed by.’
‘Whilst these issues clearly do concern landlords, it is often the more mundane aspects of renting a property that have an impact on how a landlord chooses to manage his or her portfolio to reduce the stress-levels associated with doing so. We work closely with our landlords to ensure that we provide them with the tools to make the management of their property portfolio easier.’
Concluding, Davis noted: ‘We can’t change the tax regime, but we can deliver market-leading technology that allows landlords to quickly identify the right tenant and successful let their property – we believe this research demonstrates just how vital this is.’[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/what-really-keep-landlords-awake-at-night